Graphic Design Basics | FREE COURSE

So you want to be a graphic designer? Join me in this Graphic Design Basics course and learn everything you need to know to get you started. My name is Laura Keung, and I have been a professional graphic designer for 15 years and creating design courses for Tuts+ since 2018. Graphic design is the creation of visual content with a communication purpose. This is what makes design design, and not art. Graphic designers use a mix of visual elements like images and typography, logos and complex page layouts to communicate ideas. Graphic design is important, because aside from making

something look visually stunning, it also Organizes complex information to be delivered in the most comprehensible way. Before we start with the course, let's take a brief and quick look at the history of graphic design. Before there were printing presses, the actual route of visual communication goes back to cave painting in prehistoric times, about 38,000 BC. Early cave paintings are a sign that humans had an innate drive towards art. Historians aren't quite sure as to who cave drawings were meant to communicate with, but humanity already showed an interest for communicating with visuals. Around 3,000 BCE, the

Sumerians created the first written languages with the purpose to record trading and inventories. The earliest languages weren't phonetic sounds, they were logographic. That means icons that represented entire words and concepts. There is evidence that at the beginning of the current era around 200, China used printing methods using wood reliefs to print on silk, clothing, and paper. Around 1,040, Beijing invented the world's first movable type printing press from porcelain that's hundreds of years before Gutenberg Press in Europe. In the Middle Ages, typography is started to catch on and letters and words became essential as texts and

books were being reproduced by hand. On seals were prominent in this area, a magiskill script style used by Latin and Greek scribes. Calligraphy, page layout, and lettering became important as calligraphy masters traveled around to share and educate the elite. Johannes Gutenberg developed the movable type and printing press in the 15th century. This was a turning point for modern typography, because it allow for mass communication for production of lengthy books, literacy for the masses. This was the start of design as commercial use. The industrial revolution between 1760 and 1840 brought new technologies to increase efficiency like

lithography and eventually chromolithography. These printing methods, first, with only one color ink and the latter was multiple colors involved inking a design into stone or metal, and transferring it to a sheet of paper. Typography took on a much bigger role through science, posters, newspapers, and advertisements. Typefaces became larger, bolder, and even more experimental. The leader, Their gates were full of art movements that heavily influenced design trends. We've seen everything from the Bauhaus, Swiss design, and postmodernism. After the 1950s, the world began to embrace the digital era. The invention of computers, software like Photoshop and the

Internet paved way to new design disciplines like web design, interactive design, UI, UX, digital product design, and a myriad of other digital designs. Graphic design has now two constants, communication first, and it is always evolving. So now that you know where graphic design came from, it is time to learn the basics. Every design piece is composed of different basic principles of design, appropriate color palette, carefully chosen typeface, and even more carefully type set text. In this chapter, we will take a look at design principles, color theory, vocabulary, and element of typography. But first, let's start

with a definition of graphic design and the role of a graphic designer. William Addison Dwiggins wrote an article, New Kind of Printing Calls for New Design. And in it, he described exactly what his role was. He brought structural order and visual form to printed communication. A graphic designer is primarily concerned with applying design principles for communication. We can communicate through logos, brand systems, layouts, design artifacts, collateral, etc. But all of this helps a brand, a book, or entity organize and clarify information, Tell the story and ultimately connect with people in a meaningful way. So in

the next three lessons, you will learn all the basic principles to color theory and the elements of typography that you can apply in order to communicate effectively. In this lesson, we will take a look at basic design principles. And the principles of design are a set of rules that designers can follow when creating a composition to create a visually pleasing work. The purpose of these rules is to deliver a message in the most organized and functional way. So let's get started with the first principle, balance. Any element placed on a page carries a visual weight.

It can range from form to size, color, and texture. In order to make a design feel stable or half balance, the elements need to have a certain scale. Lack of balance would make your design feel heavy on one side and empty on the opposite, and sometimes it can feel as it is falling off to one side. You can have symmetrical balance or asymmetrical balance. So symmetrical balance is when the elements on the right side have the same visual weight as the elements on the left side. Asymetrical designs have different elements on the left and the

right side, but equal visual weight. Next, we have Unity. Unity is the harmony produced by all the elements in a design piece. Using similar colors that match and Integrate elements organically makes it appear as if they belong together. You can achieve unity by making clear relationships between the visual elements. Lack of unity would make your design feel cluttered and confusing. Not only that, but viewers will be attracted to the wrong element of the design and won't get a clear message. Next up, we have contrast. Contrast refers to the level of difference between design elements in

order to create visual hierarchies. The variation makes certain elements stand out more than others, and you can apply contrast by using colors, textures, sizes, and shape. Contrast can also create a focal point to certain elements that can draw the viewer's eyes. Lack of contrast can make a design look dull and viewers can overlook the important message. Repetition, using repeated elements in the layout can be pleasing to the user. Repetition is repeating a single element through the design. We can call a grid a repetition of lines, because it creates a certain consistency. Repetition can also be

achieved by repeating elements in a design, like a logo or a tag line in a brand development project or in a layout design repetition is shown through the folio placement to help users find their way. Next up, we have pattern. And pattern is the repetition of more than one design element. While repetition focuses on a single element being repeated, pattern refers to multiple elements repeated throughout a design like wallpapers and backgrounds. You can see seamless patterns predominantly in interior design when using tiles or wallpapers. Next, we have rhythm. Rhythm is a visual tempo of a

combination of elements when used repeatedly and with variation. It gives the feeling of organized movement. Rhythm is a principle of design that is usually hidden in works of art, and it is not as obvious in design principles or design works. Next step, we have movement. This refers to the path the viewer's eyes take through a composition. Movement in a composition creates interest in a dynamic play that keeps the viewer engaged. Movement can be created with rhythm when using a variation of an element repeatedly. Movement can be created with curved lines and diagonal lines. These lines

trace the path to the focal point. Next, we have emphasis. Emphasis is a strategy to get the viewer's attention to a specific design out. This can be in any form, a button, a website, an image. The purpose is to create something that will stand out from the rest of the page. Color is an easy way to create emphasis in any design because it creates a sense of urgency and attention. Proportion, proportion is the sense of unity created when all the elements in a composition relate well with each other. Proportion, as a principle of design, doesn't

necessarily refer to the size of one element, but to the relationship of two or more elements. For example, in layout hierarchy, the proportion of the headline compared to the photo caption needs to be larger, as the headline is the most important element. Smaller elements have less importance. Harmony, harmony as a principle of design is the sense of cohesiveness between the elements in a composition. The elements shouldn't be exactly the same or completely different but related in some way. Color palettes or similar textures can create a sense of unity between different components. And last, we have

variety. In the principles of design, variety is about creating visual interest that will keep viewers or users engaged with your design. Holding their attention and guiding them through the composition will create a powerful experience. Variety adds something interesting to create contrast and tension. So for instance, mixing organic shapes with geometric shapes as variety. And this concept should reinforce the message you're trying to communicate in your design, otherwise it can move dull or pointless. The elements and principles of art and design are the foundation for creating a composition. The use of these principles will help you

design with purpose by giving function to Every single element in a composition. In the next lesson, we will look at some color theory, vocabulary, and its importance. If you're a beginner designer, and you're looking to streamline designs, processes, and you're looking for templates or inspiration, Envato Elements is a great resource for assets. With their extensive and always evolving library, you're sure to find something you need, from photographs to stock video, motion graphics, or if you need specific sound effects and music and web template. There are millions of creative digital assets with simple commercial licensing, and

you can cancel anytime. In this lesson, we'll take a look at color theory. In color theory, colors are organized on a color wheel. In order to understand other color theory concepts, it is essential to understand this handy tool. Artists and designers use this tool to develop color harmonies that are pleasing to the eye and communicate to evoke certain emotions. Sir Isaac Newton created the traditional color wheel in 1666 and that now helps us understand how colors work together. The color wheel consists of three primary colors, red, yellow, and blue. Mixing these three colors gets us

other three secondary colors, purple, green, and orange. And by mixing primary and secondary colors, we get other three tertiary colors, are blue-green, blue-violet, and yellow-green. The color wheel can also be split into two main temperature groups. Warm colors are associated with the sun, warmth, fire, energy, action, while cool colors are associated with calm and peace. Blue, green, and purple and their different shades are cool colors. As graphic designers who work in print and digital, we have to be familiar with color profiles or color spaces. This is very important to know, and it is based on

the final result of the project. RGB and CMYK are two different color spaces that are used for different mediums. So let's start with RGB. RGB stands for red, green, and blue. This is the color mode for digital output that need light to show color. RGB uses the additive color method. That means that when all the colors are combined, we get one. RGB is mainly used when your final design will be displayed on a screen, be it a phone or a computer screen or an advertisement screen. So CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. CMYK

uses the subtractive color mixing method. That means that all colors start with white paper, and then we extract color until we get to black. This is a color mode to use if the design will be physical. One important thing to know is that the colors we see on screen will never be as vibrant when they are printed. So while we're designing on a screen and We set up our document as CMYK, we will see bright colors. But when it is printed, the colors will be slightly washed out, so always keep that in mind. Now, let's

take a look at color qualities. That would be hue, saturation, and value. Hue is any color on the color wheel. It is another word for color, while saturation is the intensity or the purity of the color. So these controls if we want the color to look more saturated, meaning vibrant, or desaturated, meaning dull. Value has to do with how light or dark a color is. This is where we get into shade, tint, and tone. Shade is created by adding black to a hue or color, in other words, darkening a color for it to be rich.

Tint is created by adding white to make a color less intense. And tone is created by combining black and white or gray with a hue. Now, let's take a look at color harmonies. Color harmony is referred to colors that look appealing, balanced, and just work beautifully together. So let's take a look at some essential color harmonies that can get you started on creating your own color palette. The first color harmony is complimentary. Complimentary color harmony pairs two colors directly opposite on the color wheel. Red and green or blue and yellow are basic examples of this.

This helps create a strong contrast color scheme. Keep in mind that you can also use the different hues and tones, they don't have to be pure hues or pure color. Next up, we have split complementary. This color scheme uses one base color and two secondary colors. So instead of using a complementary color, two colors placed symmetrically around it on the color wheel are used. The base color is main, while the secondary color should be used only for highlights or accents. Next up, we have analogous, and this color harmony works by combining a main color with

colors that set. Next to it. This color scheme can produce a calming energy, because it's so easygoing, it doesn't have that much of a contrast. Next up we have monochromatic. This takes just one basic color from the color wheel and uses its different shades, tones, or tints to create a palette. It looks simple and cohesive. Next up is triadic. This color scheme uses three colors, are evenly spaced on the color wheel, forming a triangle. Tetradic colors are two sets of complementary colors that form one part. These colors work best when one of the colors is

the dominant in the palette and The rest are used as accent colors. And last in this lesson, we have to take a look at color psychology. This is a very powerful tool to use in graphic design. Colors have the ability to impact a person's impression of a brand and evoke certain emotions. Just like warm colors are associated with the sun, fire, and cool colors are associated with peace and calm, the rest of the color wheel also affect perception and behaviors. So there are many factors to consider, like cultural background, gender, age, and many more as

colors can be perceived in different ways. Based on different studies, colors can evoke certain emotions. So for instance, red can represent power, passion, excitement, but It can also have a negative connotation like anger, danger, and aggression. Blue represents trust, security, and serenity. Its negative connotation is cold and emotionless and sometimes even unfriendly. Green's positive connotations are related to health, hope, and prosperity, while some negative connotations can be boredom and stagnation. Colors are a powerful visual tool that when used correctly, can get not only feelings but also ideas across. Some of us might have learned the

basics of the color wheel in school, but mastering it doesn't have to be difficult. Understanding the color theory wheel can help you create a myriad of color combinations. They can even be the main character in your design. Now that you know what color theory is, it is time to look at one of the most important elements in design, typography. What is typography? Typography is a strategic arrangement of type in order to make written language readable, legible, and appealing. Typography has evolved greatly through the centuries that serves with the importance today can be traced back to

early engravings in ancient Rome. Their capital lettering was used to inscribe monuments and buildings. Characters were created by chiseling on stone, so the chisel created small feet at the end of each stroke. In the 14th century, Johannes Gutenberg adopted the movable type printing press and this allowed a larger number of sheets to be printed using ink. Gutenberg then developed the first ever typeface, Blackletter. But shortly after, Roman typestyles became popular since Blackletter was difficult to read. So typesetters started to look for ways to produce affordable books, so they came up with space-saving techniques like tracking

and leading. During the Industrial Revolution, printing presses evolved and paved way for advertisement. So designers started to experiment with condensed and stretch type for newspapers and posters. The upside of all of this typographic freedom was the development of slab serif typefaces. So these were punchier and bolder revivals of existing serif styles. And they still gave, and still now give, a lovely old-timey feel to titles in current design. By the 1900s, the modernist times, designers were creating some of the humanist and geometric typefaces we use today like Futura, Gill Sans, and Helvetica. So these were introduced

as functional and ultra legible typefaces. With the evolution of computers, now we can create sophisticated typefaces with specialized software, making fonts available to all computer users. Not only that, but the range of typographic family designers can now create is impressive. Variable fonts is the latest digital type addition where one font file contains multiple typographic styles that vary in weight, width, style, and size. So before we get into type classifications, it is essential to know type anatomy. That way, I can explain the differences between the different typestyles and it could further help understand typesetting basics. Let's

start with serif. So serifs are the small feet at the end of a stroke on a letter or a character, and they originated back in time. Characters were created by chiseling on stone, so the chisel created small feet at the end of each stroke. Serifs are usually used for long body copy because they are highly legible. Next up we have ascender. So any part of a lowercase letter that extends above the x height, For example, letters like b, d, or h, have an ascender. Descender is any part of a lowercase letter that extends below the

baseline, for example g, j, p, or q. So that would be the vertical stroke that goes downward. So axis refers to the direction of the stroke in a letter form, often taking inspiration from how letter forms might appear if drawn with a pen. The ear is a finishing stroke, usually on the upper right side of the bowl of the lowercase g. Bowl is the curved part of the character that encloses the circular or curved parts, also called counter, of some letters, such as lowercase b, d, o, uppercase D and uppercase B. Shoulder is the round

part of a letter such as r, m, or n, all lowercase. This name comes from the fact that it resembles a human shoulder. Stem is the main, usually vertical, stroke of a letter form also known as a stroke, and that's a main or a high stroke of a letter. Spine is the main left-to-right curvy stroke in the uppercase and lowercase s. The spine may be almost vertical or almost horizontal depending on the typeface. Ligatures are special characters, are a combination of two individual characters. Some letters can bump into each other when printed, and ligatures allow

for them to flow better together. Lowercase is the small form of letters in a typeface. The title letters or non-capital letters of the alphabet are lowercase lifts. Uppercase is the capitals in a typeface. The name comes from the days of metal type. Capital letters were kept in the upper part of the type case. Font styles, font style is the adjustment of the character or case such as italics and all caps. Some typefaces have no style options and sometimes only offer a regular weight. Weight is the overall thickness of a typeface's stroke in any given font.

The most common weights are regular and bold, but weights can cover extremes from the very light to the very heavy. With the weight axis in variable fonts, that number is effectively unlimited. Let's talk about type classification. Knowing the different typefaces categories is essential to identify them historically and distinguish them visually. Let's take a look at sans serif first. Sans is French for without. Sans serifs are what the name describes, without serifs. Sans serif fonts are the most versatile category of typefaces. You can use them as display fonts or long form copy. They're clean. Minimal, modern

looking, there are grotesque san serif and these fonts were commercially popular in the 1900s. They feature a slight contrast between thick and thin strokes and an open aperture gap in some characters. Neo Grotesque san serifs are refined versions that came later and intended to be more neutral and legible. They feature a uniform stroke and a closed aperture gap. Humanist sans serifs are based on the proportions of Roman-style capitals, and some characters have a calligraphic influence. They feature a higher contrast between the strokes things and a wider aperture. Geometric san serif fonts usually feature optical, circular,

and bolds, and rectangular proportions. They don't have a stroke contrast, it is more uniform and have a complete vertical axis. Next, we have serif. So serif, like mentioned before, are the small feet at the end of a stroke on a character with the exception of slab serifs. Serif fonts can be used as body copy as they are easy to read and very comfortable to the eye. Serif can be subdivided into old style. These fonts were developed between the 15th and 18th century to be used as metal type for early printing processes. These feature slightly rounded,

cupped, and inclined serifs. Serifs can also be transitional, so these came into picture in the 18th century as a transition between old style fonts and modern styles. The main feature here is sharper serifs. Modern serifs became more refined in detail thanks to advances in the printing processes. And they feature completely straight flat serifs that sometimes can make them look less legible and more fashionable. Last, we have slab serifs. These are easy to identify from the rest of the serif subgroups. The serifs are heavy and square and they have the same stroke thickness, so they're very

uniform. This type of fonts were used for advertisements in the early 1800s. Script, these are based on the flow of cursive handwriting and are divided into two main categories, formal and casual. Formal scripts are elegant typefaces used on wedding invitations and diplomas. They are inspired by writing from the 17th and 18th century. They feature connecting tails and flourishes, they look very elegant, very regal. Casual scripts are inspired by brush strokes from the 20th century. They are more relaxed and friendly compared to formal scripts. Monospaced typefaces have a fixed width, meaning that all the characters occupy

the same amount of horizontal space. These fonts bring to mind typewriters in computer programming. However, they can be a perfect choice for designers looking for sparse, minimal, and an undesigned feel. Display fonts don't fit into any of the previous categories. They are one of the largest and most diverse categories. Display fonts aren't suitable for body copy and are often experimental. Some examples are graffiti fonts, tattoo fonts, fantasy, and more. Variable fonts aren't really a style of typeface, but more of a file format. This OpenType format developed jointly by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Adobe includes a

new technology called OTF Variations. A variable font can contain a font's entire glyph set, up to 64,000 variants, including weight, width, and slant. So as a rule of thumb, serifs in san serif fonts can be used for long form copy. Mixing these two together is fine, but more than three fonts can be distracting. I have already been using many of these fonts from Envato Elements for my own personal projects. The quality of these fonts is amazing. You can impress clients and save so much time with a resourceful library. With one subscription, I have access to

unlimited assets that go beyond just fonts, like photos, music, sound effects, and graphic templates. You can subscribe with the link in the description. It is important to always put at the forefront, legibility and clarity. Remember that our jobs as graphic designers is to communicate and organize information. Typesetting helps polish up a design piece to achieve clarity and comfortability. Not many designers put this level of attention to detail, but if you do, it speaks volumes. So let's get started with readability. Readability relates to how type is set on a page. It is the arrangement of fonts

and words in order to make written content flow in a simple and easy to read manner. Legibility is how a typeface functions. It is a measure of how easy it is to distinguish letters or words from one another and how easy blocks of text are read. There are different factors like x-height, character, width, weight, and other design traits that can determine if a font is legible. Size, the smaller the type size, the more difficult it is to read, especially if your audience includes children or elderly people. Always consider who you're designing the content for. Line

length or column width, as a rule of thumb, there should be between 45 and 70 characters per line. When the column width is too narrow, it can result in many hyphenated words, forcing the eyes to jump to the next line too often. On the other hand, long lines can cause confusion for the reader when they go from line to line. Leading or line space, the amount of letting you will need in a text box is Based on the type size and the x-height of the font you're using. To maximize readability, make sure there is enough

line spacing, because too little line spacing can result on the lines crashing into each other. Tracking or letter spacing, this refers to the space between a group of letters in a line of text. Adjusting the tracking can enhance readability and change the texture of a text box. Kerning is the adjustment of the space between two individual characters within a word. It is mostly used in logos or headings to enhance legibility. Alignments, in paragraphs of Western text, alignment refers to the invisible vertical lines implied by a block of type. When type is left-aligned, each new line

begins from the same point on the x-axis. Right alignment isn't used that often, and center alignment should only be used for short form text. Rags, these are the uneven vertical emergence on a block of text when it is left-aligned or right-aligned. You can fix them by hyphenating words where necessary or doing a soft return for a new line break. Rags are more about visual appearance, but the reading phase needs to also be considered here. Rivers, these are gaps that appear to run through a block of text, which usually appear in justified text. A common way

to fix this is by unjustifying the text or Typesetting each line with hyphenation and soft returns. Orphans and widows, an orphan is a paragraph opening line at the beginning of a page or column that separated from the rest of the text. And a widow is a single word or line at the end of a paragraph that's separated from the rest of the text. These two problems can be solved by adjusting the kerning or tracking or by adding manual line breaks. And last, font case. Uppercase is when every character is capitalized in a sentence Lower case

is when no letters are capitalized. Sentence case is when the first letter of the first word in a sentence is capitalized. And title case is the first letter of each word capitalized. And that's it. In this lesson, you learned about one of the most essential elements of graphic design. Good typographic use is important in order to communicate messages successfully. It is time to look at the rest of what graphic design entails. In this chapter, we'll take a look at design examples for the concepts of the previous chapter. You will learn how, depending on the discipline,

you will have to make different design choices. And always keeping in mind that there is a brief to work off, a design solution that needs to be achieved, a message to be communicated, And a user whom we are designing for. We'll also take a look at print design, what is the new definition of digital product design, digital design, and brand design. Through one of my branding projects, we will look at the brand design process, what you need to know before getting on the drawing board. The development process, deliverables, and examples of brand identities that have

made brand design a key part of companies. So let's get started. Print design is any design where the final form is intended to be printed. Since the rise of digital tools, every design will most likely be designed on a computer or even web page, but the end product will be printed. This covers anything like brochures, shopping bags, stickers, labels, Book covers, posters, business cards, flyers, and magazines. So let's start with poster design. Every designer has designed at least one poster in their career. The top priority of a poster design is to expose key information. And

for it to be easy to read from a distance, the use of space and hierarchy are very important here. So, on this poster, we can see that it has balanced by placing a text group in the center, and the design elements of both sides of the poster. There is high contrast, not only in the background, but also in the text size, so this helps establish hierarchy. The background adds a nice touch of movement to what could've been a static group of design elements. While there's contrast on the colors of the background, the designer also used

cool tones. This is balanced with the black and white type to not create more visual noise. And last, the font used here is a Sans serif. Super easy to read from long distances, the text is concise, the date and the time are grouped together, and hashtags have another little group at the bottom. So it is divided in good harmony and with good use of hierarchy. So our eyes go to the main text first in the center next to the date and last to the bottom to the hashtags. So people aren't confused as to where their

eyes should go. Next, let's take a look at book design. Books started off as ancient scrolls back in the fourth millennium BCE. Books have been part of our daily lives since then, and they have evolved from handwritten, to printed pages, to digitized online. Books carry out information. This is where typesetting text is important. As designers, we want to make books that are comfortable and easy to read. So in this book design, there are a few type styles that establish hierarchy. The table of content or TOC and the welcome text box have the font and size.

This is bigger than the rest, establishing hierarchy that way. Throughout the pages, we can see repetition through the placement of the ingredients list. Photography is very important when it comes to book design because it helps create contrast between the design elements on a page. There are plenty of ways of displaying images, square, rectangular, and in circles. Here, it is important that you use high quality photography, sometimes designers or projects don't have enough budget to have custom photography, so design assets are totally fine to use. The main text here is set in a Sans serif font

since there isn't long information like in a novel. A geometric sans serif font is fine, and we can also see contrast between the typefaces. Choosing photography for a book design compared to a poster design is very different. Detailed shots can look really beautiful here. Last, let's take a look at magazine design. So magazines are a direct representation of culture and society. They've been used since the 1700s to distribute news and information on general or specific topics. This multi-purpose magazine template would make a great arts and culture magazine or even a fashion magazine. Each spread achieves

a great visual balance between left and right pages. The pages that contain images also create a sense of unity and cohesiveness. Nothing looks like it doesn't belong. There's emphasis created with a colored background on certain spreads. And as for typefaces, the Sans Serif choice makes the publication look contemporary, modern, and clean. There is also a good sense of hierarchy and a play with the folio, the page number, and section. While bigger than most magazines, it adds an edge to it. So the difference between magazine design and book design is that with magazine designs, you can

get a little bit more creative. Magazines usually have a topic or they're based on trends as opposed to book designs. These need to be more timeless. And that's it for print design. So remember, print design is any design where the final form is intended to be printed, something physical. In the next lesson, we will take a look at digital product design. Many of us have shopped online on Amazon or rented an apartment on Airbnb or have browsed Instagram, not only on our mobile phones but also on desktops. Some of these websites are extremely easy to

navigate through the use of design principles and usability. These websites are intuitive when it comes to their use. And this is the UI and UX, all digital product designer's job. So why part of designing? In the context of product design, a digital product is a software application website or platform. Before 2010, the word product only referred to tangible goods. And now, as software's have become a normal part of our daily lives, designers and developers now look at these the same as a tangible product. UI and UX are sometimes used interchangeably, but these two concepts overlap.

UX is focused on conducting research on the user's experience. UI designers focus on these as well, but on a more systematic level, making sure that everything looks good and feels good, so cohesiveness. For instance, on this beautiful set of UI screens, we can see how the different screens match with each other. They all have a certain characteristic. Starting with a simple color palette and a call to action that stands out, that will be the buttons. Here would be also read more or play. There's a great sense of hierarchy through the typographic elements and The typographic

system. It is clear which is the title or what information is more important. Overall, there is a great sense of balance and unity through the use of the color palette. The illustration style matches from one screen to the other. When it comes to mobile phones displaying complex information like data visualization, it is important to have order, create hierarchy, balance Color choices also become important, and it is very systematic. Especially because the information needs to be made clear, it needs to be easy to understand, this is where truly less is more. So now that you know

the definition of digital product design, in the next lesson we will take a look at digital design. In this lesson, we'll take a look at digital design, another graphic design discipline. So graphic design in general focuses mostly on static designs that are printed. Digital design and graphic design can overlap, that's the case for magazines that get printed but also require a digital version. 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. When it comes to movement, framing is

important, it is the way the elements are arranged in the frame, similar to the principles of design, but keeping in mind that there is movement involved. In this particular video, The camera pans from the back of the cliff to reveal a meander and the water. So the last frame is centered, balanced, and static, because the bent or curve adds movement to the frame already. Because of this curve, it is also that the video looks super straight and aligned. An example of digital design that's static, but it's only used on screen would be a YouTube thumbnail.

A very popular design item this stays since YouTube has become more and more popular. YouTube thumbnails need to look enticing, interesting, and need to call for attention in just a few milliseconds. So using a sensor font is ideal, make sure that it is easy to read. The design shouldn't be too complex because of The small size of the thumbnail, and you should use colors that are interesting and also interesting compositions that can catch the eye. This banner ad is a perfect example of digital design. In this case, we can see multiple sizes, but they all

use the same elements. The dark background helps draw attention to the shoes, as well as the light colored typography. Sans serif fonts can create a sense of urgency, especially when used in all caps. Parts of the information uses a background color to help draw more attention. So this type of banner you would usually see in passing when scrolling a website. So it is very important that this type of design is striking, easy to read, and features an impactful image, so all of the attention goes to it. Remember, digital design and graphic design overlap in most

things. The only difference is that, most graphic design elements end are printed, while digital designs are always displayed on screen, and their end use is for screens. In the next lesson, we will take a look at brand design, which often include both print design, digital design, and even sometimes produce digital product designs. So, what is brand design? Brand design refers to key brand elements like logo, color, skin, typography, and other supporting elements. That make a brand stand out from competitors and one brand that is recognizable to consumers. A good brand helps you understand the company's

history, purpose, values, beliefs through all of these brand design elements. In this lesson, we'll take a look at the brand design process. This is my personal process, what you need to know before you start designing, before you get onto the drawing board, the development process and deliverables. We'll also take a look at some famous brand examples that made brand and identity design a key part of companies. Besides creating a distinct identity for a product or a service, brand design can also encompass the entire image of a company or organization. The key advantage of brand design

is that branding the design elements, the language helps you identify with your audience. So, for instance, if you see a sign or a blog post, anything printed or on screen, it should be clear what company it belongs to. Let's take a quick look at what the branding process looks like. This is my personal process, and this way, You will know how to get started designing your own brand. Let's take a look at this brand presentation from one of my clients, and it includes a lot of the branding process. So, the process started with an interview

with a client of Forebears Coffee Roasting. In this interview, I asked questions like what inspired the owner to start their own brand, their background, their likes, dislikes. And what type of personality they saw the brand as, so the target market, age, profiles of the type of people who would typically buy this coffee. It is important to know what questions to ask, to look for inspiration that later can serve us to design the brand. This part of the process is really important because we have to ask many, Many questions, as anything at this point can serve

as inspiration. So for the second step based on that interview, I built out a presentation with the direction we want to take the brand in, the essence of the brand, the audience. Keywords that describe the brand, and what makes this brand different from the rest and from the competitors. Mood boarding is essential to communicate all these traits to the client. So this specific coffee brand also highlights lesser-known coffee regions, especially female producers. So that's what the mood board was based on. So Pinterest here is a great resource for inspiration. As the fourth step, based on

the unique traits of Forbears Coffee Roasting, I developed a color palette that was inspired by everything that was talked about with a client. From her personal story, her background, and brand traits. Alongside that, I provided classic and edgy color combinations that she can apply to the brand when it is delivered. From there, two concepts were developed and presented to the client, I suggest presenting between one and two concepts. That way, there's time to focus on the quality of the concepts. And if the right questions were asked on the initial interview, we then have a specific

direction to run toward. Keep in mind that two different concepts mean two very different ideas, the way they look and the way they feel. So putting together a presentation that makes sense is essential. Explaining the concepts properly and with the right words is also important. Keeping in mind that most times our clients don't have the same design knowledge that we have. It is important to explain the concepts with depth, explaining design choices we have made. Color theory, so everything that entails that concept, and at this point, the client should provide feedback and choose only one

concept to move forward with. As a next step, we take all of that feedback from the client to the chosen concept and finesse that designing. Here you can also start creating collaterals or continue if you haven't. Test your design in print or digital to know if, maybe the typeface is the right typeface or the lines that you're using are too thin or too thick, or need some kind of finessing. From there, create a final presentation for the client. And once the project is approved, it is time to create the brand guideline. So, creating the brand

guideline is useful, so the client or business can apply your design in the future if you're not their in-house designer. In this case, I created a brand guideline, so the client can apply the brand as she wants. The brand guidelines include specific values for the color palette, logo margins, how to use the different logos, and typographic rules. The next step is to export the deliverables I agreed on. In my case, I delivered a design package that included the different logos in different file formats for web and print. Different colors, as well as the graphic elements,

the collateral designs, writing for print, fonts, and any other extras. So my client has everything she needs, and this is useful for a smaller entrepreneur or solopreneur. So that way they can continue growing if they are at the beginning stages of their solopreneur or entrepreneur journey. So now let's take a look at some examples of successful long-lasting brands. First, American Airlines from 1968 by famous Italian designer, Massimo Vignelli. The American Airlines brand identity has been famous for the use of Haas Helvetica. The logo is also famous for being simple, it features the modern typeface, And

the words are said half in red and half in blue. The USA's national identity. So the whole brand system was focused on function and logic over trends or emotions. There was a lot of controversy when designers redesigned this original and unique brand. And the second example is the Olympic summer games for Munich from 1972 by Otl Aicher. The Munich 1972 brand is known amongst designers as a strong, comprehensive visual identity that is, to this day, inspiring. The challenge then, for this specific branding project, was to re-brand the image Germany had post-World War II and modernize

it. Otl Aicher created a fabulous design, iconic, bold, and dramatic, without losing the German design ethos of precision. The emblem represents a crown of rays of light, the identity included strong, playful colors and flawless pictograms. The design team went as far as designing the mascot and pictograms that successfully fit the whole branding system. A beautifully structured pictogram system that looks fresh even today, very simplistic and extremely timeless. This whole identity system is a great example of not only redefining a country, but also inspiring a whole generation of designers. So in this chapter, you learned the

difference between design disciplines that exist today. You learned the new definition of digital product design and the brand design process. In the next chapter, we'll take a look at different design tools to use and design assets that can help us speed up our work. So designers have different ways of working through a design project. But while these processes can be different, successful designers follow at least something similar. A solid design process can help designers deliver quality work, get the job done through organized tasks and in an efficient manner. Not only that, there are plenty of

tools that can help us design better and efficiently. So in this chapter, we will take a look at some useful tools that can help you Improve your projects at every stage of the design process. We will cover tools for easier workflow, mood boarding, color palette development, and we will take a look at design assets and their benefits. But first, let's take a look at the different design disciplines and how these overlap with each other. So first, let's talk about the different design disciplines. Graphic design per se is the creation of visual compositions to solve problems

and communicate ideas through design elements like typography, imagery, color, and form. There's no one recipe to do that, that's why there are several disciplines. So we can talk about marketing or advertising, packaging, and visual identity or branding. Designers make sure we're hitting those points through the successful use of Graphic design elements. Making sure that a brand looks cohesive not only in packaging, but also in communication and graphic language. Game design, motion graphics, or animation can rely on someone who has experience. In illustration, UI and UX are two disciplines that blurred their lines also, as well

as web design. It is not only concerned with the visual, but also how people interact with digital product designs. Our directors are the designers responsible for coordinating and supervising the work of designers or other creatives who are involved in a single project. So for instance, if we're talking about a magazine design, Here we have photographers, editors, sometimes illustrators, and the designer who will putting everything together. The creative director's role is usually above the art director, and they take care of all the creative operations and tends to pitch creative concepts, usually having direct communication with clients.

And as you can see, there are many different disciplines, and most designers specialize in more than one because of the rapid advancement in technology. While there are different disciplines, many of these jobs have a similar workflow. So generally, we start with a design brief from the client or art creative director that contains the details, purpose, and goals of the project. Next up, we have the brainstorming phase, where we collect everything from The research, and we aim to solve the problem from as many angles as possible. So by the end of this brainstorming phase, designers should

have multiple solutions and concepts, and ideally, narrow down the solutions to a max of three concepts, ideally two, and even better if it's just one. Next, it is time to get your hands dirty, so to speak, and prepare rough sketches or layouts to present to the client or the team. The roughness of the sketches is for you to decide, and also depends on the time that you have for the project. The concept presentation to the client should be concise and to the point. Remember that often clients aren't designers, so it is important to explain every

concept in detail and why we have made certain decisions. Clients will provide feedback. Ideally, this feedback will include more than I like or I don't like, and it will be more concept driven. The next step is to incorporate the feedback from the client to the design, polish the details, and present the final product, deliver the necessary digital files. If it needs to be sent to press, then you will need a PDF, or you will need to push live if it is a website, or sometimes both. Now let's take a look at some of the different

software that designers use. In the past, poster designs were drawn by hand and hand painted, sometimes with multiple in-capacities to achieve multi-color posters with processes like lithography or chromolithography. Now design is available to the masses from the simple swipe and tap of your screen. Professional page software like the Adobe Suite contain many software for many of the design disciplines mentioned before. Adobe InDesign is great for publishing magazines, book designs, multi-page documents. Photoshop is good for digital painting and photography work. Lightroom is for more specialized photography work, while Illustrator is great for vector-based designs, illustrations, and

logo designs. Premier Pro for videos, After Effects for motion graphics, and the Adobe Suite has become the industry standard these days. Figma is a great collaborative web application for UX and wireframes, or interface design. Note that you can't build apps or websites here, you can only create the prototypes. Figma lets you collaborate on libraries and templates to share with your team. Another partially free web app is Canva. This user-friendly app has been very popular amongst non-designers the last few years. You can create marketing designs like posters, ads, Videos and social media graphics. Figma and Canva

start with a free plan, building up to other subscription models. If you're looking for Adobe Illustrator alternatives, there are plenty. Affinity Designer has a one-off cost rather than monthly subscription. Other apps like Sketch, Coral draw are also one of Frices and Inkscape is a great re-option. As for InDesign, other desktop publishing app that has been used more and More these days is Affinity Publisher has a one off fée. Their latest release is pretty close to what Adobe InDesign has to offer, and you can even import InDesign files to work there. UI and UX designers also

use some of these tools, I shouldn't like Figma Adobe XD, Workflow, and sketch. And if you're interested in typeface design FontLab is a professional software that has been the industry standard for many, many years. FontForge is a great free option here. When it comes to organizing projects, Trello is a great online tool that helps streamline creative processes and create a fluid collaboration between multiple designers or big teams. I personally also like to use Milanote, it is an awesome, Easy to use tool to organize ideas and projects through visual boards, it is like Pinterest for designers.

And that's it in this lesson you will learn everything concerning design disciplines, the design processes and different software to use. Next, we will take a look at the use of design assets and how to come up with color palettes. Design assets have become essential for the busy designer and tight budget. Not every client can afford photography or professional licensing for typefaces. So these assets are important to achieve a high-quality design, let's start with fonts assets. There are plenty of free options to download fonts like DaFont and Google fonts. DaFont has a great library with plenty

of fonts that suit a big range of projects. Google fonts offer amazing quality fonts for free with a wide range of open source fonts in different languages. On their website, you can also try different font combinations before you download them to see if they work for your design project. Finding color combinations can also be time-consuming, and there are awesome tools that can help with that process and get it shortened. Coolers is a great tool to help you get started with a color palette, you can pick, get inspiration, generate random palettes, and even go as far

as checking contrast and create gradients. Another great tool is Happy Hues. If you like a color palette, but you don't know how to apply it, this site can give You inspiration and examples as to how and where you could use the color palettes. Many designers turn to design assets from websites like Envato Elements. Explorer the fonts library and find anything from vintage fonts to futuristic fonts and even some of the best experimental fonts in the industry. In the next lesson, we'll talk about how technology has impacted graphic design. [MUSIC] Our main purpose as graphic designers

is to communicate. Technology has made it easier to reach and spread information at a much faster rate due to the Internet. Brands have more exposure online, allowing them to have a direct relationship to consumers. Digital graphics quality improved greatly, but Before would have been done with collage, today can be created by painting in Adobe Photoshop or feeding words to an AI. Nowadays, we can take amazing photographs not only with cameras, but also with our phones. Connectivity has made it interesting for many designers to work remotely. Adobe has made it easy for freelance designers to work

anywhere in the world while still collaborating on design files without being in house. When it comes to fonts, in the past we needed multiple refined files or multiple files. Now we have variable fonts, this is the latest digital type addition, where one font file contains multiple typographic styles that vary in weighed with style and size. And last technology has made the field if graphic design expand by organically creating overlapping disciplines. UI and UX wouldn't have happened without the Internet revolution. The traditional graphic designer was known for creating packaging or ads for marketing. It now has

evolved into a wide range of disciplines, all which have communication and technology as the common denominator. Graphic design is an essential tool for business growth and it will continue to evolve as a result of advances in technology and online mediums. I think it is important to emphasize here that graphic design has a purpose. Every design problem has a brief to work off from and a problem to solve. And that's what makes graphic design, graphic design. In the next chapter, we will take an overlook at everything you learned in this course. Graphic design is the creation

of visual content with a communication purpose. You will learn about the different visual elements that are involved in creating a design. We looked at the basic principles of design so you can organize the limits on the page color theory and its concepts and an overview of typography, history and its classification. We also looked at the different design disciplines that exist presently and the more traditional ones. You also saw examples of the different design choices you can make based on the discipline. To make your design process easier, we show you tools that can help you have

a seamless workflow. We also show you everything from a subscription software alternatives. Wood boarding and websites to help you with color development. Last, we took a look at how technology has evolved and affected our industry. While technology development has moved quickly, we must remind ourselves the poor job of a graphic designer. It all lies in a balance between making something look visually stunning or organizing complex information that's being delivered in a comprehensible way. At the end of the day, communicating with clarity is priority. My name is Laura Keung from all of us Envato Tuts+, we

hope you enjoyed this course, and we'll see you in the next one. [MUSIC]