10thingsyouneed

to knowabout

graphicdesign

ColourTheor y

Colour Theory is needed to understand how the human eye perceives colour. The eye contains two kinds of receptors: rods and cones. While the rods convey shades of grey, the cones allow the brain to perceive colours. There are three types of cones, the first is sensitive to red and orange light, the second is sensitive to grain light and the third is sensitive to blue and violet light. When a cone is stimulated, the brain perceives that particular colour.

Colour Modes

There are two colour modes used within graphic design, these are CMYK and RGB and both used for different deliverables. Offset printing, digital printing, paints, plastics, fabric and photographic prints are based on the subtractive system of color (CMY/CMYK) in which cyan, magenta and yellow mix to form black (K). Televisions, cameras, scanners and computer monitors are based on the additive system of color (RGB), where red, green and blue light projected together make white.

PantoneColour s

The Pantone Color Matching System is a standardized color reproduction system mainly for use with CMYK printing. The colours can be picked out from a swatch book and the colour code on the swatch ensures that all the colours within a body of work are the same throughout.

LayoutandGr id

A grid is used within layout to structure the text and/or images within a piece of design. For a standard image and text based layout, a 20 field grid is probably the best to begin with, with around 42 different layout options, but ultimately you need to know the content of the layout before starting the grid.

Legibi l i ty and

R e a d a b i l i t y

Legibility is the ability of a reader to read something without effort. It can depend on a number of things, often the font size or the typeface chosen. Readability is the amount of effort it takes a reader to read a body of text, and not singular letters.

ThreeFontRule

There is no need to use more than a few fonts within a piece of design, otherwise it can become cluttered and illegible and not readable. So, although there are lots to choose from, picking the right font is always better than choosing 10 okay ones.

PointSize

A point is the smallest unit of measure, being a subdivision of the larger pica. It is commonly abbreviated as pt. The point has long been the usual unit for measuring font size and leading. One point is 1/12 of a pica and there are 72 points in one inch. It refers to the height of the body of the font.

Anatomyof

Type

Type consists of a number of different elements that make up each letter and the r e l a t i o n s h i p between each letter within a body of text.

Catagor iesof

Type

Roman

Gothic

Script

Block

Roman fonts have serifs and are mainly used for body copy and headlines.

Gothic fonts are sans serif and can be used for body copy and headlines as well.

Script fonts are more elaborate and can only really be used for headlines and large, short text.

Block fonts are big and can only be used for headlines and large, short text.

Sign,Symbol

andSigni f ier

Visual semiotics is the way in which an image can mean something and convey a message. There are different ways in which this can happen, the first being a visual metaphor, drawing comparisons between two images to show a message. An example being the apple logo. When asked, many people will say that the logo is an apple but actually it is just a symbol of an apple. Secondly there is a visual synecdoche that represents something that is part of something else. For example the eiffel tower is known to be in Paris, so there is a widely known connection between the two things. Finally there is a visual metonym, where a symbolic image is used to reference something much more literal. For example, a yellow taxi cab is used in reference to New York.