Whether in school or in work, you’ve probably already had to design graphics on something, like a card, a presentation, or a title page. We live in a world where visuals are important, which is why you can make a career out of graphic design. It’s a career that we can connect you to with our Graphic Design Program. It takes place at Centennial's Story Arts Centre and gives you a hands-on approach to design in an intimate studio environment, including face time with industry-standard Adobe software like Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. But before you make a complicated career out of it, there’s plenty of simple things you can do to make what you design look better. Here are a few easy beginner’s graphic design tips, sourced from Canva, Pixel Whizz, and Snappa.
Don’t go crazy with fonts. Pick a couple from the same family
Before anything else, you need to make sure that your text is easy to read, and that means picking a good font. Your eyes find it hard to scan a bunch of different fonts, so you want to use a few simple ones, instead of a lot of elaborate ones. So, stick to one or two fonts if you can. Another method is to make sure you only use fonts from the same family. For example, variations on the “Arial” font. It’s most important that your text be clear to read than flashy. That doesn’t mean stick to one dull font, though, just that you should never prioritize form over function.
Don’t be afraid of white space
Less can be more and don’t feel obligated to fill empty space with something, even if your elementary school teacher told you to colour in every part of the title page. Surrounding words or pictures with white space will let your graphics breathe, and make them easier to read. It’ll keep your viewer’s attention on the important parts of the design, which won’t happen if the page is cluttered. Make sure every element of your design has a specific reason to be there.
Lines and alignment will make your work organized
While you shouldn’t be afraid of white space, you don’t want too much of it, either. One way to fill the void is to space your words and letters out or condense the spacing on words that are taking up too much room. Just be careful not to squash your words so that they can’t be read, or space them out to ridiculous amounts. Another method of organizing and presenting your text is to apply solid, straight lines above, below, or beside your text (just not all at once).
Pick a small amount of simple, contrasting colours
It’s important to choose a good set of colours for whatever you design. Just like your fonts, you also want to make sure you don’t pick too many colours. Three should be your maximum number, or at least slightly different shades of only three colours. It’s important to choose colours that contrast, so your text won’t get lost in the background.
By Anthony Geremia