Hello and welcome to this beginner's guide series 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 discussed series of graphic design topics.
So the graphic part of graphic design is made up of visual elements the
building blocks of design. Through the harness of our artistic expression we choose these
visual elements and arrange them on a surface in a layout to convey an idea
the basic visual elements are combine to be a graphic design include the following:
Line, colour, shape, texture, space, form and typography.
Whatever work you produce be it for a magazine a poster a website or advertisement these visual
elements will play a part in your design.
In this video I'm going to discuss the third key visual element and discuss
'Shape' as a visual element in graphic design.
In this video I will be referring to some visual diagrams
if you wish to follow along you can download the PDF document that
accompanies this series, link is in the description. So everything is ultimately a shape.
All objects are composed of shapes and all visual elements are shapes in some way.
In design shapes have two dimensions and are measured by their height and width.
Shapes are defined by boundaries such as with lines or colour and can also be
created with negative space. shapes are used to add interest and substance to a
piece of graphic design work, they can be used to decorate
they can be symbolic and can be used to create patterns and textures.
Now there are two types of shape: Geometric and organic.
Geometric shapes are the shapes that can be drawn using a ruler or compass.
Weather simple or complex these produce a feeling of control or order.
Organic shapes, are shapes that can be drawn free hand or shapes found in nature.
Organic shapes weather simple or complex produce a natural feel.
Now it's important to keep in mind that shapes our signal visual elements.
In design when we begin to place shapes together we create a relationship between them.
However simple or complex it's this relationship between shapes that can
trigger feelings, convey messages, engage an audience, add emphasis to a portion of a layout and create movement.
When we group or move shapes closer or further apart
we are applying the design principle 'Proximity' later in this series we will
be learning all about the design principle proximity but for now it's
important to keep in mind
that proximity plays an important role when working with shapes.
So in design geometric and organic shapes can combine together on many levels to create
various design elements we use to communicate
One example of this is with brand logos. In logos shape is used in its purest form.
Here are some well known brand logos. If you want to take a closer look at these you
can find them in the downloadable PDF
the link is in the description. So here we have a mix of logos
some are made with geometric shapes some with organic shapes and some with a
combination of both.
We have some that are single solid shapes and some that are composed of a
few shapes that are placed near each other.
Keep in mind that proximity is playing a crucial role here in the logos that are
made with few shapes.
If we were to move some of the shapes further away or closer they would have
an entirely different look and feel. So here shape is used as a symbol.
Another example where geometric and organic shapes can come together is in typography.
A single letter in a typeface is a combination of geometric and organic shapes.
which build together to create a larger shape
in this case the letter 'R'. We learned from a young age that this shape the
letter R has a meaning. When combined with other shapes, for example the rest of the alphabet to form words
it is giving a new meaning
and when combined with a sequence of words we can form a sentence to pass on a message.
No where in design is shape used more literally to communicate visually than in typography.
It's the type of shapes that combine together that give the typeface its distinct look and feel.
Here shape is again being used as a symbol.
So taking a look in the PDF. Here I have some more examples of how shape is used in design.
In this first example we have a group of text and a geometric shape in close proximity
Now this may look simple but when you think about it
here we have a group of texts which is made of hundreds of shapes carefully arranged in half a circle
and next to it we have a single solid shape as another half circle. Overall on this page we see
a circle shape even though there is no circle shape at all anywhere on this page.
It's the careful arrangement of the type and the solid shape in close proximity
that suggests the shape of a circle. In design shape is indeed an individual
element, but as a group shapes conform compositions like this and as such
be treated as a visual element. Here shape is being used to create an overall composition to create the shape.
This can be seen in another example, here we have a page with a number of random shapes.
Now if these shapes were scattered we would just have a page of individual shapes.
But arranged any particular way with the right proximity we start to see another shape, the number three.
Here shape is being used to decorate to build, illustrate and hint at another shape on the page.
Next is an example of how shape can form a recognisable image as an illustration.
Now this image is made only of polygon shapes.
It's the colour, size and position of each and every polygon shape that gives it an appernce
to look like a Roman statue.
Now if we were to separate each shape from each other even a little bit
it would no longer look like a Roman statue.
This shows how proximity is crucial to represent or communicate in a composition.
In this next example shape is used to create something entirely different.
Here we have a number of shapes that appear to be scattered in no particular order.
We can see what looks like positive and negative spaces along with other shapes.
Its appearance is random and all the shapes seem to blend into each other.
There is nothing legible hear that stands out
only an overall look and feel. Here shape is being used to create a surface image texture.
So in this last example unlike the randomness of the image texture here we have
what looks like a regular repeating sequence of shape
this is similar to the image texture in that nothing particular stands out.
Here shape is being used to create a surface pattern texture.
So shape is what makes up the foundation of any composition. A layout can be simple made of one or few shapes
or complex made by groups of many individual shapes. In design shape can be
used in many ways, it's how they are arranged that determines the visual outcome.
When creating a composition you must always consider how the visual elements of your design
are creating shapes, how the shapes interact and work together to present and communicate the intended message.
So that is the third key visual element in graphic design.
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So the next key visual element is 'Texture' in this video I touched on how
shape can be used to create texture. In the next video I'm going to talk in more
depth about texture as a visual element in graphic design.
So see you in the next video!