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OUGD404 - 10 Things You Need To Know About Graphic Design




1. Colour Theory

As designers do not always have the freedom to choose what colours they work in they must understand colour theory. As a basic fundamental of colour theory each designer should be able to identify the primary, secondary and tertiary colours. 



2. Colour Modes

It is essential that Graphic Designers have a firm understanding of colour modes for screen and for print. As designers will be working with these modes daily it is important that they are producing their work in the correct colour modes as it could look different when printed.

Screen - RGB (red, green, blue)
Print - CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, key)


It is also helpful to know that RGB is made up of primary colours and CMYK is made up of secondary colours. 


3. Complementary Colours

A Graphic Designer should never use complimentary colours together in the same design. Complementary colours are situated opposite each other on the colour wheel. When used together they overpower each other and are not visually pleasing. 








4. Pantone

In order for colour to be printed correctly and reproduced consistently a designer must be able to operate with Pantone. As designers rarely print their work themselves Pantone enables the correct colour to be printed without supervision. Pantone is also used globally which eliminates language barriers.





5. Point Size

 1 point 1⁄72 inches = 25.4⁄72 mm = 0.3527 mm

    12 points = 1 pica 




6. Typography
As typography will inevitably be featured in any graphic designers career it is important that each designer have a understanding of the basic fundamentals of typography. A designer must have a firm understanding of the anatomy of type in order to create their own fonts and typefaces. 







7. Baseline, X-Height and Cap Height

When constructing a font it is important to work with three horizontal lines; Baseline, X-Height and Cap Height. These will ensure that the font works on a whole and also readable as body copy.







8. Font and Typeface

Typefaces are made up of fonts. Each is the same font but in a different style (eg. light, bold) when purchasing a font a designer must check that they are buying the font they wish and not the entire typeface, which could be made up of several other fonts.










9. 3 Fonts per design

As a new designer it can be tempting to over use fonts within a piece of design as a way to try and stand out. Over the years this has been proved to be a mistake as it makes the design look over crowded and therefore looses the attention of the audience. Each designer should operate on a 'three fonts per design' ideology if they wish to meet the professional standard.



10.  Grids/cannons and how to apply them to design

As a Graphic Designer it is inevitable that publication design will become part of our practice, whether it be within education or career. A designer should have some understanding of grids, cannons and layout in order to produce a legible piece of design. Perhaps one of the most important things for a designer to be able to use effectively is the Van de Graaf cannon, this is an effective way to divide a page into pleasing proportions. Mostly used for book design a designer can experiment with this canon to create and interesting but proportioned piece of design. 



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