By Mitch Rice
Amazing designs take skill, but you don’t have to go to school for years to learn those skills. As the number of people venturing out on their own grows, so does the need for stunning visuals. Whether you consider yourself a design pro or an amateur, you must still create outstanding content for your brand. Fortunately, there are tools like Vista Create that make it easy to create posters, animations, and other types of visual content.
To help you navigate the world of graphic design, we’ve prepared six tips. Follow them if you want to improve your visual work and learn the fundamentals of design
1. Research current design tendencies
The first step in any creative project should be to learn about the latest trends in your field. This can give you an idea of what’s currently trendy as well as some broad ideas for your own design.
2. Look at related projects online and draw inspiration from them to improve your own
After researching current trends, look at completed projects that are analogous to your own. By looking at what works and what doesn’t in other projects, you can learn what the best practices are.
3. Make sure the layout is neat and tidy
Maintain order in your layouts. Many people have a tendency to want to disperse their design elements randomly over the page. Having random things all over the room is a visual distraction that takes away from what you’re trying to say.
4. Choose complementary colors
You don’t have to be a color expert, but it does help to have a basic understanding of how various hues and shades interact with one another. Choosing complementary colors involves selecting two that are opposite each other on the color wheel. This combination can create a striking visual contrast that can make designs pop and grab attention.
Here are some steps to follow when choosing complementary colors for your design:
- Start with a base color: Choose a color that will be the dominant one. This color will set the tone and will help you select the complementary color.
- Look at the color wheel: Find the complementary color by looking directly opposite your base color on the wheel. For example, if your base color is red, its complementary color is green.
- Consider the shade: Think about the shade or tone of the complementary color you have chosen. You may want to select a darker or lighter shade of the complementary color to ensure that it complements your base color well.
- Test the combination: Experiment with different combinations of your base and complementary colors to see what looks best. You can use design tools or software to visualize how they will look together in your design.
- Consider the context: Think about the context in which your design will be used. For example, if your design will be used in a dark environment, you may want to choose complementary colors that are bright and bold to ensure that they stand out.
Remember, complementary colors are just one option when it comes to selecting the palette for your design. Other color schemes, such as analogous or monochromatic colors, may also work well, depending on your design goals and the message you want to convey.
5. Arrange your images and other components in a grid.
Do you remember how we told you it was important to break up the page’s content into chunks that you could handle? A grid system should be used to keep things in order. By default, both desktop and web-based design software include a grid or alignment tool. You don’t have to guess whether or not the images are properly aligned. Allow the machine to figure it out.
6. Keep It Simple with Fonts
More than two fonts will likely make your project look unprofessional. Titles, subtitles, and headers should all be set in the same typeface, while the body text should use a different, more distinctive font.
If you want your design to look professional, stick to using one typeface. Using fonts from the same family helps keep the design consistent and easy to read.
A professional-looking design does not require the services of a professional. Use these design tips for non-designers to inspire your work, and no one will ever know you’re self-taught!
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
