Design Tips
Contrary to popular belief, graphic design is not all about artistic skill. A variety of external factors, including everything from personal taste to raw talent, play a big role in how your design will turn out. Recognizing the importance of these outside influences will affect the success of the design process. By following the guidelines we've set forth below, you should have no trouble designing a respectable sign, banner or flag, no matter your pre-existing artistic ability.
- Choose colors that will not blend together and opt for combinations that are easy on the eyes. Some good color selections are yellow with black, yellow with green, white with any dark color (i.e. blue with white, red with white, etc.). The key is to choose colors that sharply contrast each other so as to leap off the design. If you're still set on using dark combinations, like red on black, consider outlining the edge of your letters in white. This technique allows for separation between the colors and will attract your audience's eye much better.
- Do not get carried away with information overload. Give your audience only the details they need and no more. The more you try to squeeze into your design, the more it detracts from the sign's effectiveness. General rule of thumb: If it needs to be said say it; if not, leave it off.
- Fill as much of the sign's area as possible. This doesn't mean you should get carried away and start adding text or graphics to every square inch of the design. Fill as much of the space in with your text as you can (remember, large letters can be read from a farther distance) then get creative with the remaining free space to make it as attractive and eye-appealing as possible.
- Graphics, colors, borders, etc., all add their own flavor to your design. Be bold and experiment with a few of these techniques to see what you come up with; you might be pleasantly surprised with the results.
- Alignment is extremely important in a design's overall visual appeal. If the design is meant to be aligned, make sure that it is. If not, make it obvious that the design was purposely misaligned. You don't want your advertisement to appear amateurish. If your design's elements are not in proper alignment, it will show.
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