Empowerment Technologies

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Graphic Design

Graphic Design

Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine something. Anything. Ok, are you

done? You don’t have to describe what you imagined but answer this: How
did you imagine it? More likely than not, you saw a picture or a scene in your
head. That’s human nature. Humans are very visual creatures. We rely
heavily on visual images to understand the world around us.
In this chapter, you will learn how to use ICT to create images for whatever
purpose you choose. In this chapter, you will learn about graphics design.
In simple terms, graphics design is a form of visual communication that uses
words and images to express an idea or send a message. Graphic design is
used for various purposes. Take the following examples:

Figure 1.0: Safety and direction

Traffic signs are a common example of graphic design. As a rule, traffic and
safety signs need to have simple designs that are easy to understand. They
also use bright colors such as yellow and red to catch people’s attention

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 Figure 2.0: Branding and advertising
Effective graphics design can make ideas stick to people’s minds. For
example, Coca-Cola’s simple red and white logo is easily one of the most
popular designs in history. Graphics design is widely used in commerce to
promote products.

Figure 3.0: Public relations

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON was a motivational poster created by the British
government to raise the morale of the population during World War 2. Its
striking color and well-balanced typography sent a clear message of courage
and perseverance.
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Graphic Design

Digital Image
Before we start creating some graphics, first we have to learn how digital
imaging works. A digital image is simply the digital version of a two-
dimensional image. A digital image can either be a vector or a raster.
Vector vs Raster

Figure 4.0 Vector vs Raster

Vector
A vector image file contains points, lines, and shapes. A vector image retains
its quality even if you zoom in on it. An example of vector image is the fonts
that you use in your word processor apps. Notice how the text remains
smooth and readable no matter how big or small you make them.
Raster
A raster image is composed of a grid of dots called pixels. Each pixel can have
a different color. Therefore, groups of pixels can appear to form an image.
Most of the pictures that you see in the Internet are raster images.
For a more detailed explanation, check out this Youtube video:
https://youtu.be/-Fs2t6P5AjY

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Lossy vs Lossless
Our next topic will be image formats but we can’t understand those without
knowing the difference between lossy and lossless compression.
Compression is the method of reducing the file’s size or the number of bits
that it is composed of. Lossless compression retains all the original data in
the file while lossy compression removes some of the data to make the file
smaller.
Think of it like packing a pile of clothes into a bag. Lossless compression is
like squeezing all the clothes into the bag until they all fit while lossy
compression is very much like removing some items of clothing from the pile
so that the rest can fit into the bag.
Image File Formats
By now, you might have already noticed that some digital images have “.jpg”
at the end of their file names. Some have “.png” and so on. These are file
formats. A file format is a standard way in which digital information is
written and stored in a computer. All digital files have formats and different
formats are good for different uses. Here are the most common formats of
digital images and what they are best suitable for:
JPG or JPEG
JPEG stands Joint Photographic Experts Group, the organization that created
it. JPEG uses lossy format. JPEG can be greatly compressed, which makes it
ideal for online use. JPEG is commonly used in websites, and digital cameras.
GIF
You may have already heard of the debate about the pronunciation of GIF.
Some say gif as in “gift” while some say jif as in “Jill”. We’re not going to settle
that debate here so please, pick a side and start arguing.
Anyway, GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It uses lossless
compression and supports 256 colors. It is ideal for images with sharp edges
and few colors such as letters and logos. GIF also supports basic animation.
PNG
Short for Portable Network Graphics, PNG was created as an open-source
alternative to GIF. Like GIF, PNG also uses lossless compression. However,
unlike GIF, which recognizes only 256 colors, PNG supports 16 million colors.
GIMP
Time to do some actual graphics design. For this lesson, we will be using
GIMP. Short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, GIMP is open-source,
which means anyone can download and use it for free.
First, some background information. GIMP has been around for 20 years
now. It was first released in 1996 under the name General Image
Manipulation Program. Eventually, the word general was replaced by GNU.
Without going into much detail, GNU is the operating system in which GIMP
was first associated with.
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Graphic Design

To be perfectly honest, GIMP is quite complicated. It’s probably the most

complicated app that you will use this semester and there’s no way we can
discuss everything in just one chapter. But don’t worry because you don’t
have to learn everything about GIMP in order to use it effectively. Think of it
like a car. You don’t need to be a highly trained professional to drive one. You
just need the basic skills. The rest of it, you will learn along the way.
Download and Installation
Downloading and installing GIMP is pretty straightforward. First, go to their
official website at gimp.org. One of the first things that you will see is the
download link for the latest version. Just click it to start your download. Once
you’ve downloaded the installer file, open it and follow the instructions to
install GIMP.

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The User Manual

As mentioned earlier, GIMP is quite complex and we won’t be able to discuss

every detail in this chapter. Fortunately, there’s a free user manual, which
can be accessed from the GIMP website. Simply click the Docs tab then click
the link for the English user manual.
For the rest of this chapter, we will only be discussing the bare basics of
GIMP. However, further information about every item that we will discuss
can be found in the user manual.
Creating a Document
To create a new document, click File, then New. In the window that will open,
you can set the size of the image. Click the px dropdown button to select what
unit of measurement you want to use. You can choose from pixels (px),
inches, millimeters, centimeters, etc. Click OK once you’re done choosing.

Basic Concepts:
Here are some of the most important concepts that you need to be familiar
with.
Images
In GIMP terms, an image is a single file like a JPG or a PNG. In the GIMP app, a
single window display corresponds to one image
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Layers
An image can be composed of one or several layers. Basically, a layer in itself
is an image with transparent areas. Layers are stacked on top of each other to
form an image. An image or a GIMP file can have one or several layers. We’ll
discuss this further later in this lesson
Resolution
By now, you’re already familiar with pixels. Resolution is the ratio between
the size of the image in pixels and its physical size when printed on paper.
The more pixels there are in an image, the better the quality of the image is.
The most common unit of measurement for resolution is pixels per inch or
ppi.
Selections
When using GIMP, you will want to isolate some parts of an image so that
your actions will only apply to that part and not to the rest of the image. This
part is called a selection. In GIMP, moving dashed lines, which are sometimes
called “marching ants”, marks a selection. There are several ways to make a
selection, which will be discussed later.
Undoing
You can undo an action or go back to the state of the image before the action
is done. This is useful when you make mistakes. For example, if you
accidentally erased a part of an image, you can simply undo the erase action
and start over. GIMP keeps track of your actions or your history. This feature
will allow you to undo several actions at once.
Main Windows
Before we proceed, you may want to know that GIMP has 2 modes. The first
one is the multi-window mode, which is usually the default mode. Frankly
speaking, multi-window mode is needlessly complicated. You may want to
switch to the other mode which is the single-window mode by clicking
Windows (top part of the screen) then Single-Window Mode.
Now that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the main windows in the GIMP app.
There are five main windows that are composed of dozens of different
functions. Again, we won’t be discussing everything in detail. More detailed
information can be found in the user manual.
(http://docs.gimp.org/2.8/en/gimp-concepts-main-windows.html)
Some of these windows can be moved. As a beginner, it is advisable to not
move any of these windows to avoid confusion.

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1. Main Toolbox
The main toolbox contains several icons. Each icon represents a tool. At the
bottom of the main toolbox, you will see the foreground and background
colors.

2. Tool Options
Below the main toolbox is the Tool Options. Here, you will see the options for
the tool that is currently selected. In the example below, Tool Options shows
the options for the brush tool.
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3. Image Window
In the middle of the screen, you will see the image window. This is the
window that displays the image that you are currently working on. It is
possible to open several image windows at once but you can only work on
one image window at a time.

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4. The Layers, Channels, Paths, Undo History dock
This window is in the upper right part of the screen. Layers, Channels, Paths,
and Undo History can be accessed through tabs in this window.

5. Brushes/Patterns/Gradients
Another tabbed window, this one can be found it the lower right part of the
screen. Each tab manages brushes, patterns, and gradients, respectively.

Exercise: Birthday Party Invitation

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In this exercise, we will learn to make a simple invitation for a kid’s birthday
party. The methods that we will be using here can also be applied in creating
other kids of graphics like posters, tarpaulins, and flyers.
Step 1. Create a new image.
Because this image will be printed, we need to make sure that we use a good
resolution. Click Template and select 1024x768. Click the arrow beside
Advanced Options and type 300 in the resolution. Finally, click OK.

Step 2. Change the background color

a. Select a foreground color at the bottom of the main toolbox.
b. Select the Bucket Fill Tool (the bucket icon)
c. Click anywhere in the image window to apply the color to the background
layer.

3. Add pictures
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In this case we will be using a birthday cake clipart that we found online and
a picture of the birthday celebrant.
a. Drag and drop the clipart to the image window. This will create a
separate layer for the picture.
b. Use the Scale tool (shortcut: shift+T) to resize the image
c. Use the Move tool (shortcut: M) to move the picture

4. Add Text
To make sure that the colors in our design match, simply copy colors from
other parts of the image and use them as font colors.
a. Select the color picker tool (shortcut: O) and click on the color that you
want to copy. This will set the copied color as the foreground color.
b. Right click anywhere in the image then click layer, New Layer, and then
OK. This will add a new blank layer.
c. Select the Text tool (letter A icon) then click and drag in the image. Type
your text and use the tool options to customize the font style, color, size,
etc.
You can repeat this step several times to add different text styles.

5. Save your work

a. Click File and then Save (or use shortcut Ctrl+S). Type a name for your
image then click Save. This will save a GIMP file for your image with the
extension xcf. Use this file if you want to edit your image.
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b. To save your project in an image file format, click File and then Export
(Ctrl+E). Click the arrow beside Select File Type and choose a format. By
default, the export format is png. Which will do just fine. Click Export.
c. Finally, go to the folder where you exported the image and open it.

Tips:
Now that we’re done with the technical stuff, here are some tips that you can
follow:
1. Consider the viewer.
Remember that graphic design is a form of communication so always
consider if your work will capture your intended viewers’ attention and if the
message that you want to convey will be clearly understood. When choosing
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between what you like and what the viewers will like, always choose the
what your viewers will like.
2. Learn from other people.
If you encounter a problem or if you want to learn a new trick in GIMP, just
google it. More often than not, you will find a how-to guide, a forum thread,
or an instructional video about the topic.
3. Take advantage of free stuff.
The Internet is full of free graphic design resources like stock photos, color
palettes, fonts, etc. Just be careful not to plagiarize or break copyright laws.
4. Keep it simple.
If your design has too many elements, the viewers may get confused and lose
interest. So keep your design simple. Do not use more than two fonts. Choose
matching colors. Focus on one element and make the other elements match
it.