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4 Key Components of Graphic Design
We use 4 key components in graphic design:
Color, Images, White Space, and Words to communicate a
message, but it's what you do with them that makes it pop.
•Color can create "pop" with the use of complementary colors to brighten something you are required to work with, but that isn't working for you on its own (like an existing logo). •Color can even be used alone as a brand signature, like "Tiffany blue". Whether or not what you are looking at is from Tiffany & Co., when you see their unique shade, you make that association. (Their favicon is just a square of that color.) Color associations can work for you, or they might work against you. For instance, if you are American, when you see deep red, white, and navy blue, you might think 'patriotism'. Your client may feel those same colors are 'political'. When you see the bright primary colors red, yellow, and blue, you may think 'superheroes', your client may see only the Colombian flag. You see . . . Your client sees: You see . . . Your client sees:
Knowing the many associations made with color
and images is one of your most complex and versatile graphic design
tools. If you stay current, you can create associations with the
latest 'looks', and people will make the connection, maybe without
even realizing it.
2-Images are the second most critical component particularly because of the accompanying associations, and because they are often used simply for their color. One of the things I love most about the field of Graphic Design is how often it can reinvent things and change we way we think. A client asked me for something "techy looking", so I obliged. Turned out we had different associations of 'techy', so I asked for a sample of what they had in mind. This is the ad they offered:
One of the genius "The Computer is Personal Again" ads by Goodby Silverstein & Partners for Hewlett Packard.
Graphic Designers used to look at art, books, magazines, television, and thanks to Andy Warhol, everything else, to inspire us. As we went digital, I started looking at friendfeed, istockphoto, tumblr, flickr, photobucket, colourlovers, instagram, and pinterest. Now I collect images on pinterest the way we used to tear out magazine pages. The boards are like scrapbooks: color schemes, inspiration, single colors—whatever theme you spend the most time looking for, start saving those images as you run across them. It really helps when you are feeling stuck, creatively, and will help you find the kind of image you need to get your idea across.
Even if you find the perfect image, you may not
be home free. There is yet another component you might need to
consider . . . The most under-appreciated design component is 3-white space! Many times when a design is not working, it's because there is too much stuff. A common obstacle to good design is the client who feels they have to put in everything about their company in every piece; that every piece should say everything about them. Not necessarily, or, not in so much text (which is usually what they want). The ad below uses white space to suggest the lawnmower is quiet. Do you really need to know how long the company has been in business, their store locations, hours, and other products they offer? No. As a clickable web ad with the simple tagline "The world's quietest lawnmover", this ad says all it needs to say. That's why images are so critical, and why you have to know when to say no in order to preserve their effectiveness.
I often think there is no such thing as too much white space. 4-Words are good—when they're great, otherwise they tend to be ignored. A graphic design piece with no image is usually using words in place of an image, or cleverly, like the IKEA ad below, as both.
You've got to be short and sweet. In words, you can't get much shorter or sweeter than "Create". It covers everything IKEA offers and the experience of shopping there (if you've never been, they have model rooms set up), plus it is a call to action! Most people don't want to read a lot of text. If you don't capture their attention visually, you can forget how well written you think your paragraph is. Web ads are much smaller than print ads and there is even less room for a bunch of stuff and the ability to make an impact. I love this article: Biggest Mistakes in Website Design 1995-2011 because it cuts to the quick! Many of the principles apply to graphic design: This one is particularly on point . . .
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4 Key Components of Graphic Design
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