Graphic Design Basics | FREE COURSE

Envato Tuts+

15 Nov 202363:04

EducationalLearning

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TLDRThe script provides an overview of graphic design, including design principles, color theory, typography, various design disciplines, tools and software, and the impact of technology. It covers the purpose of graphic design in visual communication, best practices in design and layout to enhance clarity and readability, the graphic design process, and resources like Envato Elements to help designers be more efficient and deliver quality work.

Takeaways

😀 Graphic design is about creating visual content to communicate ideas effectively
📝 Understanding design principles like balance, hierarchy, and contrast helps create organized and appealing compositions
🎨 Color theory concepts like hue, saturation, and color harmonies impact aesthetics and evoke emotions
⌨️ Typography classification and anatomy aid legibility, readability and conveying information clearly
🖼️ Different design disciplines have unique considerations and applications based on the medium
🛠️ Having an organized design process and workflow improves quality and efficiency
🖥️ Technology advances like variable fonts and remote collaboration are shaping graphic design’s evolution
🔎 Conducting research and asking clients the right questions early on provides helpful creative direction
🚀 Presenting a couple focused concepts gets higher quality client feedback to incorporate
🌈 Access to extensive, affordable digital assets can significantly accelerate and enhance design work

Q & A

What are the basic principles of design that designers can follow when creating a composition?
-The principles of design are a set of rules that designers can follow when creating a composition to create a visually pleasing work. These include balance, unity, contrast, repetition, pattern, rhythm, movement, emphasis, proportion, harmony, and variety.
What is the purpose of using color theory and color harmonies in graphic design?
-Using color theory and color harmonies in graphic design helps create color combinations that are pleasing to the eye and communicate or evoke certain emotions. It also helps organize colors logically on the color wheel.
What are the main differences between serif and sans serif typefaces?
-Serif fonts have small ornamental strokes at the ends of letters. They are generally considered easier to read in blocks of text. Sans serif fonts do not have these extra strokes and have a cleaner, more minimal appearance. They are considered easier to read from a distance.
What is the role of a graphic designer?
-A graphic designer is primarily concerned with applying design principles for communication. Graphic designers use elements like typography, imagery, color and form to create visual compositions that organize and clarify information to effectively deliver a message.
What are some of the key graphic design disciplines discussed in the video?
-Some key graphic design disciplines discussed are print design like posters, book covers and magazines, digital product design focusing on UI and UX, digital design for web and mobile, and brand identity design.
What tools help streamline the design workflow?
-Tools like Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Canva, Trello and Milanote help streamline the design workflow by assisting with tasks like layouts, collaboration, organization and mood boards.
How have advances in technology impacted graphic design?
-Technology has allowed faster information sharing through the internet, improved digital graphics quality, enabled remote collaboration for designers, expanded disciplines like UI/UX design, and innovations like variable fonts.
What is the purpose of brand identity design?
-The purpose of brand identity design is to create visual elements that make a brand stand out from competitors and be easily recognizable to consumers. This includes the logo, typography, color palette and other supporting branding collateral.
What are some tips for magazine design versus book design?
-Magazine designs can be a bit more creative and focus on trends, topics or interests, while book designs need to be more timeless. Books also require more focus on comfortable readability of text.
What are some key principles for effective poster design?
-Some key principles for effective poster design are easy readability/legibility from a distance, clear visual hierarchy focusing attention on the most important elements, balanced and strategic use of negative space, and high contrast through color, scale and imagery.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Intro to Graphic Design and Key Concepts

The intro paragraph provides an overview of graphic design - its purpose to communicate visually, key elements like typography and imagery, and differences from art. It introduces the instructor Laura Keung and the course objective to teach graphic design basics.

05:04

📐 Principles of Design for Visual Layouts

This paragraph covers core principles of design - balance, unity, contrast, repetition, pattern, rhythm, movement, emphasis, proportion, harmony, variety - to create visually appealing and purposeful compositions. Following these principles delivers clear messaging and functional layouts.

10:07

🎨 Color Theory for Impactful Palettes

The paragraph explains color theory using a color wheel with primary, secondary and tertiary colors. Important concepts covered include color temperature, RGB vs CMYK color modes for digital vs print, color properties like hue saturation and value, and color harmonies to develop palettes.

15:09

🅰️ Typography Classification and Typesetting Basics

This paragraph provides a historical overview and evolution of typography. Key typeface classifications like serif, sans-serif, script, slab serif etc. are covered. Terminology for type anatomy and settings like kerning, leading, alignment and styling basics are also introduced.

20:11

🚀 Examples of Design Disciplines and Mediums

The paragraph showcases application of design principles and choices across sample posters, book covers, magazine layouts based on purpose and medium. Differences in print design, digital product design and digital design are also highlighted.

25:11

🛠️ Tools and Assets for Efficient Design Workflows

This section introduces leading design software across disciplines like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Figma etc. as well as resources for templates, fonts, color palettes. Benefits of design assets for easy workflows are also covered.

30:16

⚡️ Evolution of Design with Technology

The paragraph summarizes how internet, connectivity, software advances have impacted design - enabling remote collaboration, expanding disciplines like UI/UX, improving graphics, photography and typography capabilities to drive growth.

35:18

🏁 Recap of Main Concepts and Skills Learned

The final paragraph summarizes key topics covered in the course - design elements and principles, color theory, typography, disciplines and tools - to equip learners with well-rounded graphic design basics.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Graphic design

Graphic design refers to the design and creation of visual content with a specific communication purpose. As explained in the video, graphic designers use elements like typography, images, color, and form to solve problems and convey ideas. For example, graphic designers create logos, branding systems, layouts, and other designs to help brands connect with their audience and tell their story.

💡Print design

Print design refers to graphic design where the final deliverable is intended to be printed physically, such as brochures, posters, packaging, books, etc. As opposed to digital design, print design results in tangible products. The video discusses some examples of print design like posters, book covers, and magazines.

💡Digital product design

Digital product design is the design of software applications, websites, and platforms. It involves UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) design to create intuitive and usable digital products. As the video explains, the concept of product design has expanded beyond physical goods to include digital ones as well.

💡Brand design

Brand design refers to the visual identity of a brand, including logo, typography, color palette, etc. As the video describes, good brand design makes a company recognizable and conveys its mission and values. For example, the video analyzes the iconic brand identities created for American Airlines and the 1972 Munich Olympics.

💡Design process

The design process is the typical workflow that designers follow when working on a project. As outlined in the video, common steps include receiving a design brief, conducting research, brainstorming ideas and solutions, creating initial concepts, gathering client feedback, refining the designs, and finally delivering the files.

💡Adobe Creative Suite

The Adobe Creative Suite is a collection of graphic design and video editing software produced by Adobe. As stated in the video, it has become an industry standard toolset for designers. Some examples mentioned include Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, After Effects, and Premiere Pro.

💡Figma

Figma is a collaborative web application for UI and UX designers to create prototypes and wireframes for websites and apps. The video describes Figma as useful for interface design specifically, rather than full website/app development.

💡Design assets

Design assets refer to resources like stock photos, graphics, fonts, templates etc. that designers utilize in their work. As the video explains, design assets from sites like Envato can help designers save time and achieve quality results on tight budgets or for clients who cannot afford custom assets.

💡Color theory

Color theory involves organizing colors systematically based on their properties and relationships. As described in the video's first chapter, understanding concepts like primary/secondary colors, color harmonies, hue/saturation/value is key for graphic designers to put together aesthetically appealing and communicator color palettes.

💡Typography

Typography refers to the style and appearance of text, including choices of font, size, spacing etc. As a central graphic design element, typography significantly impacts the readability, legibility and visual appeal of designed content. The video provides an in-depth primer on key terms related to typography.

Highlights

Graphic design is the creation of visual content with a communication purpose.

Graphic designers use a mix of visual elements like images and typography, logos and complex page layouts to communicate ideas.

Johannes Gutenberg developed the movable type and printing press in the 15th century. This was a turning point for modern typography.

The principles of design are a set of rules that designers can follow when creating a composition to create a visually pleasing work.

RGB is the color mode for digital output that need light to show color. RGB uses the additive color method.

Good typographic use is important in order to communicate messages successfully.

Print design is any design where the final form is intended to be printed.

A digital product is a software application website or platform. Before 2010, the word product only referred to tangible goods.

Digital design can be also static, but it is often displayed on a digital device. It can also sometimes involve movement like animation, modeling, and interactive pages.

The process started with an interview with a client to ask questions that can serve as inspiration.

The American Airlines brand identity has been famous for the use of Haas Helvetica. The logo is also famous for being simple.

The Munich 1972 brand is known amongst designers as a strong, comprehensive visual identity that is, to this day, inspiring.

There are plenty of tools that can help us design better and more efficiently.

Design assets have become essential for the busy designer and tight budget.

Technology has made it easier to reach and spread information at a much faster rate due to the Internet.

Transcripts

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