Basic Components Of An Effective Graphic Design

Marketing collateral is only effective if it captures the attention of readers and makes them take action. In this regard, the design of a printed piece is as important as the content. Before designing any corporate advertisement, you must understand the core aspects of design. When these components are combined, the most compelling custom posters, flyers, brochures, and postcards result.

Graphic design elements must be in agreement, resulting in unity. Agreement can be conceptual, visual, or both and occurs when the elements belong together rather than being arbitrarily added. Visual unity is achieved through proximity, alignment, repetition, and contrast. Design elements seem to belong together when they are located near each other, are aligned, or repeat a certain characteristic such as size.

With contrast comes variety, adding interest to the piece. When creating the design, try to balance variety and unity to create order as well as visual interest. Conceptual unity occurs when design elements pertain to the same subject. By altering a single element slightly, the perception of the other elements is changed. This is the concept of gestalt and can be manipulated through figure/ground, closure, and continuation of a design.

When designing custom posters and other marketing collateral, the typical first urge is to fill all the space available. Whitespace, the space between the design elements, is just as important. A design  without whitespace is crowded and confusing. Effective communication results when there is ample space between design elements.

To create a focal point during graphic design, one element can be created to dominate others. This offers readers an initial area of interest. Size, color, position, shape, and style are used to create dominance. These clearly identify where the reader should look first and guide the person through the remainder of the printed piece, with other elements like color and balance providing assistance.