BLEED The perimeter is the outer edge of a page or spread – an area often considered to be dead space. Content placed within this area can change the overall feel of a design and introduce the
three areas of body copy and a line of semi-display type. You are to create a composition where at least one or more edges of one image bleeds off the page and the other image is framed, to explore the difference between an active and passive use of the perimeter. The decision to bleed an element off the page is a design choice. However, elements that bleed off the page can add to the cost of printing because the printer must use a larger size of paper to accommodate the
to size afterward. To reduce costs, redesign to eliminate the bleed or reduce the page size enough to fit the work on a smaller parent sheet of paper, which still requires an additional trim. When working with bleeds in your digital files, extend the element that bleeds beyond the trim edge of the document by 1/8 inch. This amount is sufficient even if the paper
on the press or during cutting. If you have several items that bleed, use non-printing guides set at 1/8 inch outside the trim lines for ease of placement. If your software does not allow you to bleed an element off the page, use a larger page size and add crop marks at the desired trim size of the final piece.
COLOUR Color plays a major part in the correct reflection of your brand. This visually obvious yet subtle application has a significant impact on the way a brand is perceived by the public. No matter if you’re designing a brand for yourself, a small company, or a corporation the effects of color will not discriminate based on
on how much cash you have to start. When looking at color options for your brand it’s always best to take a look at other brands to get a clear idea on how color schemes play a part on the perception of brand perception. A company with strong brand recognition, altering the
maintained can have dangerous results. Today’s marketplace is bombarded with products that are trying to get our attention at every head turn, decreasing the likely hood that your product will immediately stand out. According to the way our naturlal senses function Color is the most in-
is the senses function Color is the most influential, followed by Shapes, Symbols, and finally Words. Here we will look at what colors mean on a basic level, as well as brands that are best known for their recognition by color, color combination practices, and how you can use these methods to develop your own brand.
SCALE Scale is Relative A graphic element can appear larger or smaller depending on the size, placement, and color of the elements around it. When elements are all the same size, the design feels flat. Contrast in size can create a sense of tension as well as a feeling of depth and movement. Small shapes
tend to recede; large ones move forward. One of the considerations in graphics design is the relativity in sizes of the objects included in the design. Relativity in this aspect refers to how small or how big an element is when compared to other elements in the same design. By using the right scale, you have
the ability to influence the relativity by making objects appear smaller or bigger when compared to others. As a result, scale in design makes it possible to create a pecking order of the design elements. Also, it gives a clear pictorial representation of the bigger elements which needs more attention to the smaller ones which might not need to a lot of attention. Scaling, also when
DOMIN The dominant element on your page should be the element you want people to see first. Perhaps it’s your logo or the title of the page or whatever else you want people to notice first. Dominance creates a visual hierarchy in your design. A hierarchy is by default a series of different levels of dominance. A lack of dominance between elements leads to competition between them. If there are two red
ANCE circles of equal size in your design, which should I look at first? Different people will choose different circles and some will bounce back and forth between both. Had one circle clearly been dominant your viewer knows to look at it before the other circle. Without a dominant element on the page your readers must work to find their own entry point into your design. That’s not as easy as it seems
BALANCE With symmetrical balance, the visual weight is distributed evenly, either vertically or horizontally. You can draw a line straight through the middle of the design, and the visual balance would be evenly distributed. A symmetrical composition appears to be stable, and creates a more orderly look. You can see a great example of this in the image above. Both sides of the composition carry the same visual weight, neither side feels heavier than the other. This would be a perfectly balanced design. However, as soon
as you change the color of one of the sides to a dark value, and the other a lighter value notice what happens. Doesn’t the darker value make that side feel just a bit heavier than the other side? It’s important to keep in mind that while symmetrical balance is great, and allows for the viewers eye to get a stronger sense of the design, it doesn’t always relate to an interesting design. An
asymmetrical composition is intended to create a deliberate imbalance of the elements in the design. It can create tension and give your composition a sense of movement. This means that the elements of the design are not distributed evenly on the composition. One side is bigger than.
ENE One of the most important communication tools easily picked out by the human eye is colour. Colour is a part of every society and therefore influences cultural, social, political and religious facets of every part of the world. Graphic design, like any other form of art, reflects society and its colour usage is tied to how its targeted audience interprets meaning. Colour meaning is well grounded in theories. Wassily Kandinsky, a prominent post-modernism abstract painter renowned as a pioneer art theorist, att-
RGY ached several meanings to various colour themes that are still relevant today. For instance, he found the colour yellow to be exuding warm, exciting and happy emotions. Its sheer brightness can be seen as a source of excitement that communicates blissful feelings. The colour is associated with the sun which appears yellow during the day. Kandinsky identified blue as a deep, peaceful and supernatural colour. Blue is the colour of the sky and many attach to water bodies.
RHYTHM
that the eye works in a certain way by default. Using repetition to keep the eye familiar with our design’s elements means we’re taking advantage of this tendency. We can also use shapes, the logo of a busi- colors, textures, ness to be repeated fonts, etc. to mainon every page and tain this consistency in the same place. via repetition. You Menu items are also can also achieve often repeated in repetition by usthe same place on ing repeated mesa page. This helps sages. If you want provide a consistent your customers to Repetition is simply user experience. By know that you’re the repeating a single repeating elements, cheapest or the fastelement many times we as designers est in the business, in a design. For ex- not only deliver acyou’ll want to tell ample, you could cording to our users’ them that on more draw a line horizon- expectations in this than one occasion tally and then draw way, but we also if you want the messeveral others next improve their expesage to stick. In this to it. Repetition can rience. Our being instance, we use be useful in web and consistent makes repetition for reinapp design. For ex- the users more comforcement. You may ample, you’d expect fortable. Remember remember learning