If you’ve spent any time around passionate designers, you’ve probably heard them say they never turn off their designer’s eye. Everywhere we look we’re evaluating design, layout, colors and more. But what are we actually thinking about and is it beneficial? Sure it is! We’re critiquing, which helps us improve our own designs.
Want to know what kinds of things go through my head, even when I’m not at “work”?
The Del Taco “Go Bold or Go Home” Campaign.
Design is a delicate balance between theory and aesthetic sensibilities. The more you practice the theory—the elements and principles of design—the more it will become second nature and your ability to intuitively know how to create, fix or critique a design will improve.
It is helpful to go over each element and principle individually, but it is equally as helpful to see how each element and principle of design works in the context of a single design. Below we will analyze the design theory behind this Wrigley’s Tea Escapes packaging from Hornall Anderson.
Over the past few weeks we’ve been taking an intensive look at the elements of design—the basic building blocks of graphic design and composition—through real world examples. It’s great to know the theory, but applying it is where all the knowledge comes together to form a successful design.
I presented them in the order I originally [...]
Using the element of shape shapes in graphic design can seem very basic, but there are underlying meanings and complex ways of using shape that are important to remember. Shapes don’t have to be just squares, circles and triangles. Quick points to remember about the element of shape:
Three classes of shape
Geometric: mechanical, pure form
Natural: organic, [...]
I have seen discussion around the web lately about keeping a design library. Many CSS experts have suggested this before for coding. Having a collection of elements that work can save a lot of time when trying to come up with ideas for elements like page runners, pull quotes and section dividers. I don’t have one of these collections yet (I’m thinking of it as a personal stockpile) but I’ve been looking through my work and at other examples to see how they handle pictures in particular.
Details are important when it comes to a design. Things like the shape of the photos used can make a big impact on the cohesive feeling the piece has.
Do you only think of circles, rectangles and triangles when you think of shape? True these are the basic shapes that almost everything is made up of, but there’s so much more!
What is a Shape?
Shapes convey meaning, aid in creating direction and can be used quite effectively for drawing attention to a particular section of the design. There are three basic categories to put shapes into: geometric, natural and abstract.
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Hi, my name is LaurenMarie and welcome to Creative Curio, a place to learn, discuss and explore the realm of graphic design. You can learn more about me and Creative Curio on the About page.