Graphic Design Tips for Beginners

Graphic Design being the art of creating visual content fascinates the people because through it ideas and messages can be communicated for business. It uses images, colours and typography besides other visual elements to narrate a story and promote a product or brand. It is a powerful tool for communication and by following the given tips as enumerated below one can succeed in Graphic Design.

1 .Understand the Basics of Design Principles

The beginners must understand the core principles of design before going in for tools and software. By mastering the given principles, beginners will surely improve their design creation. The Key Points are listed below:

• Balance: The distribution of Visual Weight in Graphic design is paramount. It refers to the arrangement of key elements that create a sense of balance and visual harmony.
• Contrast: With reference to elements, it is used to draw attention or emphasize the elements for example light vs dark or body vs thin..
• Alignment: It is to be ensured that elements have a visual connection with each other so that the design may look neat and organized.
• Proximity: Pertaining to groups related elements, it is used to enhance comprehension
• White Space (Negative Space): It is used to give breathing room improve readability and above all avoid clutter.
• Hierarchy: It is used to guide the viewer’s eye pertaining to size, colour layout etc.

2. Learn and Practice Typography

‘Typography’ is a major part of Graphic Design and encompasses elements like font selection, spacing and layout so that the written language is legible, readable and visually appealing.

Tips for Typography:

• Use minimum fonts. Maximum two or three per design.
• Generally use font pairings so that the fonts can complement each other.
• Adjust the space between letter pairs for a balanced look.
• Ensure proper alignment of text.
• Always give preference to readability over style.
• For Quality Typefaces if required then explore Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts.

3. Get Accustomed with Colour Theory

Colour plays a major role in setup the tone and mood of design. The study of the interaction of colour and the way it is perceived is the bottom line of ‘Colour Theory’ pertaining to Graphic Design. Hence a good knowledge of Colour Theory helps in making visually appealing choices.

Concept of key Colours:

• Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Colours: These are the building blocks of colour on which colours are made.
• Analogous Colour: The concept of Analogous colour is necessary to create a harmonious and pleasing visual effect. These colours are groups of colours that are adjacent to each other in the Colour Wheel.
• Complementary Colours: These colours are also known as ‘Opposite Colours’ because they are placed next to each other to create a strong contrast.
• Triadic Colours: These colours refer to the colour scheme where three colours are evenly spaced apart on the colour wheel to create a vibrant, balanced and harmonious palette.
• Warm & Cool Colours: Colours like Red, Orange and Yellow evoke energy and are called ‘Warm Colours’ whereas colours like Green, Blue and Purple signify calmness and relaxation and are termed ‘Cool Colours’.
• Monochromatic Palettes: The concept of Monochromatic palette helps in creating a cohesive and unified colour scheme. These are the different shades of same colour.

4. Commence with Simple Tools and Software

As a beginner, start the work with simple tools and software. After gaining expertise over the same switch to professional software but with care.

Recommended Tools

• Canva – It is one of the best tools for beginners.
• Figma – It is a collaborative-based design tool and is best for UI/UX.
• Adobe Photoshop is best for image manipulation, such as image editing and retouching.
• Affinity Designer – This is a good alternative for Adobe products.

5. Study Templates

By studying templates one can learn and get the concept of layout structures, typography styles spacing techniques etc.

Ways to Learn from Templates

• Study and analyse the way to use fonts and colours.
• Work on grouping and alignment of elements.
• Renovate the templates from scratch to understand the basic concept.

6. Learn by Practicing

Practice makes the human perfect. More practice will result in better results. Design something on a regular basis by recreating posters, social media posts or advertisements that motivate an individual.

7. Welcome Feedback and Critique

Design is based on one’s taste and opinion and therefore it is subjective, but in order to grow and excel constructive feedback is essential. It is better to share the work with other designers or some online communities to get critiques so that things can be improved.

8. Understand the audience

Every design has a purpose to convey that suits the requirement of the audience A good design not only showcases the aesthetics, but it also solves the problem and conveys a solid message as solicited.

Basic Questions that should be answered before Designing should revolve around the following points viz :

• Identification of target audience
• Message to be communicated
• Place where design will used like print, digital or mobile
• Emotions to be experienced by the audience

9. Prepare the Portfolio

A portfolio is a visual resume. While creating and designing, prepare your portfolio also and put it together. This activity will firstly track the progress of the beginner and secondly, it will showcase the work to potential clients.

Important Tips for a Beginners Portfolio

• Showcase the executed projects.
• Narrate the design and the process.
• Ensure that the layout is clean and simple.

10. Develop your own Style

During the initial stage of learning one can copy the style of other professionals, but with the passage of time, one has to develop his/her own style to stay ahead of the competition by showing creativity.

Ways to develop a style

• Identify the type of design you generally prefer.
• Pertaining to style, create a mood board.
• Use different techniques.
• Identify what makes your work appealing.

Conclusion

One cannot become a Graphic Designer overnight. It involves time, patience, dedication and passion to learn besides inclination towards creativity and innovation. Nowadays becoming a Graphic Designer may seem to be easier, but it requires a lot of hard work and regular practice besides experimentation. During the initial days, one can copy the style of another, but with the passage of time in order to remain competitive, one has to develop his/her own style.

Beside this information if anyone wanted to upgrade their skill in the related domain than you must go for Advanced Diploma in Graphic & Web Design  course from Leher School of Design (Delhi) which is one of the best and recommended for their courses