This should be interesting. See, it’s a blog about graphic design, but the problem is that our designers are too busy designing things to be writing blogs, especially Bloody Marketing blogs that are notoriously a waste of everyone’s time. So it falls to me, a copywriter with the design skills of a kangaroo, to complete this essential task.
The good news is that one of our designers, Matt, is sitting just across the room from me. He looks like he’s in the middle of something important but I’m sure he’ll be happy to help. I’ll get his attention and ask him how he makes things pop.
He looks at me with hatred. I explain that I’m trying to write a blog that gives graphic design advice. He says But you have the design skills of a kangaroo. I say I know, that’s why I’m asking you. He sighs and asks if this blog is going to be stupid and weird like the others? I say Nah, it’s going to be completely normal. Deceived, he proceeds to give me some excellent design tips.
Tip 1: Something about hierarchy
The first thing I learn is that in design there is something called ‘communication hierarchy’ which is the principle of arranging elements in order of importance to guide a viewer’s eye through a design. I take a few moments to let this sink in.
Matt asks What’s wrong? And I say What’s wrong?! You just admitted that graphic design is basically feudalism! You give some design elements all the power and attention whilst treating others like peasants!
He doesn’t dignify my outrage with a response, but it doesn’t matter, I now know the truth: that designers like Matt perpetuate this barbaric system of ‘hierarchy’ by playing around with size, scale, colour, contrast, and typography to ensure the most critical information is perceived first.
They say it’s for the greater good – that old chestnut. I’m going straight to HR with this one.
Tip 2: Something about visual balance
Matt’s a pretty big Marvel fan so he prefaces this tip with the phrase, “Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” I think Hah, that’s a fun reference, until I remember it was Thanos who said it. Thanos, the evil warlord whose goal was to eliminate half of all life in the universe. In light of this and that stuff about hierarchies, I begin to suspect that Matt is an evil warlord himself.
But then I remember that time when Matt bought me a Lucozade from the shop and I think actually, he’s a pretty good guy. So, the tip. Visual balance is an important consideration in design. It’s about distributing the “visual weight” evenly across a design so no single area feels too heavy or empty.
My natural response to this is Oh, so every design should be symmetrical? And Matt does his best to disguise exasperation, but fails. It turns out that a balanced design can also be asymmetrical, mosaic, or even radial. After googling what the last two are, I think I get the idea.
Tip 3: Something about negative space
As soon as Matt says the words “negative space” I remember that barely five minutes ago he said I had the design skills of a kangaroo, so I say Stop right there Matt, no need to elaborate, I know all about negative spaces.
With admirable patience, he blinks three times and explains the importance of negative space in graphic design. The rule of thumb is that you don’t want to cram a design full of text, icons and logos, as it will become crowded and unpleasant to look at. Negative (blank) space between elements gives them room to breathe. Matt demonstrates this by taking a few deep breaths before giving me the next tip.
Tip 4: Something about contrasting colours
Things rather took a turn for the worse at this stage. My fault. What happened was Matt started talking about the importance of using contrasting colours in a design, and I was thinking Yeah thanks for that, Captain Obvious, except instead of saying it in my head I accidently said it out loud.
He picks up a paperclip, clearly intending to throw it at me, but then decides to be the bigger man. We don’t speak until later, in the kitchen, where we hash things out over a box of donuts. I note the contrasting colours of the sprinkles and the icing. He laughs and says Yeah, these donuts know exactly what they’re doing. The change of scenery is really doing us good.
Tip 5: Something about limiting typography
Matt’s final graphic design tip for me is to limit typography by only using two or three complementary typefaces. I ask that by typefaces, does he mean fonts? He says Wow what a great question (okay he didn’t say that) and that font is just one aspect of typography, but essentially, yes.
He then goes on to explain that if you use more than three fonts, the design looks chaotic and unprofessional. Furthermore, the fonts you use should not be too similar to each other. It’s a good idea, for example, to use one serif font and one sans serif font in the same design, as this creates contrast and visual appeal.
He then asks if I would like to hear about the other nuances of typography, such as kerning, leading and sizing? And I say Sounds great, but I think we’ve all been through enough today – perhaps another time. He agrees. I thank him and later show him the blog. He reads it and says It’s good but………..
Can you make it pop?