Graphic Design for Non Graphic Designers

Congratulations, you have gotten a job as a librarian. I bet nobody told you that you would also be doing lots of things that require graphic design! Flyers, Posters, Bookmarks, Displays, OH MY! Where is the library class for that?

Why Me? I am in no way qualified to discuss graphic design, it’s true. I’m not a graphic designer, I just play one at the library.

My Learning Journey: Married to an art/graphic design major Taken a variety of continuing ed webinars, workshops, etc. Research, research, research Practice, practice, practice Trial and error (with lots of error)

BSP Alert! 20 years + of researching, practicing, etc. You can find it in this book, coming in the Summer 2014 from ALA Editions.

What I Use Microsoft Publisher A pretty standard tool. Easy to use.

GIMP www.hawksmont.com Free online tool Note: STEEP learning curve, but there are tons of cool brushes you can use to add things like weather effects, wings, doodles, etc.

A Variety of Smartphone Apps For example, the PhotoShop Express app is an easy tool that you can use to crop, colorize, etc. images that you take using your phone. It is less expensive than buying the complete PhotoShop package. The Comic Book app allows you to create a complete comic book page.

Most graphic designers agree: No more than 2 to 3 Colors No more than 2 to 3 Fonts

Fonts should be: Easy to read, look good together (complimentary) Colors: Google color theory & color wheels – You want to use complimentary colors Most Basic Complementary Colors: Red/Green, Blue/Orange, Purple/Yellow Posts about Fonts: What Font Should I Use? Posts about Color: Introduction to Color Theory Color Theory 101

RGB Color Guide from RapidTables.com

We are used to reading from Left to Right

Headline/Program Title

When we approach a sign, we scan the page In a Z pattern Put information where people are used to looking for it based on how we know they scan a page

General Description/Info

Note: This is also called the Focal Point or Pulling Focus

Note: There are a couple of other layout options: 3 Design Layouts

Date/Time Library Logo

Typography – the fonts you use – are design elements. Headlines and text all need to be considered in the overall design process. Fonts should be complimentary, legible, and fit the overall theme. Here are 10 Common Typography Mistakes by Brian Hoff. More Resources: I love typography Typography Daily

Remember: Font types communicate a message. Don’t use a serious font for a funny piece and vice versa.

Giving text components different size (weight) helps your viewer understand the hierarchy of importance of the various components of your piece. It also helps readers know which order to read the elements (color can do this too)

Headline Date/Time Description

Library Information

When you have a big chunk of text, left or right justify your text. This creates a clean line that is easy to follow. It also seems to better utilize the space on the page. We tend to want to center justify our text, but word in the graphic design community is that left or right justifying your text is the best practice: best for design, best for space, best for the reader.

Center Justification

Left Justify Right Justify

When you have a big chunk of text, left or right justify your text. This creates a clean line that is easy to follow. It also seems to better utilize the space on the page. We tend to want to center justify our text, but word in the graphic design community is that left or right justifying your text is the best practice: best for design, best for space, best for the reader.

Take a look out your window at the tree line, nature is not symmetrical. When we design things symmetrically, the eye becomes confused and doesn’t know what part of the page is important and to stop and read. All the elements are given equal weight in a symmetrical design. Making our page non-symmetrical creates a space that gives visual clues to the reader about what elements are most important.

White space is also called negative space, because it isn’t always white. White spaces are those blank spaces on the page of your design. They are important because they give your viewers a place to rest their eyes. They also help you define the spaces that ARE important to your readers/viewers. White space can be dependent on your audience. I think you can use less white space with teens than you can for adults because teens are heavier Internet/media users and they are used to a different aesthetic. Using White Space Effectively

Borders create a clean edge

Sometimes breaking the border makes for good design too

When writing text, use verbs! You are inviting people to come into your library and DO something. Use verbs to let them know what that something is. The you at the beginning is implied when they read it.

Creating Call to Action Copy

You want your graphics to be complementary. Choose graphics that look stylistically the same. If you are using line drawn graphics, use ALL line drawn graphics. If you are using cartooinish looking graphics, then they ALL need to have that same cartoonish look. Consistency makes it look like we know what we are doing. They don’t have to know that we don’t.

You can use a Smart Phone or a Tablet to download a variety of Apps to make your own graphics.

Generating Marketing Creativity with Apps

Picture Me This

Comic Book

Photo Shake

Word Foto

Filter Mania

5 Best Photo Editor Apps

You can use Pics in your Marketing Materials Bookmakrs Made Entirley w/Phone

You can save your pictures and incorporate them into posters, ads, end cap signage, etc.

If it works for the piece, Break the rules

Text and Object Fill

Cropping Clip Art!

Instagram

Do a test print: Check for layering (ordering) of objects to make sure elements are not knocking other elements out of place or overlapping and cutting off text. Check your alignment to make sure all the elements are aligned the way you want them to look. Use the alignment function to straighten out your edges. Make sure the colors are printing the way you think they should look and they still look good together. Sometimes the color is slightly different when printed compared to what you see on the computer screen. Make sure all fonts are clearly legible. Some fonts only work well if they are really big. Once you have confirmed everything is good, you can do big print runs.

Note: You can group objects together, right click & save as a .jpg

Things I have actually done (or seen done): Put my home phone number on a sign Put a complete strangers phone number on a sign by re-arranging the numbers. She called to let us know that everyone was calling her house to sign up for a program. You never want to be the PUBIC LIBRARY. That‘s hard to live down. You don’t want to put the wrong date, time. You don’t want to misspell a guest speaker’s name. You don’t want to misspell the name of your library. And yes, I have done that.

Some Graphic Design Resources Graphic Design Basics Desktop Publishing : 12 Most Common Mistakes Graphic Design Blender

Don’t forget to look in your library’s book collection!