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In this document you can find all the knowledge from the course Digital Media Design. This information will help you through the course and during its assignments!
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What is a bran’s visual identity? Why is it important?
Imagery and graphic information that express what a brand is and difference it. Like logos, interior of stores,
fonts and colours etc…
In a style guide colours, font, imagery etc are included. A style guide is all the elements of a company in a
guide/manual.
HYC 1 - DESIGN ELEMENTS VS. DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Design means different things to different people, depending on what design discipline they find themselves
involved in. One thing is constant, however, and that is what goes into creating a design - any design:
Design Elements and Design Principles. Designers use these basic tools to fulfil their day-to-day purpose to
create visual communications.
Design elements vs. Design principles
The design elements are the visual tools that the artist uses to create a composition.
8 basic design elements:
1. Line - the path of a moving point
2. Shape - the contour of a flat object
3. Form - a 3D object having depth
4. Space - an object’s internal/external areas
5. Value - an object’s brightness/ darkness
6. Colour - an object’s chromatic quality
7. Texture - the tactile quality of a surface
8. Type - language in visual form
Design principles are different from design elements. Where design elements can be considered the building
blocks of design, design principles are all the design choices you make. Changing things in your design
principles will change the way you look at the design and what it's trying to communicate to you.
Most common design principles and their usage:
- Balance: a distribution of equal visual weight
- Alignment: an arrangement forming a straight line
- Emphasis: an accentuation of importance
- Proportion: a scaling of objects in relation to each other
- Movement: a directed path of optical motion
- Pattern: an orderly repetition of an object
- Contrast: a juxtaposition that accentuates differences
- Unity: a harmonious arrangement of elements
Practical examples of Design Elements and Principles
Design elements and principles are not the same thing: elements are the building blocks, principles are the
choices governing how these are applied in a design.
Example: this is pink
,On its own, pink is just a colour. In this context, pink is one of the basic design elements – a building block
used to create a visual message. The colour pink on it own will not change in essence, it will stay just that,
the colour pink. However, what we do with this colour pink - the design choices that we make - will change
the way we perceive the colour. It will change the effect that it has on us.
That's what we called applying a design principle
For example, have a look at these following pictures. All have the colour pink contained in them.
Each room has the colour pink implemented in it, however the
effect isn't the same in every room.
In other words, the application of different design principles
in each room has a different effect on the viewer/user that
looks/lives in the room.
Let's have a look at another example. On its own, this square is a shape, one of the basic design elements.
If we use this square in a context, like on a page, we use a design principle to dictate how we use it: on its
own, in the centre like this, it shows symmetry.
If we bring in more squares just like it in different sizes, we can show hierarchy. To repeat, we are using a
basic design element (the shape) to show a specific design principle.
Mood board: at least 8 images
, HYC 2 - COLOURS
Colours influence many things in life and its perception. It cannot be denied the effect colours have on daily
life. Therefore, for a brand, colours are equally important. Colours send out a powerful message, but it’s also
very easy to go completely wrong with your colour choices.
Colour vocabulary & technical info
This is the RYB colour wheel. The Red Yellow Blue colour wheel, name for the
primary colour red, yellow and blue. The secondary colours are purple, orange
and green.
The opposite of the primary colour red would be green.
The opposite of the primary colour yellow would be purple.
The opposite of the primary colour blue would be orange.
Knowledge of the colour wheel and where colours are positioned in relation to each other is important when
analysing colour harmonies and overall design.
Consider the image below, when analysing colours' positions on the colour wheel and design principles:
We have a red-coloured character in the form of Mario, running in a green-
coloured game environment. Red and green are considered opposite (colour
theory) on the colour wheel and therefor create a very vibrant contrast
(design principle), it makes it easy to see Mario as you're playing the game.
There is emphasis (design principles) on Mario, due to his red colour, set off
against the green background.
Cool and warm colours
In the colour wheel you can also make a distinction between warm and cool colours. From the top yellow
colour, clockwise down to the last red colour would be the warm colours. From the bottom purple, clockwise
up to the last green would be the cool colours.
Pay close attentions especially to purples: depending on the balance of red and blue in this colour, purple
can come across as a very warm or a very cool colours.
Mario is considered dominantly a warm-coloured character (But his pants are blue! That's a cool colour! -
yes, but red is most dominant in his design) and this warm design sets off well against the cool colours
background, which is green. It creates a contrast.
RYB, RGB, and CMYK
Next to RYB, there is also RGB and CMYK.
On the left: the RGB colour wheel (red, green, blue)
In the middle you see the RYB colour wheel (red, yellow, blue), that we discussed before.
On the right the CMYK colour wheel (cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black)).
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