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Graphic Design Fundamentals

Lesson 36 of 36

Bringing it All Together

 

Graphic Design Fundamentals

Lesson 36 of 36

Bringing it All Together

 

Lesson Info

Bringing it All Together

And so since we're talking about bringing it it all together, that means that I'm bringing it all together now. Always remember, the fundamentals are forever. They never go away. You will always encounter them. You'll always have to think about them. 70 years from now, while you're still working and creating beautiful and expressive compelling design communications over and over again, you'll be remembering. A couple of tips to work by. Always keep your image options open. Don't just assume that a photograph or a certain kind of illustration is the best way to go in order to achieve what you need. Think about how interesting the range of possibilities for imagery and form are. Use color decisively. Choose it on purpose. Define a palette and use it for visual purposes, to be compelling and beautiful, but also for meaning, to be evocative, metaphorical, to support the communication. You need to know the ins and outs of types really, really well because you are working with an element in ...

that case that is very, very functional and that can suffer a tremendous deal, or can suffer greatly if the relationship between its visual expression and its verbal utility are not kind of tightly controlled, and you really have to be aware of how those elements work with each other. Spacing, the counter forms, alignment relationships, groupings, and so on. And the last thing is you always want to keep in mind and take a look at your layouts as you're going through them. Test out different kinds of variations in how you might organize the same stuff. 'Cause sometimes if you just do things for the sake of seeing a difference, you find a much clearer and much more dynamic relationship than you might have thought in advance. So don't preconceive. And make sure that all the parts of the layout, whether it's for a web page or for a poster, for architectural signage, for a book, or a brochure, that they're all working together, talking to each other to create a dynamic totality. And now, again, just get out there and do it. Thank you very much. (applause) Thanks. If you would like to find out more, you can visit my website at timothysamara.com. And if you're interested in purchasing any of my books, many of which talk about these kinds of issues in different ways, there are two different websites you can go to to do a search to find my books there. I encourage you to go through all this information and I hope you get a lot out of it.

Class Description

You don’t need to be a trained pro to make great designs. In this class, Timothy Samara will explain the basic concepts behind graphic design and help you get started. You’ll learn about:


  • The skills essential for graphic design
  • Which tools designers use
  • How to manage the creative process
Timothy will demonstrate a design project from start to finish and provide a thorough introduction to the design principles professionals rely on everyday. You’ll learn the basics of: 

  • Space and form
  • Color theory
  • Typography
  • Layout and compostion
You’ll see how these theories apply to real-world projects and how they impact the overall design.

Whether you want to design a poster, flyer, or logo – Graphic Design Fundamentals will give you the insights you need to design with confidence.

Lessons

  1. Introduction to Graphic Design

    Find out how the profession of graphic design evolved and what that means for people working in field today.

  2. Graphic Design: Areas of Specialization
  3. The History of Graphic Design
  4. The Designer's Toolkit
  5. The Graphic Designer's Tools: Color
  6. The Graphic Designers Tools: Typography
  7. The Graphic Designer's Tools: Layout & Space
  8. Typical Work Processes
  9. Designing an Advertisment
  10. Designing a Poster
  11. Designing a Book Layout: Basic Concepts
  12. Designing a Book Layout: The Details
  13. Designing a Website
  14. How to Design a Brand Identity: Preperation
  15. How to Design Brand Identity: Showing the Client
  16. Building Brand Language
  17. Designing the Touchpoints
  18. Fundamentals are Forever
  1. Form & Image Toolbox
  2. Media & Stylization
  3. Representation & Manipulation
  4. Visual Narrative & Metaphor
  5. Color Identity
  6. Color Relationships
  7. Palettes & Systems
  8. Color as Meaning
  9. Typography: The Basics
  10. Style: Choosing & Mixing
  11. Text-Setting Mechanics
  12. Styles: Visual Qualities of Text
  13. Interactions of Forms in Space
  14. Arrangement, Logic, & Rhythm
  15. Contrast & Hierarchy
  16. Unifying Type & Imagery
  17. Working with Grids (or Not)
  18. Bringing it All Together

Reviews

photo_dj
 

This is more about all of your courses - It would be really nice for instructors to answer questions during break times or even after the class. There a lot a fabulous questions that I see that never get answered. I would like to go back even the next day and see a short note for at least some of those questions. Just an idea to help out this wonderful format that you have going. I am sure to make use of the promote question when I see an interesting one.

user-1f91d5
 

I LOVED this class! I learned so much and since I had the foresight to purchase it, I can go back for a refresher anytime I want. Plus, the downloads are spectacular! Almost a book's worth and so helpful! Thank you Timothy, you are great teacher!

a Creativelive Student
 

This was an outstanding course, would love to see a more in depth typography course from this guy. I'm a proffesional photographer with a formal education in design, I hardly ever use it, so I forget things, this was great both as a review, and to pinpoint things I didn't know or thought I knew. thanks once again! well done!!