Graphic Element Design Tools

Graphic Element Design Tools

This is the second article about graphic design, originally written by Meg Reid. This article details out the different tools graphic artist utilize to make amazing designs and converts the article for use within a doodle. We will talk about the following tools of design: Line, Color, Shape, Texture, Framing and Type and how they apply to a doodle design.

Note: A doodle is designed to provide a message. The graphic elements are how we, as designers, convey that message to the rest of the world. The original article from Meg Reid is an extremely good read.
The 6 Element of Design

Lines

These easily forgotten aspects of design play a huge part in graphic design. They can convey movement such as several diagonal lines in a row or organization such as straight lines. Borders around images. Lines that fade or break away and are not complete make up a design and can be used to emphasize our message to our viewer.

Color

This is a very important aspect of design. Consumers decide whether they like a product or service company in less than 90 seconds and 90% of that decision is based on color. The human eye will most certainly go to a colored asset before going to a black and white one if you put them side by side. Even if your colors are black and white they need to be contrasted properly. Learning about color theory will help greatly when trying to decide what colors should be used within our design.

Shapes

Everything we create is made of shapes. Every design is made of shapes. Some of the designs are easier to spot than others but when a designer starts to see that the creation they are making is a ton of shapes on an imaginary grid then designing becomes that much easier.

Texture

There is an entire article that can be written about texture but basically the text of something is how rough or smooth that object appears. Scalable Vector Graphics have a limited color palette so most of the time they appear smooth. We can make our own textures in a program like Photoshop and bring our doodles to life. Textures add to the realism effect.

Framing

Almost every good design you see has some type of frame around it. Frames come in all different shapes, sizes and thicknesses. They can be pretty and swirly or plain thin lines around a rectangle, circle or triangle. Mastering frames is important for a designers skill to advance to the next level.

Frames are what give the viewer that emphasis on the asset on the canvas to say look at me.

Typography

This is the make it or break it part of the design. The correct choice font can make the doodle pop and seem more realistic as well as a better design whereas a poor choice in font will make the doodle unreadable and drive a viewer away from it instead of keeping their attention.