Graphic Design The New Basics - KeynesYouDigIt/Knowledge GitHub Wiki

Formstorming

Point, Line, Plane

Rhythm and Balance

Scale

Texture

Color

  • When two colors are close in value, the lighter one starts to glow
  • Strong value differences create contrast
  • Having warm and cool hues creates visual completeness
  • Opposites create contrast
  • Analagous colors feel more natural

Categories

  • Primary Colors - Red / Yellow / Blue
  • Secondary Colors - Orange / Purple / Green
  • Tertiary Colors - Primary + Secondary color
  • Analagous Colors - Nearby colors
  • Complement - Opposites / Near-Opposites
    • One is cool, other is warm

Aspects of Color

  • Hue
  • Value (Shade + Tint) - Amount of black or white mixed with it
  • Saturation / Chroma - Purity of color as it blends to gray
    • Colors don't all reach peak saturation at the same place

Color Models / Color Spaces

Systems for indexing colors

  • CMYK - Subtractive, blending, print
    • Overlapping dots, optical color mixing
  • RGB - Additive, based on light

Gestalt Principles

Framing

Hierarchy

  • Seek to reduce repetition

You can create hierarchy with:

  • Weight
  • Contrasting color
  • Alignment / Indentation
  • Spatial grouping / Intervals
  • Uppercase / Lowercase
  • Scale
  • Type style
  • Rules
  • Depth

Layers

  • You can use layers to create depth
  • You can layer typography to tell multiple stories at once
  • Overlaying data visualizations
  • Time can be a layer
  • You can use slits and transparency to glimpse through layers

Transparency

Modularity

Grid

Pattern

Diagram

Time and Motion

Rules and Randomness