Graphic Design covers a wide range of areas. It covers

Graphic Design covers a wide range of areas. It covers the Internet, brochures, leaflets, branding, and all sorts of advertising. Below are some graphic design principles.

EVERYTHING SHOULD BE RELEVANT

Everything on the page should have some relevance. If an item is not necessary to put across your message then it does not need to be there. The fewer items there are the more there is for the audience to make sense of, so they are more likely to focus on what is there. A few relevant items will work much more affectively than a large number of irrelevant items.

DESIGN REPETITIVENESS

There should be a consistency throughout design materials. This is more relevant for media with many pages, such as websites, brochures and leaflets. If design is similar throughout then it gives a campaign a theme and therefore helps the audience connect. If a campaign has a website, print advertisements and a brochure then they should have similar design features so the public see the connection. This is all part of successful branding. The more the audience sees the same message and design the more likely it is to be at the forefront of their mind.

PROXIMITY OF RELEVENT ITEMS

Items that are related should be place close to one another, while items that are not should be separated. This allows the audience to see the relationship between items and get an idea of their relevance towards each other. This is something that plays on the subconscious mind of the viewer. If they see items together they subconsciously think of them as being important to each other.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

Simplicity is key. You cannot afford to overwork the view as they will get bored. You need to catch peoples attention by being simplistic but convincing. You dont have long to get your audience involved; you need to get their attention quickly as they may not have time to read and take in a complex graphic. You shouldnt overdo the detail.

TEXT

Text needs to be easy to read. To use the example of a poster, the viewer doesnt want to stand in front of the poster intensively focussing to read the text. (S)he needs to be able to read it quickly and easily. The text should be fairly consistent throughout, although larger text for important parts of the message can make it stand out.

LANGUAGE

You should use similar language throughout. Dont talk in the present and then in the past as though it is the same thing. Another thing you should avoid where possible is referring to things in the first, second and third person at different times. Speaking to the audience means using language they will understand, and not language you would use within your industry. The language will depend on who your audience is; professional language might be relevant in the business world.

PLAY ON EXPECTATIONS

If people expect something to be associated with a certain design, use this to your advantage. For example, people expect red to signify danger, to if you are trying to use the thought of danger in your campaign, you should use red.

Andrew Marshall