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10 Graphic Design Tips for Non-Designers
IxDWorks & Tallinn Summer School 2014Valeria Gasik, Daria Tokranova, Roger Puks
Tuesday, July 29, 14
1.Good design has a reason(...and isn’t random)
• Who are you designing for? What is the attitude of your project? What is the message you want to deliver?
• Why? Education and teaching, calling for action, featuring and spotlighting?
• Do your research: Google your way to the market knowledge.
Tuesday, July 29, 14
Simple and easy? Serious and official?
Beautiful and girly? Good old retro?
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2. Minimal is NOT lazy.(Laconic design is a good design)
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White color is not a reason to panic :)
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3.Images can say a lot(so don’t let them say stupid things)
Make sure your visual:
• ...has good quality (hi-res, no watermarks, avoid or correct “noise”/chromatic aberration, good focus and light)
• ...tastefully used (don’t over-design with lot’s of graphics)
• ...fits to the concept
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4. Pick your colors carefully(and stick to 2-4 color palette)
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No :(
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www.colourlovers.com/palettes
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Pantone color of the Year 2014 - Radiant Orchid
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5. Nail the typography
•Go simple!
• Limit use of different fonts to 2 (max 3)
• A good font can “be” your design
• Avoid “funny”, “gimmicky” and crazy fonts.
• Find font that works for you and use it with pride :)
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Serif for headlines and Sans-Serif for text
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Tuesday, July 29, 14
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6.Create a hierarchy
• Choose ONE important thing in your design and build everything else around it
• Emphasize and accentuate key-elements with one color/font
• Don’t try to get everything to stand out
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7. Seek for inspiration• Check moodboard libraries or create your
own (can go digital with Moodboard app or crafty with just scissors and printed media)
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• Do sketches and doodles, just for yourself. (things that you love, ideas that are better expressed on paper — anything)
• Invest time in your good taste — observe good design and beautiful things around you.
(Communicate your tacit knowledge and gradually develop you aesthetic sense and taste by setting a minimum of beautiful things you should see per day. It can be a magazine, a blog, a gallery, a museum — everything you think will add a tiny drop to the ocean of your good taste.)
Tuesday, July 29, 14
8. Steal good ideas (never copy and imitate!)
• Good ideas, that are worth to be continued and developed further
• Techniques and styles, but only for re-mixing with your own personality
• Design elements like great colorschemes, font combinations, interesting composition etc
• Your old designs and ideas
Do “steal”:
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9. Don’t steal anything else
• Make sure images you use are purchased and licensed accordingly(every visual in Google Images has an owner and some of those owners are well equipped with good lawyers)
• Re-check font license for commercial projects
• Sound libraries and music tracks
• Even when license formalities are set, crediting authors is a good manner
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10. Use common sense• Double check for spelling/grammatical
errors
• Be modern but not “trendy” as it goes old
• Add content that is relevant (unique and interesting to read)
• Don’t over-design! (there has to be a moment of letting go.)
• Listen to feedback from everyone, yet listen to critiques of professionals only.
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Bonus. Be yourself :)
• Use your personal hobbies and interests, knowledge and skill set to make your design unique
• Make your own photos/illustrations
• Work on your style and vision
Tuesday, July 29, 14