IMAGING AND DESIGN FOR SOCIAL IMPACT

Overview
The graphic design concepts are almost like building blocks. Each layer is on top of each other
before you have the base to create something unbelievable — whether you're creating a logo, a
website, or a unique picture. The basic principles of graphic design come with different
fundamentals to consider. In this module, we will explore some of it for us to be able to create a
good design.
Lesson 1: Graphic Design Fundamentals
Objectives
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
• Understand the basic concepts like colors, typography, images;
• Understand the principles and techniques of design using applications (whether opensource or
proprietary) to develop contents for social campaigns; and
• Discuss the importance of having a good design to communicate visually.

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic Design is a process in which we use typography, images, colors, icons and other
illustrations to communicate visually. This term was first coined by William Addison Dwiggins
on 1992 as he called himself a “graphic designer”. However, graphic design is a thousand-year-
old craft which dates back to ancient cave drawings. In today’s era, we use graphic design not
just to communicate visually but also to having good user experience (for software developers)
and also to boost/improve one’s emotions (with the use of colors). The fundamentals of graphic
design vary from PowerPoint presentations, web/mobile applications, posters, logos, and even
paintings.
The basic elements of graphic design are the following:
• Lines
• Shapes
• Form
• Texture
• Balance
LINE
A line is a kind of shape which connects two or more points. It is also considered as one of the
essential elements of graphic design. Lines can be thick, thin, curved, or jagged.

Lines can be used and commonly found in drawings or illustrations, textures or patterns, as well
as on text composition – whether to give emphasis, divide or organize content, or to guide the
viewer’s eye. Impacts on lines also differs based on their attributes.
These attributes include:
• Weight
• Color
• Texture
• Style
SHAPE
A shape is a two-dimensional external boundary of an object. Any object outline that has height
and width can be considered as a shape. Together with lines, they form the foundation of your
design.
There are two (2) major categories of shapes in design:
• Geometric – these are regular and mathematical shapes.
• Organic – these are freeform shapes.

Figure 3 shows the different examples of geometric and organic shapes.

Shapes can be used in organizing or dividing contents, create illustrations, and in adding interest
to one’s work/design.
FORM
A form is a three-dimensional shape. Shadows, perspective, depth, and sometimes texture creates
a form. Without these attributes, a form is just a shape or series of shapes. Plain images/objects
and flat designs can be enhanced by adding shadows or lightings to create an illusion of a form.
It also gives the object a sense of place. Figure 5 shows that a ball, if you make it two-
dimensional is just a circle.

TEXTURE
Texture refers to the physical quality of the surface of an object in an artwork or design. It also
refers to how an object look or feels like. An object might be smooth, rough, shiny, hard, or soft.
It can be in 3D (real texture) or 2D (visual texture). Texture adds depth and visual interest to the
flat images or objects.
Texture can be used for:
• Establishing visual value or a focal point in an artwork.
• Having contrast within a design
• Making an artwork visually balanced.
BALANCE
Visual balance is the creation of visual equilibrium by relating elements such as line, shape,
color, space or form in terms of their visual weight. Basically, there are two kinds of visual
balance:
1. Symmetrical balance. From the name itself, symmetrical balance, which includes radial
symmetry is when both two sides of a piece are equal. If you fold your artwork or piece into two
or if you put an imaginary line between your artwork, each half is identical or visually similar to
the other half.
2. Asymmetrical balance. Both sides of your composition do not contain the same elements but
contain almost the same visual weight.

Branding and Identity

Branding and identity can be found everywhere. Look around you, you may see some of your
personal items, product packaging, documents, or some sort of advertising. All of them have one
in common – identity.
Branding is simply what people thinks about you, your company, your product or your service.
For example, we think of Albert Einstein as the epitome of intelligence, and that is how he was
branded.
Identity or visual identity is the visual representation of a brand. It can be in a form of image,
choice of color or typography, and many more. For example, we quickly recognize the company
and its service but just looking at its logo, typeface, or color combinations.
Let’s cite one example. We can easily associate the school by simple looking at their color
combination. For instance, if we see colors red and maroon, we can easily connect it with PUP,
or red and green for UP.
Branding and identity are not just for products and services, we can even apply it to how we
work or what type of output we produce. For example, the use of bright and bold colors are often
associated with the famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.
Lucidpress (2018) enumerated the seven steps to creating a brand identity design:
1. Establish clear purpose and positioning. Recall why you or your company exists, who your
target audience are, and what makes you or your service unique from your competitors.
2. Conduct thorough market research. Having a deep analysis on your target audience on what
their personalities are which will lead you to the next step.
3. Get a personality. Based on your research, determine your brand’s personality. Brand
personality make a huge impact on the visuals of your marketing materials.
4. Create a polished logo. In creating your logo, it should be simple, scalable, and memorable.
Observe the logos of famous companies like Amazon, Google, and IBM. What do these logos
have in common?
5. Create an attractive color pallete. Your color pallete should be simple and contain one to
three primary colors. Once you have established your color pallete, you may play with their color
family. For example, if you choose blue as your primary color, you may use sky blue, baby blue,
and other colors under the blue family to support your primary color.
6. Select professional typography. When selecting fonts, it is important to consider these
things:
a. Do not make it fancy. Fancy typefaces only make your text confusing.

Example:
b. Don’t mix fonts/typefaces. Do not mix fonts or typefaces in a word or sentence as it may give
mixed interpretations to your audience.

Example:
c. Mix contrasting fonts/typefaces. This is not similar to the above item. This means you may use
serif typefaces for your product title and sans serif for the subtitle.

7. Choose on-brand supporting graphics. Your brand identity should have a visual library that
include icons, images/photographs, design assets, and other supporting graphics.

LAYOUT AND COMPOSITION

Layout and composition are the building blocks of design. These two focus on the arrangement
of your objects or elements on your design. Your good texts, images, or other elements in the
graphic will turn to waste if your layout is not well-composed. We might be confused sometimes
in using lay out instead of layout. Please take note that these two are not the same. Lay out is a
verb phrase which simply means to arrange something, while layout is a noun which means how
things are organized.
There are five basic principles of layout and composition:
1. Proximity
2. White Space
3. Alignment
4. Contrast
5. Repetition
PROXIMITY
Proximity is the process of placing related elements together. Elements that are not related to that
group should be separated to show that these elements are not related to that group. Take family
reunion as an example, you are grouped by family, and anyone who don’t have any relationship
to your family should be separated. In design, block texts or graphics that are related should be
grouped together to make your design easier to understand.

White Space
White space is not literally the white spaces that you found on the design but rather the negative
space between lines, paragraphs, and element on the design. In his article Importance in White
Space in Design, Pratik Hedge described white space as: “White Space in design composition is
same as use of Silence in a musical composition. Without proportionate use of Silence, music is
unstructured; some may call it noise. Similarly, without White Space, design is unstructured and
difficult to consume.”
There are two types of white space:
• Micro white space. Mini spaces between paragraphs, lines, menu items, or other elements in a
design composition.
• Macro white space. Large spaces between contents and elements. How important is white
space in design?

Hedge (2017) listed some of the importance of white space in design.

1. Improved comprehension. Spaces between lines in a paragraph makes the content legible
and easily scannable to the readers/viewers.
2. Focus and attention. Macro white spaces help guide the viewers to the focus area in the
design.

3. Increased interaction rate. If used wisely, white space in design helps the viewer to get the
message quickly even without looking at the instructions. Take a look at Google’s homepage UI.
White space helps the viewer to get the message, which is to search.
4. Guide the user through local grouping. White space helps you to achieve the proximity of
your design.
5. Branding and Design Tone. Let us look back at the steps of brand identity design, the way
how is you going to apply white spaces in your design helps you create your own brand’s
personality.
6. Creates a breathing space for users. A lot of people believe that in design, one must
maximize the space by putting contents on it. However, this might make your design stuffy.
Having enough white space makes your eye rest, helps us breathe and not to be overwhelmed
with the information.

ALIGNMENT
Alignment helps designers to organize different elements in their composition. This is similar to
the alignment that we see in MS Word or other productivity tools. Effective use of alignment
gives your composition a definitive structure and a creative balance. Alignment may be left,
centered, right, or justified.
CONTRAST
Contrast means one element is opposite to the other element. This does not only apply to colors,
but to typeface and size of elements as well. Contrast helps you to catch the viewer’s eye, create
a direction, or giving emphasis to something. For example, if you use dark color for your
background, you should use light color for your foreground; or if you use different test style to
give emphasis on your content.
Repetition simply means to use of the same typefaces, color palettes, or other elements to
achieve consistency in your composition. This creates unity in your composition or make your
projects connected to each other. For example, if you create a PowerPoint presentation, you
should use only the same color palette or text style in all of your slides.
TYPOGRAPHY
Typography is the art of arranging texts that makes it readable and appealing to the viewer. It
involves font style, typeface, and text structure. Some people often misuse the term “font” as
typeface. So, let us explain first the difference between font and typeface.
Font refers to the variation of weights of a typeface, while typeface refers to the text style. Font
also refers to the format or storage mechanism of a text like .otf and .ttf. For example, Arial
Narrow, Arial Black, and Arial Rounded are fonts under the Arial typeface.
“Typeface is to font as song is to .mp3” – Nick Sherman
Table 1 shows the difference between a font and a typeface

TYPES OF FONTS
Fonts can be categorized into three:
• Serif
• San Serif
• Display

Serif
Serif fonts are fonts that have little strokes called serif on each end of the letter. They are
typically used in formal or traditional projects. Examples of typefaces with serifs are Times New
Roman, Baskerville Old Face, and Californian FB.
Sans Serif
Sans serif are fonts with no extra strokes. Sans serif simple means “without serifs” as sans is a
French word for without. These fonts are normally found in mobile phones, and computer
screens. Examples of this type are Calibri, Arial, and Roboto.
Display
Display fonts are sometimes called as fancy or decorative fonts. It can be script, blackletter or all
caps. These types of fonts are used in special occasions like invitations, titles, or posters.
Examples
of display fonts are Advertising Script, Bangers, and Forte.

Choosing a font or typeface

Whether you are new or old in graphic design, one dilemma that most graphic designers
experienced is on what fonts or typefaces are they going to use. One mistake that beginners
commit is the misuse of fonts or typefaces. In choosing a font/typeface, it should portray the
message that you want to say to your viewers. In design, fonts and typefaces do matter.

Figure 15 shows the different interpretations of these notes with the same message but using
different typefaces.
There are typefaces are that overused and outdated like Comic Sans, Papyrus, Jokerman, and
Curlz MT. Though there is nothing wrong in using them, these typefaces are being discouraged
to use. In choosing typefaces on your design, limit yourself to one or two per project, and you
may play with their family of fonts for emphasis or contrast. You may combine serifs and sans
serifs, display and serifs, or display and sans serifs.
COLOR
Colors are very essential to your compositions. One may use a combination or one or more
colors. It may be our instinct to choose color but there is a science behind it, called Color Theory.
Color Theory describes how different colors contribute to each other and how they appear as
they are mixed into other color schemes. Before we proceed to different color schemes, let us go
over some terminologies used in color.
• Hue. Refers to pure, vibrant colors.
• Saturation. Refers to the intensity of the color. It ranges from black and white (or grayscale) to
vibrant color.
• Value. Refers to the lightness or darkness of a color. For example, from light blue to dark blue.

COLOR SCHEMES
Of course, we can still remember the lessons about color during art lessons. We have primary
colors, then secondary colors and tertiary colors. A circular diagram of these colors is called a
color wheel
(Figure 15). Using this wheel, we can create our own color scheme or combination.
Monochromatic Color Scheme
This color scheme only focuses on one color, and often using variations by incorporating
saturations or values. For example, if you chose the color blue, then you may have other colors
under the same color family like sky blue, baby blue, navy blue, or dark blue.

Achromatic Color Scheme

This color scheme only revolves on using desaturated colors like black, gray, and white.
Analogous Color Scheme
Analogous color scheme selects a group of three colors that are adjacent in the color wheel.

Complementary Color Scheme

These are colors that are direct opposite to each other in the color wheel. Usually, a combination
of a primary and secondary colors.
Split-Complementary Color Scheme
Split-complementary color scheme uses the colors on both sides of the opposite color.

Triadic Color Scheme

This color scheme uses colors that form an equilateral triangle. It may be a combination of
primary, secondary, or tertiary colors.
Tetradic Color Scheme
Also known as double complementary. This color scheme uses two pairs of complementary
Colors

Understanding Color Profiles

Whenever we open an image editing application or buy a printer ink at the store, we may observe
labels like RGB or CMYK. So, what are they? They are color profiles that we need to consider if
we create designs.
• RGB. This color profile consists of Red, Green, and Blue. You should use this profile for
design that are intended for screen displays.
• CMYK. This color profile consists of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). If you have a
printer in your house, you probably see these colors as inks. This profile is intended for
designs that are to be printed.

IMAGE
Images are not just limited to photographs, it also includes graphics, and other illustrations.
Having images on your composition makes it appealing to the eyes of your viewer. Take
magazine as an example, imagine that your favorite magazine contains no image. You do not
want to read it right? That is the power of images – they are not just decorations on your
composition. Finding and placing the right image is not a difficult thing as long as you know
what kind of image you are going to use in your composition. Do you remember using clip arts
on your project designs?
If yes, then I encourage you to not use it today as we are over with the clip art era. Stock photos
are now popular in any project. Most people are now relying on stock photos as they are free or
sometimes cost less. There are various stock image websites all over the internet. The only thing
that you need to do is to choose pictures/images for your composition.

Image File Types

There are different file types of images, and they are grouped into two categories: vector and
raster.
• Vector. It is a type of image that does not lose its quality when zoomed in. Your image will not
be pixelated when enlarged.
• Raster. Opposite to vector, raster images become pixelated when enlarged.

Vector Image File Extensions

• Encapsulated Postscript (EPS). This vector format is designed to produce high-resolution
graphics for print. Being a universal file type, EPS files can be opened in any design editor.
• Adobe Illustrator Document (AI). Most preferable and commonly used image file type by
designers. If you want to create a vector image, AI is one of the best tools for you.

Raster Image File Extensions

• Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG or JPEG). This file type is the most commonly used
image file type. Since this is a raster type of image, JPEG images are known for their “lossy”
compression. Meaning, the image quality decreases when being enlarged.
• Portable Network Graphics (PNG). This file type is known for having a transparent
background. Images in this type are commonly used in web documents.
• Graphics Interchange Format. This file type is known in its animated form. You can find them
in social networking sites as posts or comments. GIFs are often used in web pages as can load
quickly due to its reduced file size.

Online Videos to Watch:

• https://youtu.be/YqQx75OPRa0
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8KoAHCwnMQ
• https://youtu.be/sByzHoiYFX0
• https://youtu.be/MELKuexR3sQ
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65WjYDEzi88
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK86XQ1iFVs
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFf9jBs2yfU

References / Sources:
• https://www.slideshare.net/LeahLewman/elements-of-art-shape-88242623
• https://visme.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/designelements.jpg
• https://99designs.com/blog/tips/graphic-design-basics/#4
•https://faculty.washington.edu/farkas/dfpubs/Farkas-Farkas Graphic%20DesignCh11Principles
%20of%20Web%20Design.pdf
• https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/graphic-design
•http://www.wcs.k12.mi.us/cousino/wcsart/art%20foundatons%20site/texture.html#:~:text=T
exture%20refers%20to%20the%20surface%20quality%20in%20a%20work%20of%20art.&t
ext=Some%20things%20feel%20just%20as, called%20visual%20or%20implied%20texture.
•https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-balance-in art182423#:~:text=Balance%20refers
%20to%20how%20the,not%20seem%20heavier%20tha n%20another.
• https://writingexplained.org/layout-or-lay-out-difference
•https://www.edgee.net/the-principles-of-graphic-design-how-to-use
proximityeffectively/#:~:text=The%20principle%20of%20proximity%20is,give%20structure%
0to%20 a%20layout.
• https://www.portlandlocalist.com/blog/how-to-improve-the-design-of-your-email-newsletter
• https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/beginning-graphic-design/typography/1/
• https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/complete-guide-color-in-design
• https://blog.hubspot.com/insiders/different-types-of-image-files