Graphic design is an evolving trade that demands its practitioners to learn, change, and grow in order to stay globally competitive. It does not matter whether you have just started or have been doing it for a long time, sharpening your design and learning new techniques will positively affect your overall design output. Seeing how technology and trends change rapidly, learning new techniques becomes crucial to creating new and high-quality designs. Let us look at some graphic design techniques that can be used by graphic designers of any level to improve their skill set and help them to think in a more creative way.
Also Read: Tips for Graphic Designers to Improve Design Consistency
- Understand the Basics of Design Components First
Before attempting more developed methods, aim to first learn about the more fundamental design principles which are balance; contrast; alignment; repetition; and hierarchy. Such principles are fundamental to all design and will be essential in every graphic design from the beginning helping you know how to structure your graphics to make them eye catchy and easy to understand.
Also Read: 5 Ways Graphic Designers Can Expand Their Skill Set
Balance:
Balance can be defined as the way components of the design space are arranged in relation to each other. Experiment with both symmetrical and asymmetrical designs to achieve balance and variety.
Contrast:
In design, contrast is less about making things look pretty and more about emphasizing elements that need to be seen. Utilize features that contrast in color, shape, or size to make focal points more pronounced.
Hierarchy and Alignment:
Align and organize components in a hierarchy, making information easy to process.
- Improve Your Color Theory Knowledge
There is no doubt that color is essential when conveying an emotion, establishing a brand, or appealing to a viewer’s eye. It is said that, the more knowledgeable a person is about color theory, the more balanced and pleasing designs they will be able to produce.
Learn Color Harmony:
Gamut refers to the collections of pigments or dyes that revolve around three theories: complementary, analogous and triadic harmonies which are all essential in determining the best color palettes.
Practice Color Psychology:
There is a different mood for each of the colors. The color red for example can relate to urgency or passion while the color blue tends to mean trust or reliability. So, educate yourself on color usage.
Use Fewer Colors for Consistency:
Your color palette is also a limited one. This helps to increase continuity and enhances the overall brand aesthetic of your work. You can also use resources such as Adobe Color to help with creating color tools.
- Why is Typography So Important?
You may not have realized this, but typography is a subtly essential design element. It affects the readability, the feel and look of the design as well as yourself. If done well, typography is more than just a tool for the message, it doesn’t dominate the design.
Use a Combination of Fonts:
The use of two or three fonts that match each other evens out the design and contributes to the ease with which the design is looked at. An example would be to use a bold font for titles and a simple font for the body of the text.
More Important Than Aesthetics:
In most designs, readability takes precedence. It is true that bigger, ornate fonts have a cosmetic look to them, but if placed carelessly, they will reduce the cognitive comprehension of the audience.
Establish the Structure of Typography Elements:
Define and arrange every font based on its size and weight. For instance, the titles will be in bold but will be large while body text will have medium weight and be in smaller size. This method helps the viewer in focusing on the points quickly.
- Use Compositions Wisely
The ‘white space’ elements, also referred to as negative space, consists of unused areas in your design. It allows different elements some room and can greatly improve design legibility and visual flow. Correct negative space usage may bring sophistication, minimalism, and comprehensibility to your project.
Stay Away From Overcrowding:
Too many elements in one area tend to give a busy impression to a composition. The negative space allows the viewer to concentrate their eyes to where the focal point is.
Enhance Balance and Flow:
White space may also be used as visual resting places for the eyes in a design and provide flow across the design. Designs appear neat and elegant especially if the distribution of the white space is even throughout the entire product design.
Use Margins and Padding:
Consistency in margins and padding surrounding elements makes your design neat and easy, bringing orderliness and wholeness.
- Experiment with Composition and Grids
One thing, which padding must always learn, is composition, because without it all the visual coherence, order, and conciseness goes down the drain. Here, the use grids may be of particular assistance as they provide a framework on the proportion of where to position most elements.
Investigate the Rule of Thirds:
Envision your canvas as a 3×3 tic-tac-toe board and try to place an element where these lines or intersections meet. This technique is useful as it enhances balance and emphasizes primary areas of focus.
Use the Golden Ratio in Order to Create Balance:
The Golden Ratio is said to be aesthetically pleasing and most often occurs in nature which makes its use popular amongst artists and designers alike. This ratio is found in logos, product designs, and layouts in order to maintain indentation and flow.
Play Around With Different Layer Elements:
The most basic definition of what layering is would include the use of banners, and images or text which would then be placed above or below the other. Using semi-transparent layers or overlapping shapes can make for interesting compositions.
- Understand the Principles of Building a Visual Hierarchy that Works
Visual hierarchy refers to the way elements of a design are organized or arranged in order of importance, hence making it easier for the viewers to follow the sequence of information. A strong visual hierarchy ensures that your message is conveyed accurately.
Change the Sizes and Fonts:
It is evident that large solid elements will seem more interesting than small ones. Alter the scale of objects to draw attention to certain pieces of information.
Employ Color and Contrast for Details:
Color and contrast have the ability to direct the viewer’s line of sight by distinguishing the primary parts from the rest.
Use the Help of Positioning:
Arranging certain elements e.g. headers on top, call-action buttons on strategic places, enhances understanding and improves order.
- Take Into Account the Role of Textures and Patterns in Your Design
Your design can also become interesting and cozy with the help of textures and patterns. From simple grained-textures to complex hyper geometric spaces, these are compliments that have no end and numerous to the eyes.
Play Around with Soft Touches:
Textures do not have to be over the top. Paper grain or fabric weave, for example, subtle textures that can sit behind the main design and still manage to bring some warmth towards it.
Integrate Patterns in the Design to Identify a Brand:
Patterns have the force to be potential tools of shaping a brand identity and creating an unforgettable feel to the design regardless of where it’s located within the design.
Patterns Should Be Used Sparingly:
Many patterns can produce an inappropriate pattern that defeats the purpose of the design. Sometimes they just need to be used to give the design a professional touch and also ensure that it does not overpower other elements.
- Push Your Creative Boundaries
The worst thing you can do is stay within your boundaries, so get out there and start improving yourself. Try on a few new styles, varying their techniques, look for a new format so that you don’t crash out with creativity.
Work on Personal Projects:
There are other projects which allow you to learn and create what is in your head. It’s a great time to discover new tools or techniques, styles and selling points.
Follow Design Trends (Wisely):
You should be on the lookout for the freshest styles but don’t feel like you have to hop on every single bandwagon. Once again keep in mind the overall concept, what looks good on the page.
Learn from Other Designers:
It’s not about copying, it’s about learning. And when it comes to design, what better way than to seek out the experts. There are also online platforms like Behance, Dribbble, or LinkedIn for designers that have recently been very popular.
Conclusion
To get the graphic design you envision you have to constantly learn new things and practice. Through addressing the basic elements of color, type, image, and layout as well as the principles of visual hierarchy combined with searching for new ideas, you’ll accomplish the goal of creating not only beautiful but also functional design. Gradually apply these techniques and your skills will be enhanced, your designs sharpened and your persona as a designer will be boosted to a new level.
