Hello and welcome to this beginner's guide series to graphic design.
From what graphic design is, skills to be a graphic designer, design theory, education you need, equipment you need to the graphic design portfolio and interview advice.
This series is for anyone at any level.
So if you're interested in graphic design and considering becoming a graphic designer
join me as I discuss a series of graphic design topics.
Now graphic design is not simply about making things look good
in graphic design there are rules that could be considered
these rules are called the principles of design and these are typically separate
good design from bad design. These principles all have a relationship
between each other and appear in every well designed piece of work you see.
A good grasp of design theory will mean there is always substance behind your work.
The key principles of design are: Contrast, hierarchy, alignment, balance, proximity, repetition simplicity and function.
Whatever work you produce be it for a magazine, a poster, a website or advertisement
the principles of design should be considered. A good designer keeps these principles as guidelines in
their toolkit and will consciously use them to develop their ideas.
In this video I'm going to discuss the seventh key design principle and discuss simplicity
as a design principle in graphic design.
So simplicity is the discipline of minimising refining or editing back a design.
The ultimate goal of any piece of graphic design is to make an impression,
hopefully a lasting impression. If a design achieves this goal
it will be fulfilling its purpose to communicate and insist upon a particular message.
More often than not in graphic design keeping it simple works really well.
In design there is a general consensus that less is more, less is more striking.
We consider simplicity to ensure that a piece of communication has maximum clarity.
We consider simplicity to create balance and impact.
Simple design is easier to understand that is more likely to make a lasting impression.
For beginners it is easily assumed that simplistic design might not be good or interesting design.
However simplicity is recognised as adding a level of function,
elegance, consideration, premium and luxury to a design.
In graphic design it's harder to take away than it is to add
This is what separates amateur designers from professionals
and takes experience confidence and discipline.
One of the hardest and most skillful disciplines in design is knowing how to
edit a piece of design. When applying simplicity in design we should avoid an
overwhelming amount of visual elements. We should try and get across one strong idea
instead of incorporating many. When considering simplicity we should remove
or edit down information and details that are not needed.
The more simplistic your design the more striking and easy to understand it will be.
Too many things going on in a composition will make for a very confusing
and bad experience. Now simplicity is not about stripping a design down to the
point its soulless. It's also about harmony and balance between visual elements
In design you want to avoid visual competition and achieve visual harmony.
Complex visual elements can indeed work to communicate
a simple message. For example an image texture or a pattern texture
may be seen as complex but these work to suggest
a mood, a feeling, a notion. Coupled with a simple logo placement or bold message
this can be striking. When you think of some of the most prestigious brands
it's common to see simplicity set on a backdrop of complex beauty.
It's a striking dynamic which can also be seen in advertisements.
Often an add will only have a few seconds to communicate a message
so must be as striking and as easy to understand as possible.
Advertisements typically seek to charm you with some sort of
dazzling visual art coupled with a simple bold tag line message.
What is seen to be simple can often be complex.
This clever achievement in design is highly sought after and is regarded as
elegant, premium and luxurious. If this visual harmony is not executed well it
may lead to be busy and confusing message which will not fulfil its purpose.
Consideration of simplicity is often seen in good brand logos.
Poor designed logos can be too complex and busy with too many colours.
Some of the best logos are some of the most simple.
So that is the seventh key design principle in graphic design.
When you look at design ask yourself how has simplicity being considered?
Is their visual harmony or visual competition?
How clear is the design? and how clear is the message?
Could it be more striking? Is there anything you could change to simplify the design?
and what impression does it make on you?
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So the next key design principle is function.
In the next video I'm going to talk about function
as a design principle and graphic design.
So I'll see you in the next video!