Mastering Graphic Design: Types, Fundamental Elements, and Tips For Beginner Creators

Graphic design holds a captivating allure thanks to its deep connection with creative thinking and lucrative career prospects. Moreover, numerous statistical sources outline a steady 3% annual growth in demand for this profession.

To create striking designs, you don’t need an art education. Instead, a grasp of compositional principles and foundational theories suffices. And, of course, you must continuously hone your skills to achieve desired results. In this article, you’ll discover everything you need to master graphic design, from fundamental basics to practical advice. Keep reading!

What are the 5 different types of graphic design? 

Graphic design is a broad discipline that encompasses several creative fields. For example, some creators specialize in crafting advertising banners, while others develop unique brand logos. Multiple design eras also influenced its understanding. In the past, professionals were immersed in creating new fonts. Today, the focus has shifted to digital interfaces. So, what are the types of design? In a broad sense, they address the diverse challenges that designers tackle in various domains.

There are five different types of graphic design: 

1. Product design. Professionals in this field are responsible for creating unique physical and digital products. They apply their skills to enhance the ergonomics and comfort of everyday items, e.g., sofas or power outlets. To dive more into product design, read The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. This book not only benefits product designers, but is also insightful for web designers.
2. Type design. There are 200,000+ fonts in the world, and this number grows thanks to type designers. The field is about developing new graphic forms of letters, punctuation marks, mathematical symbols, and other characters. To delve into this topic, check out type design books written by Paul McNeil, Robert Bringhurst, and Stephen Coles. These authors cover a range of topics, including typography history, font properties, and the perception of typefaces.
3. Interaction design. This type of design represents the convergence of two foundational domains—UX (user experience) and UI (user interface). Professionals in this field are responsible for crafting captivating and meaningful interactions between users and digital systems, such as websites and applications. For example, an interaction designer can conceptualize how users engage with content on social media, including actions like sharing, liking, and commenting. To gain deeper insight into this field, consider reading “Designing Interfaces: Patterns for Effective Interaction Design” by J. Tidwell and Ch. Brewer.
4. Motion graphics design. This field focuses on creating animations, visual effects, and short videos that bring “living characters” to screens. Actions can take place in two-dimensional or three-dimensional worlds. Motion graphics design is in high demand across various industries, including marketing, cinema, animation, and mobile interface design. You can explore the book Design for Motion: Fundamentals and Techniques of Motion Design by Austin Shaw to learn more.
5. Brand identity design. Designers in this field engage in developing unique graphic elements for companies. For instance, logos, product packaging, brand guidelines, and corporate style manuals. With the assistance of designers, brands can establish powerful associations by using colors, typography, and recurring patterns. The book Creating a Brand Identity by Catharine Slade-Brooking is a valuable knowledge source for aspiring creators. 

Graphic design fundamentals 

Designs consist of images, colors, and typography. To craft captivating visuals, mastering the art of color combinations, font pairings, and image placement is essential.

Color theory 

Color theory delves into how various hues interact with each other and the viewer. It encompasses topics such as human color perception, the blending of shades, and how colors can convey messages.

To master color theory, it’s crucial to grasp these key topics:

• Color properties—includes concepts like saturation, value, tones, shades, tints, warmness, coolness, and temperature.
• Color wheel—represents an illustrative organization of different hues and demonstrates how they can harmoniously work together. With a color wheel, you can match hues that will complement each other in your designs. There are several online tools made for such purposes, e.g., Adobe Color and Paletton. 
• Color psychology—specific colors can evoke distinct emotions in people. For example, blue is frequently associated with calmness, while violet delivers a sense of innovation. Understanding the meanings of colors in design allows creators to influence consumer perceptions and convey appropriate messages.

Typography 

Typography is a crucial design element that allows creators to direct user attention effectively. Modern fonts can be categorized into eight types: blackletter, sans-serif, serif, script, monospaced, calligraphic glyphs, slab serif, and display. Your task as a designer is to skillfully combine different fonts.

Here are some fundamental principles for font pairing:

• Use a maximum of two fonts in your design projects.
• Mix typefaces from the same font family for consistency.
• Pair strong fonts with more delicate ones to create visual contrast.
• Combine serif and sans-serif typefaces for a balanced look.
• Reserve calligraphic fonts for headings or decorative elements.

Typography is a complex discipline, and font pairing relies on various characteristics. For beginner designers, online services like FontJoy and FontPair can be helpful tools.

Layout and composition 

In good designs, elements are never isolated. They interact with each other in specific ways, forming a composition. To create harmonious layouts, you should consider these eight principles:

1. Balance. This principle refers to creating visual weight in your composition. However, balance isn’t equal to equilibrium in design. For example, imagine you need to make an infographic. In this case, you can place elements in parallel, circle, or mosaic structures, which creates balance. 
2. Contrast. This is about creating a visual counterpoint between elements. For example, white and black colors in one frame deliver contrast in your composition. You can achieve counterpoints in your designs through color, size, and alignment. 
3. Emphasis and subordination. This technique implies developing a focal point that serves as the center of the viewer’s attention. When all elements possess equal prominence, concentration is scattered. So, for example, when designing advertising banners, you should emphasize a selling proposition by headlining it. 
4. Directional force. This is a visual pathway that guides the viewer’s gaze across the composition. Directional forces can be found in natural environments like roads, mountains, and rivers. With these elements, you can direct the viewer’s eye to buttons or subscription forms. 
5. Proportion. This is the relationship of a specific part to the entire object, as well as the correlation between individual parts themselves. With size, graphic designers can shape visual aesthetics, realism, and overall compositional style. For example, the Subaru logo contains several stars, one bigger than the others, capturing the viewer’s focus. 
6. Scale. This conveys comparative dimensions of a design element in relation to other ones. Using it, creators can establish visual hierarchy and highlight necessary components like buttons and options. 
7. Repetition and rhythm. This principle is based on element recurrence, allowing for directing the viewer’s gaze and establishing attention. For example, users know that important icons are arranged in specific places, like your website’s upper right side, simplifying interactions. 
8. Unity. This can be explained as the symphony made by combining design elements. For example, you can employ identical colors and same-shape components to achieve a cohesive look. 

Professional tips on how to make good graphics 

#1 Research 

Watchfulness is key to good design. Aspiring creators experience challenges inventing something new, but they should focus on taking small pieces of information from everywhere. 

Before making designs, observe how others approach them. Online sources like Behance and Dribble can assist you in this endeavor. Save works that captivate you and make mood boards for your projects. For example, you can create a workspace in Figma where you can keep all thematic images, interesting fonts, and matching colors. Gathering design puzzles makes it much easier to see the complete picture.

#2 Utilize negative space 

The concept of utilizing negative space, also known as white space, is a valuable design principle that can greatly enhance the overall aesthetics and clarity of your compositions. While beginner creators might initially view empty spaces as a detriment, they play a crucial role in design by providing balance and breathing room. Negative space helps simplify the perception of a composition, allowing the viewer to focus on essential elements. This creates a harmonious and visually pleasing design. 

#3 Develop order

The visual hierarchy of a composition should be easily perceived. To achieve this, highlight important elements in your design. For example, make your headings bigger than the body text. Avoid center alignment for body text since most readers in many countries read from left to right, and center alignment can make text less legible.

#4 Keep it simple

Ensure each design component possesses a clear purpose and choose straightforward fonts, shapes, and pictures. Opt for contrasting tonal color combinations to ensure sharp and legible text.

#5 Repeat design elements

Professional designers often develop UI kits that contain reusable graphic elements like icons, product cards, article frames, etc. When incorporating the same materials in your projects, you build consistency. 

Conclusion 

With a variety of directions, graphic design is a go-to choice for creative minds willing to improve the visual perception of things. To acquire this profession, familiarize yourself with artistic fundamentals, rules, and design principles. Learn about color theory, typography, and composition from this article, and start mastering your skills.