What is Graphic Design?

Graphic Design is the use of Graphic Elements (Lines, Shapes, Fonts, Colours) to create visual contents that are used to pass across information.
Every design is passing an information
As a Graphic Designer, you're passing message to people.
Every design you see is telling you something.
These messages are passed using Graphical Elements like colours, image, fonts etc..


Graphic Design is creating contents that pass accurate information.
This is done by using Graphical Elements.


Basic rules of design simply refer to the regulations that guide a designer to bring out a useful and impressive design.

The purpose of a great design is to pass the needed information just as in the case of a good copy in which your headline must gain the prospect's attention, mere seeing your design should grasp the attention of people so much that they want to read the information it's passing across. 

To get your design to fulfil its purpose, there are basic rules you must adhere to.

This article is to guide you on the basic rules that will help you in creating a compelling design.


1. Emphasis :

Just as in the name, emphasizing anything is to make it so known or give special attention to it.

Emphasis is to be laid on the information you want your audience to know upon seeing your design. Is it the theme of the event, the date, or the name of the brand? 

You can emphasise by making that particular information bold, and colourful, making it the biggest element or even placing it in the middle of your design.


2. Alignment:

The last thing you want to do to your design makes it all shabby. Balancing the weights of your elements will help in the alignment.

You can choose to align your texts on one side of the design.



3. Repetition: 

You don't want to make some elements look so odd in your composition(design) by being just one of a kind.

It's advisable to use the same fonts repeatedly, and stick to two or three colours, as repetition strengthens and unifies your design.


4. Contrast:

It creates space and difference between the elements in your design.

Using one or two fonts, colours that don't contradict, and all kinds will help in maintaining the contrast in your design.

You don't want to place light coloured texts on backgrounds of light colours. Also knowing the appropriate size and weight to use will help to get rid of confusion in your design.


5. White Space:

This refers to the blank space on your design. The space around the elements in your design.

Giving space and not choking your design with unimportant details or elements helps to make it more professional and also attractive.

It helps to organize your design.


6: Movement:

This is done by dictating to your audience how their eyes should move when checking your design or reading through, making the information communicated to them properly.

For example, If you follow the principle of emphasis and the theme of your course seems to be emphasised, the movement rule when applied should follow something like, 

"This is the theme, this is where it's happening, it's free, it will be happening on this day"

It's leading their eyes even when you're not there.



7. Proportion:

This is how the weight and size of the elements in your design relate to each other. 

Proportion is easily achieved when other rules like alignment, emphasis, and contrast are done in the right way.


With these rules, you can sure set out on the journey of designing. We are rooting for you.




Why is Graphic design so lucrative? 

1. It pays well:

Graphic design is a skill that is capable of making you millions if you can dare MASTER it.
Only If You Can Dare MASTER It
But in other to master it, you must hag some qualities as a graphic designer. 
There are some things we should be able to pinpoint in you to say or call you a graphic designer.
I see so many people now who call themselves Graphic designer and yet they are not.
As a Graphic designer you must posses these qualities

Qualities of a good Graphics designer.

1. Paying attention to details:
As a Graphic Designer, always pay attention to every details your customer send to you.
Also, no element (no matter how small) should be left un-arranged.
Always great attention to details.

2. Patience:
A Graphic Designer is very patient in creating his designs..
He/she is always very calm and follows the design process step by step.
A Graphic Designer isn't in haste to create jobs as one little mistake can spoil the whole design.
3. A good listener:
A Graphic Designer is a great listener..
He makes sure he allows his client to express themselves so that he would know how to help them more.
4. Invest in him/herself.
A good Graphic Design is one who continually learns more about his/her skill.
He/she would always invest in knowledge (Courses and Trainings) to get better at his/her skill. 

Why is this Graphics designing lucrative?
1. Because it pays well
2. It doesn't need any CAPITAL:
Unlike online other physical business, you don't need any capital to start Graphic Design.
You don't need a shop or anything.
For this training and beyond, all you need is a SMARTPHONE or a Laptop and some seriousness
3. Doesn't need any supervisor:
As a Graphic Designer, you can work from home..
You don't need to register in a company or whatever..
Most of my designs are made by me lying down on my bed working conveniently..
No body loves much stress

Basic Rules to follow in Graphics designing

1. ALIGNMENT
This refers to the lining up of elements in a design. It states that every element in your design should be aligned properly.
We have various ways elements can be lined up
 We have left alignment, right alignment and center alignment, sometimes too, we have mixed alignment.
Alignment is very crucial, it fact it plays an important role in your design
It tells if you're a good graphic designer or not. If your element are not alignment your work will look tardy

2.HIERARCHY
It refers to the importance of elements within a design.
The most important elements (or content) should appear to be the most important.
 It is what we can call order of priority, important things comes first or appear first before other things.
Let us say for a program
We know some things are more important than others, things like Theme.
That is why for every program design, the theme is always is always bigger than other element
These two are very IMPORTANT to you as a Graphic Designer.
VERY IMPORTANT!! They are your backbone as a graphic designer

 3. WHITE SPACING.
This refers to the intentional act of leaving spaces between elements of your design.
These spaces are referred to as white spaces and they are left so the design would be able to breathe and avoid congestion.
White spacing is very good, it does not make your design look clumsy
I think this is very clear and does not need too much explanation
Now to the fourth one

4. COLOUR
Colours help your design look more beautiful, but as good as they are..
You must make sure not to use them too much.
Always work with JUST TWO COLOURS, maximum THREE on your design.
Use a light shade colour on a dark shade colour and vice-versa.
White shade colours are ones that have white added to them. e.g: White, Yellow, Baby pink, sky blue etc..
Dark shade colour are ones that have black added to them. e.g: Navy blue, brown, black, red etc.

5. SIMPLICITY
As much as possible, always make your design look simple.
Work with smaller fonts, avoid emboss and 3D effects.
Use more simple background and less shouty colours to communicate well.
 SIMPLICITY ALWAYS WIN
Know this and Know peace. Great designs are always simple designs, when it becomes too clumsy, it becomes less attractive

Now, let's look on how to generate concepts for designs. 

1.RESEARCH
Before starting any design, the very FIRST thing to do is to go and research on what needs to be done.
Example: You have a job to create a cake flyer design, the very first thing you must do is research.
Go to Facebook, Instagram, Google or Pinterest and just type Cake Flyer Design.
 From these, you'd see a lot of flyer designs.
Simply save them to your phone.
What this does is that it opens your mind to the concept to use.
When you research, you start seeing similarities in colour, shapes, form on how those kind of design are made so when you want to create yours.
You already know how it should look like.


2. BRAINSTORMING
 Brainstorming comes directly after research.When you're through researching, you now have series of designs to study.
You start looking at them and thinking of their similarities and how you can do something relatable.
This part is what we call the Brainstorming.
 Brainstorming is very crucial, in the sense that if after you do research and you fail to brainstorm, your research is of no use

3. MODELLING
Modelling is ethically stealing people's concept and use for your designs.
Modelling comes with sketching because as you model, you draw out concepts on a piece of paper.
Modelling is ENTIRELY different from copying.
You can copy a concept directly but you don't model one design.
Copying a concept is just making the exact design of another person but you're putting in your own information.
Modelling designs is taking different patterns from each design to form yours.
You model at least three to five designs.
So modeling is ETHICALLY stealing other people's concept to generate yours.
These three methods are basically what most designers do.

That's why if you see a church flyer design, the logo of the church and the name, most times, is always at the top.Why?
Because someone first did it like that, and we others started copying it.
These 3 methods go hand in hand, you can't leave one out and go with the others, they work together and you MUST use them together.
So that will be all for, by now you should understand how to generate and come up with concepts.
If you can work well with the tips given, you'll be able to create a top notch and professional designs.