Graphic design is the art of combining images, text, and ideas to create works that capture a viewer's attention to tell a specific message. The elements of design are best understand as being the building blocks of any design. There are 8 elements of graphic design.
Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to communicate messages. By applying visual hierarchy and page layout techniques, designers use typography and pictures to meet users' specific needs and focus on the logic of displaying elements in interactive designs, to optimize the user experience.
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Graphic Designers create visual concepts to communicate information. They create everything from posters and billboards to packaging, logos, and marketing materials. Graphic Designers use elements such as shapes, colors, typography, images, and more to convey ideas to an audience.
The 8 elements of Graphic design are Line, Shape, Color, Texture, Space, Size, Value and Typography.
1. LINE
The Line is usually in every design, The lines can be long, red, straight, thin, blue, dashed, short, etc. The lines can create different effects and visual impact. The color has an impact too on the lines.
Lines in graphic design can be used for a wide range of purposes: connecting content, stressing a word or phrase, forming patterns, etc. Lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, circular, patterned, free-form, or solid. They are used as roadmaps to direct the viewer’s eye movements.
If you use trees for example, which are standing straight up, there is no movement felt by the viewer. On the other hand, if you have the trees bent at an angle this will make the viewer feel motion and a sense of movement.
2. SHAPE
The Shape or the form is the second most used element of a design. There can be circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, or any other shape. Like lines shapes also have an impact on the human mind.
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The three basic types of shapes are Geometric (Circles, Squares, Triangles, etc.), Natural (leaves, mountains, people, etc.), and Abstract (icons, stylizations, and graphic representations). They give volume to the forms in a design.
You don’t always have to use similar shapes in your design work, instead, you can mix it up and put them together making sure that the placement of them keeps your piece balanced. Sometimes adding just a small shape to a blank area will make the piece look more balanced.
3. COLOR
The color is the most important element of a design because it offers the most powerful impact at a single glance. Color is obvious and does not need graphics skills to be noticed.
Hue, Saturation, Shade, Tint, Tone, or Chroma are all parts of color. People process color in the artwork subconsciously. Color is used to generate emotions, define significance, create graphic interest and unify branding.
To establish mood, build appeal, create interest and get a message across, color is the most powerful tool in your graphic design arsenal. The Color Wheel is a great tool for a graphic designing artist and you will use it repeatedly to create a great piece of artwork.
4. Texture
The textures were not very popular a couple of years ago. Texture styles include paper, stone, concrete, brick, etc. Textures can also be subtle or pronounced and can be used sparingly and liberally.
Textures can totally change a design and offer a totally different visual impact. Texture relates to the surface of an object, where it creates an illusion of a surface that is not flat or smooth. By using texture, we can add depth and visual interest to graphic design. It enhances a sense of feel, especially with two-dimensional images.
In graphic design, texture can take the form of layers or progression of text, lines, or shapes, which can be applied in the form of a pattern or through the choice of printable surface.
5. SPACE
The space which also refers to "whitespace" is also called negative space. If there is a lot of negative space in your web design, it will be light and express an open feeling.
The lack of white space will turn your design into a clutter design. It can turn a design to your advantage and get the best out of your layout. Space is the area around the elements in a design, which is used to separate or group information. You must learn to use it effectively to define importance and lead the eye to where you want it to travel.
In design language, white space is called negative space, which is used to connect, separate, or maximize the relationship between the elements making up the design. Space can also be effectively used to give the illusion of depth or multi-dimension to the observer.
6. SIZE
The functionality of a graphic design layout centers heavily on size. In graphic design, size is used to express importance, draw attention and create contrast. People generally use size to attract attention to the most important part of the design, typically, a larger-sized object or form attracts the most eyeballs inside an artwork.
Also, different sizes within the same graphic design or layout create an order of dominance. So, you must learn to use variations in size to guide the observer’s eye through the track you want it to take.
7. VALUE
Value is how light or dark an area looks in a design. It is everything from the darkest of blacks through to the brightest of whites. If you learn to use values in the right manner, it will add enormous depth, contrast, and emphasis to your design.
The knowledge of Value plays a big role when you want to express the illusion of movement or bring one element into sharp focus while another fades into the background.
8. TYPOGRAPHY
Typography is an integral part of communication within graphic design. Each font carries a unique attitude, conveying a completely different message from the next font. Perhaps the single most important part of graphic and web design is typography.
Like color, texture, and shapes, the fonts you use tell readers you’re a serious online news magazine, a playful food blog, or a vintage tea tins shop. Words are important, but the style of the words is equally essential.
