Design is a process, and as such it’s important to understand the elements that go into creating an effective design. The seven elements of graphic design are shape, color, scale, line, contrast, alignment, space. The first step in applying these elements is understanding them individually.
The 7 Elements of Graphic Design
Shape
Shape can be used to create hierarchy through size or position on the page; shape can also be used to guide the eye throughout a document by placing larger shapes near each other with similar colors (contrasting shapes should never touch). The most common shapes for logos are circles and squares because they represent completeness while triangles are often found on websites due to their dynamic nature.
Creating an aesthetically pleasing design may seem as fun and easy task, but it is a lot more difficult than one might think. The most important thing to remember when designing something new is that you have two shapes working in opposition with each other: the positive shape of what’s being designed, and negative space where anything not specifically designated can go.
The importance behind considering both these aspects are their balance; if either side becomes too prominent over the other then your work will be ruined by uneven lines or lack of detail which won’t make sense within context (no matter how beautiful they look).
Color
In 1706, Sir Isaac Newton created the first color wheel. He took what he saw with a prism and arranged it in a segmented circle to mimic how colors blur together when they spin rapidly on an object like this rotating disk. Now we can see that without his help by spinning one of these disks ourselves!
The primary colors are red, yellow and blue because they represent the three channels of light (red being long wavelengths that we can see).
Color is a powerful element in design – it creates moods or feelings by using warm shades for energy and excitement while cool colors evoke calmness and serenity.
When selecting hues for projects like choosing paint samples at an art store or designing wallpapers, consider using complementary colors which appear opposite each other on the ROYGBV spectrum as well as neighboring shades next to them so everything works harmoniously (which tends have more consistently pleasing effects).
It’s important to know how colors work together in order to avoid creating a mess. When it comes down to picking the right color combinations, one of your best bets is going with opposites or neighbors on the wheel because they tend produce pleasantly cohesive results. If you’re not sure what these are, there’s plenty of online tools that can help show you some examples and get ideas for combos!
Scale
One of the most important aspects of any design is its scale. Different scales in a piece can have a big impact on how your audience views and makes sense of it, so to understand what size you should use for different elements in your composition, think about where they fit into three categories: focal point (largest), highlighted importance (medium) or simply background element that needs to be labeled but doesn’t need more attention than others (small). This will give viewers an easier time understanding the meaning behind each part as well as guide their eyes through all areas throughout the piece by making them aware of which parts are more prominent while not losing sight of something just because it’s smaller.
You can use scale to create a visual hierarchy for your design. When you make an element larger than the rest, viewers are naturally drawn towards it and this is often used as way of getting attention in advertising because people notice more when something looks different from what they’re normally expecting or seeing.
Line
Lines can be more than just dividers. They sculpt the foreground, background and form of your composition, making it look polished while conveying movement and emotion through lines that mimic natural patterns in a way you may not have considered before. Defining these underlying architectural elements is key to achieving desired mood with an aesthetically pleasing design.
Designing is all about mood and emotion. Mood lines are a quick, easy way to create the right feeling for your project without having to do anything but think! You can use them in virtually every element of your design including layout flow, font selection, photography perspective angles — you name it. They even don’t have to be visible; they’re just there as simple guidelines on how you want things to feel which will help shape the final product!
Contrast
Contrast is the visual tension between two elements that have strong differences. Contrast can draw attention to important features or create interest in a design, but it’s also critical for understanding content because without contrast our designs aren’t just lackluster and boring – they’re difficult to read as well! With poorly designed layouts where there’s no sense of contrast, readers who are scanning through the text will find themselves lost within moments of reading because everything blends together too much making all words look similar on their screens.
So when designing your layout with little-to-no contrasts you risk people not being able to actually understand what you’ve written (and like I said before: if we don’t provide clear information then nobody benefits).
Alignment
Think of alignment like an invisible axis that runs between elements, connecting them visually either by their edges or centers. Alignment is most frequently discussed in design conversations about typography and text; however, it’s also important to consider the alignment of non-text elements when building a balanced composition.
Space
Space is the blank canvas for designers and, when it comes to creating your own professional-looking design, what you don’t include can be just as important. When working on a design, try not only including elements that are meaningful but also arranging them in an interesting way so they aren’t all crammed together. Sometimes giving these elements room to breathe will help make your designs more creative and engaging!
