Basic Steps to Good Graphic Design

The recent advancement in technology has really put visual communicators to the test. “Although the principles have been around for decades, the increasing complexity of today's world has led more and more people to go visual” (Coomber). Graphic artists, for the most part, are expected to design effective graphics that grasp an audience by means of eye-pleasing aesthetics, pertinent color schemes, and meaningful semiotics. However, today’s graphic artists are often found facing difficulty in creating fresh graphics more than they ever have before. With that said, how exactly can a graphic artist create a fresh graphic with ease? Simply put, it’s not exactly possible because creating any kind of sign, logo, or image that is intended to have an audience takes a lot of brainstorming before a design can be finalized into reality. However, with the right routine, graphic artists can follow a plethora of guidelines to help them through the process.

The first step within every guideline is to determine a graphic’s target audience. Who will the image be aimed at specifically? For one, the graphic artist is not the audience. It is very important that a graphic is designed to appeal to a particular set of people, so the graphic artist must resist the urge to design for him or herself. Ansel Adams once said that “there's nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” What he said couldn’t be truer. “A good signage program is more than well-designed signs containing accessible and relevant information positioned at appropriate decision points; it is visual language that creates an accessible, transparent information system” (Dwight). If a product is clearly aimed towards young girls, like dolls for example, then there should be no reason to design a product graphic that features a masculine super-hero. If this happened, it would definitely cause mass confusion amongst the consumers – especially if they are too young to even read.

Speaking of reading, it has been agreed upon that humans in general do not have the patience to try to comprehend complex text if they don’t have to. The most effective graphics or logos contain little-to-no text whatsoever. “Each person we want to reach perceives their time to be at such a premium and of such great value that we need to get our message across with great efficiency. Images and text should serve as tools to increase understanding; the goal should always be to communicate a lot, using as little as possible” (O’Mara-Croft). The graphical aspect of a graphic should also follow this rule, which means that it shouldn’t contain more than 20 graphical elements. “We are all over-whelmed, and visual thinking and the parallel trend of simplicity are gaining momentum” (Coomber).

The last part to designing a graphic is choosing its color scheme. Since a simple graphic is an effective graphic, a simple color scheme is also necessary. It is important to know how much is too much – anything beyond two to three colors for one graphic is generally considered too complex. One of the most common types of color schemes is the triadic color scheme, which “uses three colors, equally spread around the color wheel” (Watrall, and Siarto 171). The best example of the triadic color scheme is red, green, and blue. When choosing a color scheme, it is also sometimes fun to incorporate certain colors based on their psychological effects on human beings. “Color has long been used to represent affiliations and loyalties and as a symbol of various moods and qualities” (“Color”). Some examples of this: red can be used to stimulate energy; yellow can be used to convey happiness; and green can be used to calm.

So before stepping up to the design plate, it is important to make sure that the all of the ideas for the graphic are relevant and not too complex. Have a select few of other people look at a rough draft and have them critique it – what works in the graphic and what doesn’t work? In any case, it also helps to do research and go out and analyze as many different graphics as possible to gain self-inspiration for potential artwork.

Citations

Dwight, Ernest. "Signs of the Times." American School & University 80.12 (July 2008): 38-40. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, UT. 29 Sep. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com.tproxy01.lib.utah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=33567409&site=ehost-live>.

"Color." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (Jan. 2009): 1-1. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, UT. 28 Sep. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com.tproxy01.lib.utah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=39053063&site=ehost-live>.

Coomber, Ellen. "The Visual Advantage." Communication World 25.5 (Sep. 2008): 36-38. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, UT. 28 Sep. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com.tproxy01.lib.utah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=34467929&site=ehost-live>.

O'Mara-Croft, Brian. "Every Picture tells a story." Communication World 25.5 (Sep. 2008): 22-25. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Marriott Library, Salt Lake City, UT. 28 Sep. 2009 <http://search.ebscohost.com.tproxy01.lib.utah.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=34467926&site=ehost-live>.

Watrall, Ethan, and Jeff Siarto. Head First Web Design. 1st. Sebastopal: O'Reilly Media, 2009. Print.

Additional Materials

http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/a/colorpsych.htm

http://www.logocritiques.com/resources/color_psychology_in_logo_design