ELEMENTS OF VISUAL DESIGN Designing Cohesive Visuals for Print and Digital

BRANDING COHESION SHOULD BE THOROUGH, CLEAR, AND DEFINED.

“HAVING VISUALLY COHESIVE WEB AND PRINT MATERIALS IS KEY TO A BUILDING A RECOGNIZABLE BRAND.” While digital branding is fundamental, there are lots of times you need print materials to make a great real-world impression. Innovative print design is a force to be reckoned with – while web pages are often skimmed in less than 15 seconds, visually engaging print materials can live in offices and homes for years.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Design vs. Styling Your profession is far more than an exercise in aesthetics. A designer’s job is to communicate a brand value through not only aesthetics but also through the affordances and constraints of the media they practice in. Design is a concoction that has an equal measure of both logic and emotion.

COIK AND CRAP

Clear Only If Known Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity  “Stop getting in the way! Make it easy for users to do what you want them to do. Don't impose your graphics, flash, and methodology. Let them do it their way. Don't design for your portfolio, design for what the user needs."  Contrast Elements that aren’t the same should be very different so they stand out.  Repetition Repeat styles down the page for a cohesive feel.  Alignment Everything on the page needs to be visually connected to something else, nothing should be out of place or distinct from all other design elements.  Proximity Proximity creates related meaning: elements that are related should be grouped together, whereas separate design elements should have enough space in between to communicate they are different.

PRINCIPLES & ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

COLOR

COLOR CONTINUED

OTHER ELEMENTS TO CONSIDER  Typography  Imagery  Theme  Harmony  Flow  White Space  And…CRAP

The good designer will understand the technical aspects of the media for which they will be designing. The well-informed designer makes fewer mistakes when aiming for cohesion while keeping in mind the constraints and affordances of each medium.