Graphic Design: Principles and Elements
Graphic Design
Graphic Design is the profession responsible for producing visual messages. It’s based on taking a particular object or concept and interpreting it to create a visual image. This image should reach, impact, and attract the viewer’s attention, promoting a product, service, or idea.
A graphic designer requires intimate knowledge in:
- Visual language
- Communication
- Visual perception
- Administration of economic and human resources
- Technology
- Media
- Evaluation techniques
Design Elements
Conceptual Elements
Conceptual elements are not visible; they do not exist in fact but seem to be present.
- Point: Indicates position; it has no length or width and does not occupy space. It is the beginning and end of a line and where two lines intersect.
- Line: A succession of points. It has length, position, width, and direction. It forms the edge of a plane.
- Plane: The path of a line in motion. It has position and direction but no thickness.
- Volume: Position in space, limited by planes. It is illusory.
Visual Elements
Visual elements are visible and have shape, size, color, and texture. They are the most significant part of a design.
- Form: Everything that can be seen.
- Size
- Color
- Texture
- Position
- Space
- Gravity
Practical Elements
Practical elements underlie the content and scope of the design.
- Representation: An image derived from nature. It may be realistic, stylized, or semi-abstract.
- Meaning: The message the design conveys.
- Function: The purpose the design serves.
Shape
- Point: Small and simple.
- Line: Flat, limited by conceptual lines: organic, rectilinear, irregular, calligraphic (brush-like), or accidental (like an inkblot).
Typography
The goal of any graphic composition is to transmit a particular message. Designers use two tools: images and text. Images provide a strong visual aspect, capable of transmitting messages. However, the primary medium for transmitting ideas is the written word. Good graphic design communicates ideas through the written word, often combined with drawings or photographs. In addition to its semantic component, each letter of a word is a graphic element that contributes richness and beauty to the final composition.
The visual appearance of each letter in the text is very important.
Typography is the term used to describe the study, design, and classification of types (letters) and fonts (families of letters with common features), as well as the design of characters united by uniform visual properties.
Key figures in typography include:
- Fermin Didot (April 14, 1764 – April 24, 1836): A French engraver, typographer, and printer, creator of the stereotype technique (metal sheet).
- Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1400): Knew the art of casting from his work as a goldsmith for the bishopric.
Logo
A logo is a graphic, visual, or auditory element used by a person, company, institution, or product for representation. Logos and symbols contain clues about who they represent. Kings during the Crusades signed legal documents with a logo of their creation, either by hand or with a seal.
A typographic logo is the written representation of the brand name.
Isotype
The isotype is the most recognizable iconic or spatial arrangement in the design of a brand (corporate, institutional, or personal). The word “isotype” refers to something that is “equal to.”
Layout
Layout is the task of arranging the elements of a page, ordering the components of a book or printed material. The layout artist must not only effectively coordinate various elements to achieve harmonious aesthetic purposes but also solve problems such as the arrangement of white space in relation to the overall format.