Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Practical Guide To Design Theory PDF
The Practical Guide To Design Theory PDF
Index
91 Color Harmony
section one // DESIGN FOUNDATIONS
Strong foundations
build the best houses.
When you build a home there are basic materials you are doing on this massive scale, you
and methods you need to use to build a proper need to have the proper materials (software)
structure. No matter what type of house you and knowledge to put all of those materials
build, you will need a roof, flooring, windows, together.
appliances, plumbing and insulation. You will
also need to have qualified people install those We are going to talk about terms and
materials using tried and true methods that have theories that you might have heard of
stood the test of time. before. Everything we go over in this first
section will be ideas, methods and concepts
Graphic design is the same way. Graphic design you can apply to ALL design projects, big or
projects span the entire spectrum of both digital small, digital or print.
and print projects. No matter which project type
Gestalt
Gestalt Origin: German
Noun An organized whole that is
“
Have you ever played the game when you look
up at the clouds and try to find people, animals
or things? Your brain is always subconsciously
finding patterns, shapes and meaning to
The whole
everything you look at to try to make sense of
the world.
parts.”
brain processes and categorizes a series of
elements, we can use that understanding to help
us craft easy to digest visual messages.
BUY NOW
Figure A Figure B
FREE
ADMISSION
AT THE COLOSSEUM
DOWNTOWN MIAMI
We see the principle of simplicity applied to icon Ask yourself another question, “Is this graphic or
design all the time. Icons need to be seen in element adding value to my design?” As designers
very small sizes. If we were to have a detailed we typically feel we need to show off our creativity,
illustration for a small icon it would not always but remember your design’s overall message is
be easy to tell what it was. We instead simplify always the most important. Make it clear, concise
illustrations down to icons that can be identified in and rewarding to look at.
many different of sizes.
[] [] []
on the left will be grouped together as one unit as
opposed to the asymmetric parts to the right.
Article Article
Four Four
We like to fill
in the gaps.
Take a look at the square and the circle below. Even Below is a classic example of how our brains fill in
though they have gaps in their strokes, we have no negative space. We fill in the open space between the
problems filling in the rest of the shape to complete E and the T and form the letter A. The letter A is not
it. The circle could really just be two curved lines, anywhere in the active positive space, but only exists
but we still like to see it as a complete circle. in the negative space that exists between positive
spaces. The same is true for the O that is formed by
the shapes created by the positive space T and N.
A
our past knowledge with how the letter A is formed. and read to the left.
COMFORT
& LUXURY
Figure A Figure B CAN GO
TOGETHER.
In the example below, you see two intersecting
paths. You will most likely follow either the green or
COMFORT
& LUXURY
CAN GO
TOGETHER.
Let’s see Gestalt principles
applied in real world
projects.
Gestalt principles are great guides to follow as designers. We are going to review
several print advertisements, logos, movie posters, and other projects you might see in
the wild, so we can study how multiple principles are at work in strong design.
Fenwick
Pythons logo
You will notice the law of
continuation used to guide the
viewer’s eyes from the top of
the F, down through the rest of
the word, to the tip of the leg in
the K. You also notice the law
of symmetry and order used to
balance the left and the right
sides with equal weight in the
extended tails.
“Fenwick Pythons Logo Design” by The Logo Smith is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.
Silk Road
Cycles logo
If you look long enough, you
will start to see the letters
SR, an abbreviation for the
company name “Silk Road”,
that also forms the chassis of
the bicycle.
“appy logo design” by The Logo Smith is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.
Harp Logo
Design
Closure allows us to see the A
shape created from the safety
pin. There is no crossbar in the
A, but we still are able to see
this as the letter A.
Carmel Cloud
Logo
What seems to be a random,
messy accident of shapes
ends up representing a cloud.
Our brains are marvelous at
locating everyday objects in just
a pile of goo.
Jaguar XK-E
Advertisement
1964
This ad represents a time
in advertising where subtle
messages spoke louder than
large headlines.
“1974 Bell Telephone System Advertisement Readers Digest October 1974” by SenseiAlan is licensed
with CC BY 2.0.
Oldsmobile
Cutlass Salon
Ad 1973
As we reviewed before,
we tend to group like items
together with the law of
similarity. This ad groups like
items by color. It pairs the red
square of information with the
red car and the yellow box
of information with the yellow
car. Because of color we pair
the right car with the right
information.
“1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon Sedan and Coupe Advertising Road & Track November 1973”
Disney Pixar
UP Movie
Poster
Movie posters really have
to grab our attention. This
one also uses the law of
continuation to move you
from the movie title all the
way down to the different
characters in the movie. This
provides the viewer with an
experience that entices them to
find out more about the movie.
Thor
Movie Poster
Adaptation
In this movie poster,
which was a creative
deviation from the official
one, uses the law of
symmetry to commit to a
balanced, center-focused
design with equal weight
to the left and right side
of the ad.
Book
Cover
Figure and Ground. Is it
two red faces? Or the
thor movie poster” by theNerdPatrol is licensed with CC BY 2.0. smoke from the rocket? “Laszlito, Poética para Cosmonautas (entry for the 50 Watts’ Polish
Book Cover Contest)” by 50 Watts is licensed with CC BY 2.0.
type.
photos.
layout.
color.
The four main elements
of great design.
good
design
requires
multiple
disciplines.
In the next few sections we will study missing piece. The puzzle felt incomplete
typography, color and composition in great even though just one piece out of a thousand
detail. Each of these are like actors in a play; was missing. You would think 999 would be
they are dependent on each other for the close enough, but the empty hole left by the
dialog and to complete the scene together. piece was glaring.
And just as actors gain energy from one I believe design is the same way. Without
another and support each other, in the same understanding all the tiny little details we
way these foundational design elements build can still place our puzzle pieces together,
upon and are a support structure for each but the likely result will leave you unsatisfied
other. or unhappy. It may look okay at first, but
something is just not quite right.
I recently put together a one thousand piece
puzzle of a beautiful landscape. It took me Typography needs color. Color needs
days to finally get all of the pieces together. I composition. And composition needs
am not sure if this has ever happened to you, typography. These are the core values of
but as I was about to complete the puzzle, strong design and they will form the outline
I discovered there was one piece missing. I for this guide moving forward.
looked everywhere and never did find the
section two // T Y P O G R A P H Y
INTRODUCTION
such a big
deal?
Typography is used to communicate
messages. How you use it becomes
part of the message.
When you look at the world around you But, can you have a design without any
and study communications coming from written words or language? If graphic design
companies, what do you see? You see forms is the art of communication, then what is it
of communication like banners, flyers, e-mails, without typography?
social posts, posters and advertisements.
One thing they all have in common is type. Of all the main elements that build design
Type, typography, text, words, they all projects, typography is the core factor that
are communicating something with written helps communicate the message. This is why
language. I will focus first on the study of typography
and introducing the evolution and history of
Can you have a design without the use of typefaces, basic anatomy, font pairing and its
photos or other visual ads? Yes, it is possible. practical uses in design. So, let’s get started.
T YPOG RA PH Y // H I S T O R Y
Classifications
CLASSIFICATIONS
abc
Slab-Serif
ABC
abc ABC abc
abc
Slab-Serifs are a special
type of serif typeface that Amatic SC (above)
has thick consistent chunky Homemade Apple Pro (Below)
serifs like the example below.
A special subset of script hand
ABC
All Rights Reserved (top)
lettering takes on a more custom
Monoton (bottom)
authentic feeling.
Minion
A
Calson
Serifs
Goudy Old Style
They have these little accents at the end of some
of their strokes which enables and enhances
reading from a distance. Readers are able to
establish the main letterform by getting cues from
these little accents.
Calson
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
yy
Transitional
As print quality increased Old Style Transitional
so did the demand for more
detailed, stylized typefaces.
The contrast
between stroke
So along came transitional typefaces. These thickness
became greater
started to appear in the mid-18th century. They in transitional
tended to have more contrast between the typefaces.
E E OO
Old Style Transitional Old Style Transitional
Old Style fonts were inspired by hand The vertical stress in the bowls tend to be on
drawn strokes while transitional were more an axis that is closer to 12 o’ clock rather
calculated and precise with sharper edges than tilted like in the old style typefaces.
more reminiscent of modern fonts we see
today.
Other Popular Transitional Typefaces
Bookman
Baskerville
Times New Roman
Georgia
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdef ghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
Modern or Didone
More expressive stylized
typefaces were developed.
AA
High
Thick down Contrast
Ball terminals on Didone typefaces strokes Strokes
are even more pronounced and round,
forming a teardrop shape.
Bodoni
Big Calson
Monotype
Abril They feature heavy down strokes and have a huge contrast
between the thickness of their strokes.
Didot
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R ST UVW XY Z
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
Slab Serifs
Readable bold headline
fonts.
As we will study a little bit later, display fonts
are fonts intended for larger sized headlines
and for displaying urgent messages. One
type of display fonts are Slab Serifs. The best
example of the first uses of Slabs are 19th
century wanted posters from the Wild West.
Rockwell
Arvo
RW
The serifs on slab serifs tend to be more
prominent features and are less detailed
Minimalistic
letterforms take over.
HISTORY
MM
typefaces and considered them hideous and hard
to look at.
Roc Grotesk
bu
Uneven
Monotype Grotesque Weight
Franklin Gothic
34
distribution. You can see that here in the
bowl of this lowercase B. It has a thinner
The upper case G’s have presentation as you move toward the leg of
something called a spur the b, yet thicker as you move away. Some
at the bottom which give would consider this a negative attribution,
it a distinct character. while others like to think of it as unique.
Monotype Grotesque
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R ST U V W X Y Z
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
Neo-Grotesque
The rise of Helvetica.
Neo-Grotesque, sometimes called Transitional Sans-Serifs, are
some of the most commonly used San-Serifs today.
aa
They started to become standard typefaces used in operating
systems like Windows and the Mac OS.
No more awkward
space distribution
r rce
Neo-Grotesque typefaces have a smooth appearance
with more precise calculated movements.
Monotype Helvetica
Grotesk
They featured very tight apertures giving them Arial is another hugely popular Neo-Grotesque
a more sleek, simple appearance. typeface, perhaps the most widely used.
Helvetica
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
Geometric
Just Google it.
As with its Serif cousins, Sans-Serif went through
a similar transformation as it continued to
evolve toward a specific direction.
oe
Geometric typefaces adhere to elemental style The Google logo features a geometric typeface. It seems
of design in which basic shapes like triangles as though a lot of companies that switch from a traditional
Serif typeface to a Sans-Serif typeface, to help modernize
and circles become the core shapes of the the brand, pick a geometric typeface.
characters.
GG
Neo-Grotesque Geometric
In Avenir, another very popular geometric
typeface, you can see almost zero contrast in the
stroke width throughout the characters.
LOVE
Avenir
Futura
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
123456789?!#$%&+-<>
Scripts
Expressive typography
at its finest.
Formal Scripts Casual Scripts
Inspired by written scripts from historic Casual scripts vary more in their stoke thickness
calligraphers, these typefaces seek to emulate and have less traditional letter endings or
the personality of calligraphy without the use of terminals. They tend to emulate brush strokes as
ink and a pen nib (the sharp metal tip used in opposed to pen nibs and ink.
formal pin and ink letter writing).
formal casual
Decorative typefaces
Used mostly for ornamental purposes, these
typefaces become the design themselves with
their unique textures, shapes and curves. Great
for headlines but horrible for smaller readable
body copy text.
Cheap PINE
Battery Park
Modak
The future of typography
Variable Fonts
The history of typefaces is an interesting one. This makes things a bit difficult for coding websites
There are constant changes that happen and mobile apps. Now we are required to have
throughout time and we need to expect similar several fonts loaded to display a wider variety of
changes to typography in the future. The font weights.
emergence of handwritten typography was a
surprising one, but more are to come. The way variable fonts function is to contain all of
the font weight options in a single file, reducing
The future of typography is a digital one. With the overall load time and data required to display
everything shifting to digital and away from the font.
analog, new fonts have to be developed that
are better suited for many different screen sizes, Variable fonts have an axis on which you can
operating systems and digital displays. change the thickness of said axis. This allows the
designer to change the thickness quickly and on
Fonts traditionally come with a wide variety of the fly.
font weight options that give us choices between
thinner or thicker presentations. This means there are now thousands of different
varieties of font weights instead of just the ones
that were part of the original font family.
BEFORE
Roboto
A A A A A A
Thin Light Thin Regular Bold Black
AFTER
Variable font Roboto Flex
identify
typefaces
in the
wild.
Knowing your typeface history
can go a long way in establishing
yourself as an educated designer.
Display Type are special typeface sizes (usually over 14pt in size) that are meant to be
used for large headlines like the examples below. They are bold and more detailed,
have lots of character and are not meant for larger bodies of text. Most often they have
lowercase lettering or italic options. They can be Serifs, San-serifs, Scripts or Decorative
typefaces. When reduced in size these typefaces have a hard time being read and are not
recommended as text type, or type used for bigger blocks of written text.
LOVE
TRUMPS
HATE
THE
DISCO
Font used: Monoton
fonts.google.com/specimen/Monoton
T YPOG RA PH Y // A N A T O M Y
T YPOG RA PH Y // T E R M S
Basic Typography Terms
It is common to see these terms used incorrectly or used
interchangeably with one another. The most common
issue is confusing a font for a typeface and a typeface
for a font.
& 6 ib
Glyph
These are symbols and shapes that
represent a given character. There can
be many ways to represent a single
character using glyphs, as you can see
here. These can be more than just letters.
AA A a A
Letterform
These are a type of glyph which are the
basic shapes that form a letter. These are
the basic core strokes that help make a
letter distinct from another letter.
Character ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
These are the most simple forms of a
language and can be more than just abcdefghIjklmnopqrstuvwxyz
letters but also can be punctuation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 @ # * < > ( ) $ % & !
marks and numbers.
Typeface Helvetica
Is a collection of characters that exist
with specific characteristics.
Times New Roman
Abril Fatface
Font
A specific way to represent a typeface
in different formats (roman, italic, Helvetica Bold
bold etc.) Fonts exist as just part
of the overall typeface. Fonts are Roboto Light
the program that is installed on
a computer to represent a given Bookman Old Style Italic
typeface but are not the typeface
themselves.
Closed
Counter Arm Bowl Leg
g g r a
Ear Loop
Ball
Terminal Tail
Counter
(not closed)
nSerif
Ligature
This is the joining of two letters (commonly fi, ff, fl, fj) to help
the letters have more readability. Some typefaces have this
while others omit this feature. A lot of modern designers
decide to omit ligatures because of style decisions.
Cap Height
Ascender line
X-height
Baseline
{
Descender line
X-Height
Ascenders
Descender
Anything that is below the baseline is considered a descender.
“’A good tpyeafce mkaes ahnytnig eeisar to raed’ Type Poster in
Helvetica” by The Logo Smith is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0.
Specimen - Helvetica
From thickest to thinnest:
Ultra (Uber)
FONT CHOICE
make or break
your design.
This is why we study the
characteristics of each
character in a typeface.
Fun Fact:
A Typophile is someone who
is obsessed with the details of
typography and typefaces.
Small details matter.
typography g
typography g
g
perception and style.
typography
typography g
tttt
flattened ball terminal in Didot.
The thickness of the stem in the lowercase
letter T in the Bodoni 72 typeface is wider
compared with that of Abril Fatface.
The terminal of the lowercase T character
in Didot has a bowl shape while Libre
Baskerville has a more sloped appearance.
Typefaces can have different
X-Heights, Ascender and
Descender Line points.
Wow Wow
Ascender line
X-height
Baseline
Descender line
WW
Unique
Personalities
In contrast Avenir
In Alata Regular the has a very flat
peak in the center of peak in the center
the Character W has a of the W.
sharp edge.
Wow Wow
Ascender line
X-height
Baseline
Descender line
Wow Wow
Overlap to
see the differences.
Wow
Overlap two serif or two San-
serif typefaces to see that some
have more dramatic differences
than others.
aa a
i i i
kk
1
NOW SERVING
BRUNCH
Sifonn
Outline
Sifonn
2 Trocchi
4 CAFÉ
Alonso
Yellowtail
character
Serif
simple
Sans-Serif STUDENT WORK: Carina
Rodriguez @nuanced_gd
The key to font pairing is
having enough contrast
between typefaces.
MYFITNESS.COM
Bring more
carefree
moments
to your life.
No fees ever.
THE BANK INC. Online Banking | Savings | Investments
FDIC insurance does not cover other financial products and services that banks may offer, such as stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, life insurance policies, annuities or securities. The standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured
bank, for each account ownership category. FDIC insurance does not cover other financial products and services that
banks may offer, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies, annuities or securities.
Banking done right.
hello there
My date above is pretty
fancy with its high
A
Didot Bold
Big Calson
Lato Regular
A
contrast strokes. POIRET ONE
Gill Sans SemiBold
I’m just a simple guy with
consistent thickness in my
strokes. and no serifs or Avenir Book
Arvo Bold
fancy details. Cambay Devanagari
wonder
Montserrat Bold
Bree Bold
Not having enough differences
between your choices can make
the two compete with each other,
making your design lose focus.
This One
Didot Regular
This One
Baskerville Poster PT
The differences are really tiny.
Like the way the serif is treated
in this lowercase N.
OO n n
Cap Height
X-Height
Baseline
Script A
Lust Script
Laca Book
A
characters have big gaps between
the cap height and X-Height lines. Ballinger Bold
X-Height
Baseline
Cap Height
Baseline
Try to avoid pairing two strong scripts or decorative typefaces together. A good example of pairing an expressive
typeface with a simple one.
“Life Quote typography poster - Life is like riding a bicycle - Retro-style quote art
print A3” by Wicker Paradise is licensed with CC BY 2.0.
How does ofatypography
The psychology typeface make
you feel?
The best way to find which fonts pair well together is to follow some basic rules,
some of which are the same rules we follow in design as a whole like contrast,
repetition and balance.
This sounds like a question from the therapist’s differences between typefaces that can change
couch, but it is one you should ask yourself often our perception of the message.
as a designer.
Take for instance this phrase, below.
Different typefaces come loaded with varying
perceptions. It is why the phrase below reads so
differently when put into two different type choices.
PLEASE HURRY THE
OFFER WILL NOT LAST
I have a gift LONG!
Fat Frank Heavy
h
slightly curly terminals.
typeface called “Another Danger” makes it feel
like the gift involves a knife and is not a gift you
want to receive. The second typeface choice,
“Abril Display” uses lowercase characters and has The slight curve to the
soft whimsical ball terminals that make this feel like terminal on the h seen here
something wonderful awaits. softens the message.
confident relaxed
carefree unsure flirty
Azo Sans Uber Regular
Henriette
CALCULATED
Fave
serious oddball
DIN Condensed Bold Al Fresco Bold
Komrade Minion Variable Concept
idealistic daydreamer
playful perfectionist
Antique Olive Bold
Baskerville Poster PT
Azo Sans
Amatic SC
Lust Script
Abril Display
Bree
Fairwater Script Regular
ALARMIST rigid
Termina
sensible Retiro Std Mokoko
ANXIOUS
Dharma Gothic C
FORMAL REBEL
Retiro Std
Gin
Each personality has a
purpose in your design.
As we studied before, typefaces have unique qualities
and flairs that make them one of a kind. Doing a
detailed study of the same letter across similar serifs
and san-serifs can illustrate this beautifully.
PREPARE P R E P A R E Y O U R S E L F
YOURSELF
WORLD study your
One of my favorite things to do is check the mail. Why?
Because I get to study advertising. I get to see what
font, layout and photo choices the designers made when
creating professional catalogs, magazines and more.
Font Pairing to
soften the impact.
This tourism ad for the Beaches of Fort Myers
and Sanibel, Florida, features two typefaces.
One uses an outlined stroke and the other
uses a casual script typeface.
INTRODUCTION
language
barrier.
Unlike written language, color touches
everyone instantly with a wide range of
feelings, emotions and messages.
If typography is the mouth that communicates One thing is for certain, color touches us all.
through sounds and words, then color is the eyes. Color is a designer’s secret weapon to help us tell
Along with typography, color adds the next layer our stories.
of rich context.
This section will go over several critical Color
Color can mean different things to different Theory aspects like the psychology and emotion
people. Yellow may bring up memories of your of color harmonies and how to properly use color
mother’s bright yellow mixing bowl she used in practical projects.
when she baked cookies. Blue can remind you of
a sad memory, perhaps the blue of a worn scarf Color can make the difference in whether
from a lost loved one. your design is seen as drab, calm, energetic,
harmonious, motivational, somber or tired.
Culture can shift how we view colors, too. In Finding the right color choices can seem daunting,
China for instance red is lucky, prosperous, full until you learn a few tricks to help narrow down a
of good fortune, while red in some countries can million choices into one.
mean bloodshed or violence.
Red
Or
Color
le
an
p
Pur
ge
wa
Wheel
m r
Basics
co
Ye
ol
e
llo
Bl u
w
This is the color wheel. It should not be something
entirely unfamiliar to anyone who has taken even
the very basic of art classes.
Green
HUES
You will see six main colors represented on the JUST JUST
wheel. These are called hues and they consist of RED BLUE
just one color and nothing else. So a blue hue is
just blue, a red hue only contains the color red.
No black, white, or gray added. The three primary colors are Red, Blue and
Yellow. They are primary because you cannot
You will notice that warm colors are in the right create them by mixing any two colors together.
half of this color wheel above and consist of Red,
Orange and Yellow, while the cooler colors, That leads us to secondary colors, Purple, Orange
Green, Blue and Purple are on the left side of the and Green. You can mix two primary colors to
wheel. create secondary colors.
Red
Or
le
an
p
Pur
ge
Ye
e
ll
Blu
ow
Green
P R I M A R Y C O L O R S S E C O N D A R Y C O L O R S
FIGURE A
Red
Or
ple
an
Pur
ge
CREATING SECONDARY
FROM PRIMARY COLORS
Ye
e
llo
Blu
w
any two of the three main primary colors (red,
Green blue and yellow) to create secondary colors. In
this case yellow and blue (both primary) come
together to create green, and red and blue come
together to create purple.
FIGURE B
Red Red-Orange Orange
COLOR
This term is used to describe any
color we see whether it is a hue,
shade, tone or tint.
HUE This is the general color family our
color belongs to. You will notice the
absence of grays, blacks and
whites; this only includes color.
TINT
A tint is the presence of a hue with
only white added to it. The more
tint or white you add to the hue the
lighter it becomes.
SHADE
Shade is just the opposite with the
addition of just black to a single hue.
This tends to make hues appear darker.
TONE
Tone is the same thing as tints and
shades but is a hue with the color
gray added to it.
FULL SATURATION
MAIN
HUE
TINTS SHADES
A D D I N G G R AY
TONES
NO SATURATION
Hue Cube
HIGH LOW
HIGH SATURATION LOW SATURATION
VA LU E VA LU E
We can take the pure blue hue here (below) and mix
it with either gray, black or white to get a full range
of complex colors. This bodes well for a softer more
professional look needed for the company’s industry.
smithhouse
These colors are close to each other Complementary colors exists on Split-complementary colors takes the
on the color wheel. There is little opposite sides of the color wheel. They high contrast complementary colors and
contrast between the colors, giving have the most contrast of any two lessens the dramatic contrast by splitting
them a softer look. One of the most colors, giving them a dramatic look. the difference on the opposing side.
versatile color harmonies outside of
monochromatic.
These colors are evenly spaced out A bit harder to use, tetradic forms a Monochromatic colors are just
along the color wheel in a triangle rectangle or square around the wheel variations of one single hue. These
pattern. You may have noticed that the to form a color palette that has no one variations can be created by adding
three primary colors are triadic colors, dominant color. These are great for white, gray or black to the base hue
as well as the three secondary colors. creating big pops of color that exist to create a wide variety of different
throughout your whole palette. shades and tints. This one is the easiest
color harmonies to work with.
Color palette
selection example. ANALOGOUS
Using pure hues can make creating designs from PURE HUE
those pure hues difficult because they all have the
same saturation and strength.
ADDING WHITE
Having such a huge color palette like this when Neutrals are anything that has low saturation.
creating design work can be daunting and The ones shown here are in a pure grayscale,
unnecessary. We need to pare down our palette without any original hue remaining. (Neutrals can
to select individual colors that have a purpose. still have hues in them, just not very prominent.)
Primary colors are the most used colors in a I like to include at least one or two neutral colors
designer’s toolbelt for any given project. These in any color palette. Without neutrals you only
will take up larger spaces and be featured more have access to swatches that have obvious
often as prominent colors. hues, giving you less choices when it comes to
typography color and other design elements.
Secondary colors are used less frequently and
are alternatives if a primary color is too bright,
Make sure to test out your color palette on practical projects. You
too dark or too light for a given area or if a will discover changes, tweaks and new swatches that need to be
situation warrants something outside of the added to maximize the harmony between your selected primary and
secondary color choices.
original primary color palette.
OVERAGE CHARGE
Try unlimited for
MORE
for FREE
DATA?
Excludes previous customers that were on the turbo plan.
START NOW
Contrast is king.
Having the right amount of contrast between your
colors is essential for effective design.
Organic
In some cases, contrast can increase the effectiveness
of an ad, such as a social media ad (see right). The ad
on the top will produce more interest and clicks because the only
of the higher contrast colors used for the 10 percent off all natural
promotion, the most important part of the ad.
lotion.
The ad on the bottom will most likely be glanced over
by busy viewers because the green blends in with the
green dominated background.
BUY NOW
Call-to-action buttons on website
landing pages and display ads %10
OFF
Organic
need to be obvious and quickly
found.
LOWER CONTRAS T
LOWER CONTRAS T
HIGHERR CONTRAST
HIGHERR CONTRAST
The background and other colors in the layout can make a difference in the contrast of your button. Darker backgrounds will
encourage the use of lighter colors, while for lighter backgrounds you will want to use darker colors to stand out.
Designer Designer
Warehouse Warehouse
Low contrast can be used to reduce tension in your The color contrast in the version on the left is very
design and soften the look. These two posters feel very low, matching not only with the nearby photo but also
different yet they have the same layout, typography looking light against the light tan background. The
and structure. example on the right feels heavy with it’s dark black
typography on top of a light background.
H E AV Y LIGHT
H E AV Y LIGHT
Finding inspiration
in photos.
There are millions of fantastic color palettes It could be that you source inspiration from a
locked inside photos of people, nature, cultures series of related photos for a branding project
and the world. (example below).
Take your inspiration from photos by sampling This color palette from a sushi restaurant branding
various darker and lighter hues in a photograph. effort was sourced from a series of raw fish
photos.
Start with the lightest colors and slowly work
down into selecting darker color hues. That way The raw fish photo represents the primary item the
you get a rich, diverse color variety. brand serves, so it makes sense to start sourcing
colors from something close to home.
Tuna light Tuna lighter Tuna lightest Stone light Stone lighter Stone lightest
Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C
RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33
CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0
Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054
Salmon light Salmon lighter Salmon lightest Yellowtail light Yellowtail lighter Yellowtail lightest
Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C Pantone #142 C
RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33 RBG: 253, 253, 33
CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0 CYMK: 3,15,245,0
Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054 Web #52054
N A T U R E F O O D A R T
L A N D S C A P E S B U I L D I N G S P E O P L E
20X ZOOM
SAMPLE 1
SAMPLE 2
SAMPLE 3
SAMPLE 4
SAMPLE 5
SAMPLE 6
Pixel Perfect
Digital photos are made up of thousands of pixels.
Each square represents a different hue, shade
or tint. Take time to find the right blend of hues
by sampling many different points of a color in a
photo.
You can see that one tiny orange dot on this hand
painted work of art stores quite the variety of color
shades, tints and tones. It takes time to figure out
which one will be the right choice for the desired
orange color hue.
You will be making the same decisions for the color When picking the final color hues from this photo
hues you select to be a part of the overall palette. If I made sure to select the brighter and lighter
you are choosing bright vibrant hues then going for pixels from each color hue selection so the color
some of the lighter pixels might yield better results. palette seems united with a similar theme.
the anatomy
of strong color palettes
CONTAINS AT
USES A COLOR HAS CONTRAST LEAST ONE
HARMONY N E U T R A L S WATC H
This one specifically uses a You need at least one of your If your entire palette has high
triadic scheme by seeking swatches to have contrast saturation how would you be
out color choices that extend against the others or your color able to use contrast in your work?
across the color wheel. palette will not be versatile Choose at least one swatch to
enough to use in different have a little less saturation from the
situations. This one features at others. This can be a gray, white,
least one lighter swatch and cream, tan, or a subtle color.
one darker swatch.
FLEXIBILITY
December 28
Three O’clock in the afternoon
Invitation to follow
THEY CARRY
A THEME
Who knew that the watercolor
painting hanging in my office could
yield such a diverse color palette?
w
Re
warm fertility
romance love
envy
Common uses:
Cleaning Products
Green
Common uses:
psychology
& Services
growth
Pink
vibrance
Youth focused Brands
Organic Products
of
Feminine Brands Investing Companies
color
Beauty Industry
natural success
romantic compassion
frugal
organic
le
Cy
charming cool
rp
an
renewal
u
rebellious
P
maternal peaceful
Blue
passion comfort self-expression cleanliness
dignified sophistication sincere experimental
stability productive open
sadness clarity
Common uses: adaptable dedicated subtle Common uses:
Healthcare Technology
Technology Start-ups
Common uses:
Hospitality trust Social Services
Non-profit Banks non-threatening Service Industry
Technology Bio-Tech
Healthcare
rational Social Media
Industrial independent
Transportation
RED
BOLD, POWERFUL
AND DIRECT
The warm colors like reds, yellows and oranges are bold
outspoken power
going to bring more energy and vibrancy to your
design, with reds being especially powerful. alarming
confident strength
This is why warmer colors tend to be harder to use on
large areas of designs because of the energy and draw direct anger
it has, especially REDS.
d
Re
warm
There could be good reason to draw eyes to your
design; gaining attention amidst the noise is one
thing. Red provokes alertness and is commonly used
on buttons and call-to-actions to pull eyes toward that
area. You commonly see it used for SALE signs both
online and offline. Reds tend to increase your appetite. So, there
is a good reason why fast food restaurants
tend to favor red in their logos and ads. As
you can see here some of the most popular food
cool
chains use red as their dominate color.
Common uses:
Social Media
Food & Beverage
Teen Brands
Education
As we move along the color wheel we run into Oranges are popular on
oranges. Oranges keep some of the enthusiasm and social media to add a
excitement of red, but it also begins to combine the youthful energy to call-to-
energy of yellow. action buttons and to soften
the impact that a strong red
Since they take a little bit of the edge off of red you would have.
can find more ways to use orange in your designs but
also keep that same bright energy. You do not see oranges used
very frequently on buildings,
Oranges work wonderful with cooler colors like blue. signs or walls. This is great
They tend to be complements on the color wheel and news for graphic designers
orange really stands out as a bright highlight in a who are looking for a small
sea of cool colors. This balance works well in design pop of color that has not
because it provides a since of contrast. been overused in everyday
life.
Moving further through the warm colors we finally In this social media example below we see yellow
come to yellow. The Energy is undeniable with yellows, used in isolation to bring out the 20 percent-off
but it can also be one of its biggest weaknesses. Along deal. It works because it is the only yellow on the
with pinks, yellow is the least used color in design page. The eye is naturally drawn to it. When used
because it can easily be considered overwhelming. It in larger areas yellow looses this effectiveness and
still can be a great complement color alongside other causes the design to look busy and anxious. Yellow
colors that can feed off the brightness of yellow. is a color best used in tandem with others.
Purple, the complement color to yellow helps to tame its wild nature.
Common uses:
Cleaning Products
& Services
Organic Products
Investing Companies
Blue is the most commonly used color for brands We have a portfolio of daily-use
evokes emotions like stability and calmness. a significant role in brand choice.
with less of a need to depend on other colors to tame it accountable STR ATEGY consumers
Common uses:
Healthcare
Technology
Hospitality
Next, we move into Purple. Purple mixes a bit of the Non-profit
stability and calmness of blue with the compassion and
vibrancy of pink. It starts to take on a bit of warm tones,
giving it a little kick.
Common uses:
Youth focused Brands
Feminine Brands
Beauty Industry
Pink is the color used least often by companies for their main
primary color. Lyft, a car riding service, is an example of a
youthful brand that uses pink.
Complement
colors
The orange and blue complement
colors bring in both warm and cool
colors in close proximity, creating a
pleasant tension in the design. The
black neutral color calms down the
tension making it less jarring and
more digestible.
Angry Red
The aggressive properties of red really come out in
this “Point Blank” movie poster from 1967. This deeply
saturated red matches the color of blood which helps to
echo the murderous plot of the movie.
The natural look
of brown and
tans.
Not all advertising needs to scream with
loud bold colors. This ad from Oscar Mayer
advertises its natural brand of sliced deli
meat.
Vibrant Culture
Do you notice that the same colors of the
yellow and green come from the woman’s
clothing? The little girl’s orange dress is the
inspiration for the pop of color on the top
and bottom ripped paper texture.
Any shifts in the three main cone cells we have can tweak
our ability to properly see the entire visible spectrum.
Wavelength
MOST COMMON
FORMS
D E U T E R A N O M A LY
RED-GREEN
“Simulation of Different Color Deficiencies, Color Blindness” by entirelysubjective is licensed under CC BY 2.0
TRITANOPIA
BLUE-YELLOW
RED AND GREEN COLORS CAN APPEAR HIGH CONTRAST BET WEEN COLORS
S I M I L A R TO S O M E O N E W I T H D E U T E R A N O M A LY
Limit or modify This factors for all variants and shifts in cone cell
3 tough color
combinations.
sensitivities. Not every person with identified color
blindness will have issues with each one of these color
combinations, just some more than others.
Use a color
blindness
4 simulator to try
out your design.
Walking in someone else’s shoes can give you great
perspective. This vivid orange and purple t-shirt design
looks fantastic to those with a normal range of vision. I
can use a color blindness simulator to upload my photo
and see how my design would look through the eyes of
someone with various different color vision limitations.
www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator
All light mixed together
Color
at full brightness produces
white light
Spaces
Creating consistency
with color everywhere. RGB
ADDITIVE COLOR
Our designs can appear anywhere. Mobile screens, This is called an additive color system because you add
laptops, printed newspaper, glossy business cards or colors together to form other color combinations.
metal signs. The challenge with this is our chosen color
palettes may look different in all of those different For example, if a screen wanted to produce a pixel that
places. This section will review the different ways to is white, it would have all three of its phosphors (lights)
represent color in both the digital and print space. on red, green and blue at full brightness. If it wanted
Knowing how each color mode works will help you to remain black it would have no light emission and all
to understand how best to tweak color to make it three light phosphors switched to off. For gray it can
consistent across all channels. have all three lights on but only at half brightness.
REPRESENTS ONE
#00000 #FFFFFF
#4198C7
#4198C7
}
}
}
RED GREEN BLUE
A color gamut is the breadth and reach of how many
All modern design software gives you a chance to
colors can be represented on any given device. If a select a RGB color and see its comparable Hex code number.
color is outside of the gamut of that device it will be
shown as the nearest available color in that gamut.
This is why having a high quality screen and device WEB SAFE COLORS
with a wide color gamut can improve the range of
colors that can be represented on your screen. Web Safe Colors are 216 Hex code colors that can
be shown consistently across most 8-bit devices.
sRGB and Adobe RGB are popular color spaces you Improvements in screen displays have made web safe
can use in modern design software. sRGB covers only colors a bit less useful as screen limitations are pushed
35.9% of the total visible gamut while Adobe RGB is higher. Web safe colors do have more consistency across
slightly better at 52.1%. As screen technology gets multiple screen types, so it can be helpful in finding more
better, we are able to push those numbers higher consistent color matches across screens.
and higher giving us wider color gamuts.
A metal printing plate (CYAN) A GCR four-color separation of File:Barns grand tetons.jpg, assuming SWOP
www.printrunner.com/blog/what-are-printing-plates uncoated inks at 25% dot gain, with maximum black, created in Adobe
Photoshop by Jacob Rus, 2008-09-02.
All light mixed together All inks placed on a white
at full brightness produces paper absorbs light to
white light show up as black
RGB CYMK
ADDITIVE COLOR SUBTRACTIVE COLOR
RGB is an additive color system, meaning we add As designers we need to be able to produce the same
colors together with light. It starts off with a darkened design for both the print and the digital spaces. That
black pixel and has light and color added to it. means we need to use CMYK and RGB on the same
design and somehow make it look as close as possible.
Light forms colors differently than inks do. With
reflected light a pure white piece of paper reflects the For example, I have a bright logo here that looks
most light and black absorbs the most light. CMYK is a great on my computer screen. It contains vivid, highly
subtractive color system in that adding all of the colors saturated colors. When I convert this to the CMYK color
together produces black and in RGB or additive color mode for printing on a poster, I am dismayed on how
mode we add all of the colors and brightness to form a the colors become more dull. This is very common and
pure white. it is a natural struggle we face everyday.
Because the RGB color mode uses light and the RGB CMYK
additive color system, it can produce the most colors
in the visible spectrum. CYMK only consists of inks and
the reflective quality of light. CMYK has a much more
limited color range and this is a big problem in design.
0.9
520 Unprintable Colors
0.8 540
CYMK Color Gamut MANUAL COLOR
0.7 CORRECTION
560
Adobe RGB 1998 To help with this, you can manually
0.6 select the closest matching colors
to try to maintain the vibrancy. You
500
0.5 580 will not be able to match it to RGB
perfectly but you can get a little bit
y closer than what the automatic RGB
4
Photography is the
story I fail to put
“
into words.”
D E S T I N S PA R KS
4
favorite books from childhood invest more space
in photos rather than text. If you’ve ever heard the
expression “a picture is worth a thousand words”, then
you know exactly where I am headed.
“If your
pictures are
not good
enough you
are not close
enough.”
RO B E R T C A PA
The eyes are
windows to the
soul.
“
There are
always two
Both photos above feature a happy, smiling
woman. Humans have a wonderful quality
people in every
called empathy which allows us to share and
understand the emotions of others. When looking
at the photo to the left, we have what feels like
picture: the
an instant connection with this woman. It might
be because her eyes are looking directly at
us, almost with the expectation that we should
photographer
respond to her gleeful gaze.
The diagonal shape that separates the dancer between foreground and background
also allows the design to adapt a greater sense of movement.
3
Like the example above, these three photos chosen for a sushi
restaurant ad all have a different purpose. Photo number one
is the emotional draw while photo two focuses on the activity of
eating sushi and photo three gives a hint at the environment of 3
the sushi restaurant. One for the product, one for the activity and 2
one for the place.
Your photo
choice can
“ ...It can
also make
make your it go
design go from from worse to
good to great... misunderstood.”
L I N D S AY M A R S H
section five // COMPOSITION
Composition gives the designer complete
control over the design.
Layout is the combination of photos, typography and the layout of a design is essential in creating the right
color to produce a guided view of your design. It experience.
allows you to be in the driver’s seat.
One of the main issues about layout is there are so
What if your design is an experience you curate many viable options for the same design. I hope this
for your viewer? What if you could sit down next section will provide you with tools and methods to help
to them and point to what is most important first you discover the right layout for your projects. We will
and make sure they understand all the information discover the power of using grids in design and take a
presented? look at lots of great examples of solid layouts. We are
going to first review some basic layout terms as well
Layout gives us this ability and opportunity to as layout best practices like hierarchy alignment and
craft experiences for the viewer that are effective balance.
at pushing our main goals for the design. Is it to
sell a new car? Promote cleaning services? Raise Once you master typography, color and layout, you
awareness of a charity? Inspire a great reading have all of the necessary knowledge to become a great
experience for a novel? There are so many ways designer. So, lets get started!
Basic layout terms
General Layout Terms
Leading
Headline goes here. The spacing between
lines of type.
Sub head goes here.
Pull-quote
Drop
Cap
Quotes can
break up large
Body blocks of text.”
Ragged Lines
Text
Uneven lines of a
right of left margin of
a block of type.
36
Folio
The page number
identifier. These can also
Orphan include dates, section
A line of text with just one word. Try Whitespace and Margin title or webpage.
to avoid orphans when possible.
Ample whitespace in your margins
can look clean and professional.
Call to Action
They encourage the viewer to take some
sort of action. It can be a click now
button on a paid digital ad or a line of
text that encourage them to purchase
tickets on a website.
Buy Now
Margins Objects in the Margins
Margins border the entire layout. This Remember, feel free to extend unimportant items off into the
ensures that you keep vital text and objects margins like parts of photos and non-text design elements.
within the acceptable viewing space. This will help the piece feel less boxy and feel more alive.
Go
vertical
Going vertical
with some text
can add contrast
with other
horizontal
elements.
Hero
Image
(focal
point)
Layouts work Supporting
better if one image
element
stands This image
out as the supports the
main focal main focal point
point. photo. It is not
as large and
complements the
theme.
Columns
Columns run vertically downward from the top of the Overlapping Elements
margin to the bottom. Very helpful in magazine and
Another way to break up a boxy
editorial layouts to find placements for paragraphs,
layout is to overlap elements
headlines and text. This one uses a 4 column layout.
using the grid, like this quote box
overlapping the yellow photo.
BLOCKING
Blocking is the planning and
organization of a design before
the graphics are applied. HEADLINE
Every design needs a good plan. The art of blocking helps one
to establish the final content needed for a design. It also assists PHOTO #1
in solidifying the main mission or goal for the design. Once both
are set, you can start to block out a basic structure.
Let’s say you are required to use three photos in a given design
for a full-page advertisement. You are also given some text, like
a short headline and some body copy, that you need to work
BODY TEXT
into the design. There are several different layout combinations
that can work.
This layout might be the winner for us if we wanted
Ask yourself, “What is the main goal of the design? How is my to focus more on one photo over others and include
a quick call-to-action and information at the bottom.
layout supporting this goal?”
HEADLINE
PHOTO #1
PHOTO #1
PHOTO #2 HEADLINE
HEADLINE
PHOTO #2
PHOTO #3
BODY TEXT
No focal point. Providing Equal emphases on Magazine style experience. A A non-predictable layout,
information. body text and photos. focus on readability. good for grabbing attention.
PHOTO #2
PHOTO #3
PHOTO #1
BODY TEXT
HEADLINE HEADLINE
BODY TEXT
HEADLINE
BODY TEXT
PHOTO #3
PHOTO #1
Collage style. Great for Headline first, photos at the A focus on photos, less on A headline-driven narrative.
emotional impact. bottom. Suited for events. information. Pairs well with great copy
writing.
COLOR
festival A rough plan
HEADLINE is better than
no plan.
PHOTO #1
The act of blocking your
design works wonders in
reducing the time it takes
to produce a finished
layout. Imagine working
through all of those
PHOTO #2 PHOTO #3
various layouts on the
JUNE 12TH 2022 previous page with the
FOOD TRUCKS | COLOR RUN | KIDS ACTIVITIES
final graphics.
TICKETS $20
BODY TEXT C O LO R F E S T 2 0 21. C O M
COLOR
festival The content decides
JUNE 12TH 2022
the layout.
FOOD TRUCKS
What if we needed to list more than just
COLOR RUN a few activities for the event? Perhaps our
layout might change to make sure the list of
KIDS ACTIVITIES
activities has the room to breathe and list all
VENDORS
the proper items. In this case, we switched
FAC E PA I N T I N G the layout so the main goal was to focus
more on the list of activities.
HOT AIR BALLOONS
AND MORE
Our original photo may not work in a
vertical space as well as it did in the first
Y
O
UR TICK layout, so sometimes finding the right photo
and cropping is key.
E
T
TS
$20
GE
O
C
LO O
R F E S T. C
VISUAL HIERARCHY
With a
system
On this sample menu
categories are at least
twice the size of the food
listings. Also, the words
at the top are larger,
indicating that it is an
important block of text
to read first. There is a
system, therefore there is
order.
Before After
This template I found for a surf shop graphic at first I made some tweaks to this template to assure the
glance looks chaotic. The name of the surf shop is headline became a bigger visual priority in the
hard to locate. The headline is scattered among three hierarchy. The size did not change, but because
content areas with three different photos. The website, they are placed closer to each other the headline
which would normally be very important, is small and becomes one larger element and has a bigger
out of the way. weight.
In this recipe book I created I made sure to have ample sub headings
for both the ingredients and the preparation lists. I can easily identify the
Visual Hierarchy headline in each column because there is contrast in size, color and font
choices between the headline and the body text below.
with a Purpose
There is also a much larger main headline text that helps to sort through
the recipes, making it easier to find when flipping through the book.
FOCAL POINT
2
3
Photos + Type
This fast company magazine cover draws your eye
to the little girl on her phone. Directly below the
phone is the main article featured in that month’s
magazine. The headline and the photo work
together to become one focal point.
Optimal Line Length Your eyes shift from one line to the
next when reading. This length has
been proven to be the length of
50-60 characters per line has been shown to be
choice, creating an easy reading
optimal for readability. experience for the reader.
Me nus ne provit at qui dolupta non eseque pla nobit venima volorum
JUST RIGHT
quas si dolut ellautat fuga. Ipsandam rae non non ratum in non rem
aut accaepel ipsum inia nonem rest erchillabo. Itas rem dis volorro ea
Expanding your text across a
consedi ut at quodisin nem elisciae sit alit pedis re plabo. Et qui ditas
standard sized page creates viewer
volectia sitiam con et aut duciend elendentias moluptasped ma comni
fatigue and can frustrate the reading
doloreprae cusanto odi a
experience in longer reads.
Me nus ne provit at qui dolupta non eseque pla nobit venima volorum quas si dolut ellautat fuga. Ipsandam rae non non ratum in non rem aut
TOO LONG
accaepel ipsum inia nonem rest erchillabo. Itas rem dis volorro ea consedi ut at quodisin nem elisciae sit alit pedis re plabo. Et qui ditas volectia
sitiam con et aut duciend elendentias moluptasped ma comni doloreprae cusanto odi aParciam as ea nus prae nonsequ idendam entiumque quam
et, volupta tempossites conseque eaquossi tem qui blaciae isquatque nos doloris erferep udisquat. Illuptur? Quisqui consedis el ipid est eum quam
exerrorro est, et volupta tiundiscit, occaboressi doloreped qui sunt am eliatin ihillan debit, omnim init porepro es ilis estiatur, sin corest, il incimol
orpore maione pos ernat assedi te evelecearit laut quam dolorunt.
Me nus ne provit at qui Me nus ne provit at qui Me nus ne provit at qui dolupta non Me nus ne provit at qui dolupta non
dolupta non eseque pla dolupta non eseque pla eseque pla nobit venima volorum quas eseque pla nobit venima volorum quas
nobit venima volorum nobit venima volorum si dolut ellautat fuga. Ipsandam rae si dolut ellautat fuga.
quas si dolut ellautat quas si dolut ellautat non non ratum in non rem aut accaepel
fuga. Ipsandam rae fuga. ipsum inia nonem rest erchillabo. Itas Ipsandam rae non non ratum in non
non non ratum in non rem dis volorro ea consedi ut at quodisin rem aut accaepel ipsum inia nonem rest
rem aut accaepel nem elisciae sit alit pedis re plabo. erchillabo.
ipsum inia nonem rest Et qui ditas volectia sitiam con et aut
erchillabo. Itas rem duciend elendentias moluptasped ma Itas rem dis volorro ea consedi ut at
dis volorro ea consedi comni doloreprae cusanto odi a Me quodisin nem elisciae sit alit pedis re
ut at quodisin nem nus ne provit at qui dolupta non eseque plabo.
elisciae sit alit pedis pla nobit venima volorum quas si dolut
re plabo. Et qui ditas ellautat fuga. Ipsandam rae non non ratum in non rem aut accaepel ipsum
volectia sitiam con et ratum in non rem aut accaepel ipsum inia nonem rest erchillabo.
aut duciend elendentias inia nonem rest erchillabo. Itas rem dis
moluptasped ma comni volorro ea consedi ut at quodisin nem Itas rem dis volorro ea consedi ut at
doloreprae cusanto elisciae sit alit pedis re plabo. Et qui quodisin nem elisciae sit alit pedis re
odi a ditas volectia sitiam con et aut plabo.
TOO LONG SHORT AND TO NEEDS AT LEAS T ONE TOO MANY BREAKS MAKE
THE POINT PA R AG R A P H B R E A K FOR A CHOPPY READ
T
One inch
Typographic Units or 25.4 mm
T
Type size is measured in something called “point
size”, abbreviated by the two letters “pt”. One
point is 1/72th of an inch in character height, so 72
points equals one inch. That means a 12 point sized T
character equals roughly 1/6 inch in height and a 12pt 72pt 144pt
144pt character measures two inches in height.
TT
therefore making it hard to recommend the perfect This is 12pt sized font.
readable font size for all situations.
This is 12pt sized font.
Placement is also an issue. 12pts on a printed page
is standard for most written papers for universities,
but 12pts on a magazine article can seem a bit
clunky and large. The same goes for digital screens
where 5pts, which is almost unreadable on print,
might be more legible in a brightly lit screen.
This longer block of text can have a This longer block of text can have a This longer block of text can have a
minimal acceptable reading size of minimal acceptable reading size of 8pts. minimal acceptable reading size of
8pts. But 8pt size does not always But 8pt size does not always read as well 8pts. But 8pt size does not always
read as well for every single font. for every single font. read as well for every single font.
All of these are measured using the point system labeled pt.
36
A AA A
42 48 55 63
AA 72 96
The word scale is borrowed from music, in a similar way to how music notes can exist along
a scale. Musical scales sound better when played compared to random notes. It is the same
with the typographic scale as they pair well together when used in an established system.
Below we can apply this scale to our typography sizes to create a simple type hierarchy
where headlines are larger, sub headings are smaller, body copy is even smaller, and so on.
5
2 Typographic Scale
In Practice
I use magazine covers a lot as
examples because they can be very
tricky to navigate. To make sure a
sense of hierarchy is established,
even with large amounts of text, a
typographic scale is applied.
Alignment
Which column looks better to you, the first or the second
column? The second column, which uses left alignment
throughout, has consistency, but the first column would make
anyone with OCD quiver.
Large Headlines
Bad Use:
For short columns or Bad Use:
long columns of text For larger areas of
text.
Slightly off...
The three boxes above and the three boxes below
have great distance between them. Without the
arrow to remind us of the misalignment happening
here we might not notice this right away. We may
feel as though something “seems off” about the
layout. These small misalignments are usually what
makes a design feel messy or seem disorganized.
Left alignment is the most common The left alignment of the smaller Right alignment is harder to use
alignment found in design. This body text does not match up for type. This fights against our
is because we mostly read from with the center alignment of the natural tendency to start in the
left to right so it is natural to have headline. This can make a design upper left and read toward the
your left side be anchored. seem inconsistent. right. Notice when reading the
headline that the ragged edges
are on the left, making it hard to
find your place when you read
the second and third lines.
Alignment Commitment
This finished menu that was featured earlier for a sushi
restaurant adheres to a left alignment for the first column. You
will also notice the top paragraph in the red box also lines
up with the left-aligned column of menu items. This gives the
viewer a consistent line of sight when reading this menu. The
alignment serves as a guide in following the viewing order.
The same is the case for this 1922 Life Magazine cover,
which features an illustration that has a strong, balanced
center focus with a center aligned title above. The date
and the price are equally weighted on either side of the
title. The illustration name toward the bottom also aligns
in the center along with the magazine title.
Awkward
Moments...
Right justification can create awkward empty spaces.
The space is the same for left justified, but for some
reason those extra spaces seem more natural, mostly
because we see these spaces everyday when reading
left to right.
& SPACING
give it padding between the
frame and the art piece.
E
use of white space. R
E
E
H E R
H E R E
U W I
space lacks any particular draw
Y O S H
22
No.
The Goldilocks
Scenario
Searching for balance in a world of
extremes is true in design as well as life. In
design there is a Goldilocks scenario with
spacing. Goldilocks, in the famous tale, had
to try both the hot soup and the cold soup
first to discover that her desired temperature
of the soup was “just right”.
TOO WIDE
T I G H T S PAC I N G
Presentation Matters
In this logo presentation I can make the logo extra
large and extend it all the way to the edges of the
given space. The logo suddenly loses its professional
quality, as the drastically reduced whitespace no
longer gives the logo a buffer with the project
BA L A N C E D S PAC I N G
document.
Law of Proximity
Headline Right here
Earlier we examined several Gestalt principles. FIGURE A Ri officiaes il ipitate vit quat ma sequam as si rest, ime
Particularly, the law of proximity states that items that ventur a ped magnien tissit, accus dolut rempe vellenis
aborepudam, utem fugitem. Ut facerorem repudan
are close together are seen as belonging to one another. dignam es quis vendio.
Also, the dividing lines between the recipe titles and the body text give the bottom
version additional spacing and helps the eye to further differentiate between title and
written text. It is amazing what happens when a little attention is paid to small details
like spacing and establishing set margins around your design.
The spacing between
your sentences can
impact the mood.
T Y P O G R A P H Y
Large spacing between characters (sometimes referred
to as tracking or kerning) in all capital or uppercase
characters can feel elegant and high-end.
t y p o g r a p h y
On the other hand, wider spacing between lowercase
letters can make the characters feel less connected because
lowercase characters have different character heights. This
makes it harder for the eye to join them together as one
word.
Continuity
Throughout Your
Design.
Repetition is often found in music.
Have you ever listened to a song
and forgot the lyrics? But when the
chorus is sung, suddenly the lyrics
seem to come to you easily?
Editorial Layouts
The magazines you see on
the newsstand use editorial
style layouts including spreads
(pictured top left), article layouts
and cover designs.
R E S P O N S I V E L AYO U T S
Responsive layouts are layouts that can easily
respond or adapt to a variety of sizes. You may
have heard this term when talking about responsive
website design. A layout should condense down to a
small size and still remain relevant and effective. This
travel ad starts off as a longer horizontal display ad
and as the sizes get smaller the layout shifts slightly
to allow the most important thing (the offer) to be
highlighted even at the expense of the photo.
Caption
here
bbc.com/news
Combining Grid Type
Composite Grids
WRITTEN
CONTENT
137.5 222.5
degrees degrees Golden Ratio
Angle
Applying the golden ratio
beyond rectangles.
We can continue to expand this simple ratio out to other You can also take this spiral and apply it to layout
shapes and angles to find an almost infinite amount of design. When the golden ratio is repeated over
ways to apply the golden ratio to our layouts and our and over, you get a series of rectangle shapes that
designs. become focused in a particular quadrant similar to
the nautilus shape seen earlier. We can place our
We commonly see the golden ratio applied to logo highest priority content in the tighter portion of the
designs by using the golden ratio in circular form which spiral. This allows the balance of the design to be
is created using the golden ratio spiral. shifted toward this ratio. We can also use the spiral
to help shape the framing of our photos.
Beyond
Running.
SA
LE
1 : 1.618
A P P L I C A T I O N
1. 618
1
1.618
1
golden spiral.
Another step down in type size according to the golden ratio was figured
7.5pt out by dividing a given point size by 1.618.
Using Grids
A simple social
media graphic.
This is a simple modular grid
with margins. I am using the
grid not just to find out where
to place elements but where to
frame certain parts of elements,
like the central part of the logo
or a person’s face.
2x
For example, this logo has 50 pixel whitespace around
the logo required to maintain a clean look for the
brand. Also the same spacing is required between the
1x
logo mark (the icon) and the logo type (the company
name).
Ah
Authentically
ut et ilca lP
yePrepared
pa ed
d
How do I know how much spacing to use?
You can apply grids to any design project Create a mock ad and test out spacing between the
including logo designs to find the right spacing
photo, logo and other design parts. This can help you
between your logo type and mark.
see how much whitespace might be required to give it
the look you desire.
Grids for Web Layouts
For Desktop.
Above you will see a classic 12 column grid layout with
a small gutter. This is traditionally seen with desktop
website layouts.
Choose the times when you feel grids are needed. Fluid
movements, curves and shapes where you want a bit of
unpredictability will most likely be best to form without
the use of a grid. Jackson Pollock Painting - Year Unknown
Putting It All
Together
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. You are now I want you to take this knowledge several steps
equipped for the epic battle, ready to defeat the forward. Create as much as you can. This can be
enemy that is creator’s block. I believe a lot of practice projects, sketches, social media posts, or
people have the misconception that creativity is just simple combinations of typography, photos in
something you are born with. I happen to believe interesting compositions and layouts.
that we all can be great creators.
We can only get better through experimentation and
As you read in this guide, there are so many methods, practice. It takes years to become a brilliant painter
tools and systems in place to help you know how to or sculptor and graphic design is no different.
be creative. Hopefully you have seen the veil lifted
and have caught a glimpse of the inner workings of With the basic foundations in place go and create
design. something you are proud of!
“
The biggest
limitation to
your future
success is
doubt.
With doubt
lifted you may Design is not
try things you just meant for
never thought the creative
you could do. minds.
Design is for
those who see the
limits as walls
to be broken
down.
T
Suggestions?
Since this is a digital guide, it means
new sections and pages can be added
to make it even better.
Instagram: @LindsayMarshDesign
Facebook: @LindsayMarshDesign
YouTube: @Lindsay Marsh