Work Like a Designer

In this chapter we see answers these questions:

What tools do I need to practice visual design?
How can I design with a team?
How can I speed up the design process?
Where can I find ideas and inspiration?
What graphic format should I use?
Professional designers use professional tools and these make them experts.
Amateur designers can also become professionals by improving their skills and
using high-end tools. First of all, we should always have a scrapbook that we can
carry with us and that we can write and draw as soon as ideas come to our mind.
Also, there should always be a notebook and pen in our work area/desk. These
tools are useful for thinking and brainstorming and they are not expensive. Digital
tablets and pens are also tools used for design. Designers work with different
formats such as bitmap graphics and vector graphics and use different software
for them. Adobe Photoshop is the leading graphic editing tool for designers.
Adobe Photoshop Elements is a low-priced version of Photoshop with limited
image enhancement and editing capabilities. GIMP is a free program for
rendering, painting and to convert files to various image formats. Microsoft
PowerPoint is also a program that meets some graphic drawing needs. Some
Illustration software programs also offer; Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Inkscape
(download from inkscape.org).
In order to come up with a new and original design, it is necessary to examine
existing designs, reinterpret what we see, and be inspired by the world around us.
We can collect designs, brochures, catalogs, magazines, images, advertisements
and brand logos that we find impressive, and save them for later inspiration. We
can examine the online platforms where the works of artists and graphic
designers are found such as Dribble, DeviantArt, Behance, and CarbonMade.
What we need to know in image technology is that images are displayed in two
main ways. They are bitmap and vector. Bitmaps are made up of pixels and
vectors are created with mathematical descriptions. The two most common
image formats in bitmap are JPG and PNG. Since vector graphics are created from
mathematical instructions rather than pixels, it can be made in any size without
sacrificing image quality. Some vector image formats are SVG and AI.
Chapter 7-8 summarize
Color is one of the features that can create positive results in design. Learners
tend to prefer color graphics over black and white. Colored images will keep
attention longer than black and white. Color is valuable for enhancing the
meaning of stories. For example, in a story, a red face means anger or
embarrassment, or a purple face means a sick person. Because of brightly colored
elements will be noticed first, we can use it to indicate the most important
information. It is useful to use culturally appropriate colors.
Red, orange and yellow hues, which are considered warm colors, are often
perceived as stimulating or exciting. Green, blue and purple hues, which are
considered cool colors, are often associated with calm feelings. Some colors are
considered neutral or near neutral; these are black, white and gray, tan, brown,
off-white.
When using color in our design or slide, we should be careful to: promoting a
positive experience to the audience, avoiding causing eye strain, reflect the
appropriate mood or personality, and be appropriate to the target audience and
content. Since it is easy to read dark text on a light background, it is a good idea
to choose a lighter color that will relax the eyes, such as white, light gray or tan.
We can use a dark background when the slides are projected in a large room.
If we find it difficult to choose a palette, we can get ideas from our environment,
we can look at the colors in the natural environment. The healthcare and financial
industries often use a blue palette, political organizations often use the colors of
their country's flag, and environmental companies often use green. Starting with
a color that is easy on the eyes and then we can add lighter or darker versions of
the color.
Without an intentional hierarchy, the viewer's eyes may wander randomly across
the screen, seeking information. If we make all items of equal weight, they will
attract equal attention and the message we want to convey may be lost.
Because of Western readers' eyes tend to move from left to right and top to
bottom, logos on websites are often located at the top left of the page and the
texts on the pages are from left to right. Our eyes are more sensitive to bright and
warm colors such as yellow, orange and red. When we use the texts we write with
these colors or use these colors as a frame, the viewer sees them first when they
look at the screen. Most viewers follow visual signals and tricks, such as arrows
and dashed lines, and numbers which are known to guide the eyes. Another way,
using short lines of text will attract more eyes than long blocks of text. Using a
contrasting screen font to draw attention to a headline, the darkest text on the
lightest background, or vice versa, placing light text on a dark background will
grab the viewer's attention. Adding blank space around and quoting to separate
and draw attention to a space is also preferable to write it in a different color
from the body text and in bold or italic style using pull quotes.