Learning Graphic Design

Before planning your project, start by viewing the resources below. These short videos cover some fundamental concepts of graphic design, and the PDF shows you some tools that will help you create a balanced and visually appealing design. All three will help you get started with your project and make your graphics look great.

Principles of Graphic Design

This video covers some of the key principles of graphic design to help get you grounded before you start your project.

Basics of Graphic Design

Once you know the principle concepts of graphic design, this video will help you start to use them. It also talks about using color and fonts effectively.

Planning Your Project

Before jumping in, it is a good idea to plan out your project. This will allow you to organize your information and ideas, so you can stay on topic and not get distracted by design choices. 

1. Start with research

Before you start working on your graphic, you'll need to do some research. Even if you have some background knowledge on your topic, doing research first will help guide your design choices. While you're researching your topic, take notes on the information you find. Think about what your audience will need to know about your topic. Keep track of the data, ideas, and other information you find during your research so that it will be handy during the design process.

This step also includes keeping track of your sources. When taking notes on your research, make sure to save the citation information so that it's handy when you need to add the citations to your project.

2. Brainstorm your design

Start out by asking yourself these questions. They will help you figure out the purpose and scope of your project.

• What is your concept?
• What questions are you trying to answer with your graphic?
• What is your audience? What is their prior knowledge on the topic?

Identifying your audience is an important step in this process because when you have a specific, clearly defined audience it becomes easier to effectively share your research with the audience. Making your target audience as specific as possible will help you narrow down the options for the format of your project as well as make important choices about the design, tone, and presentation of your format.

Creating a mind map is a great way to get your ideas out if you're not sure where to start: 

1. Start with a central idea.
2. Add related subtopics, and connect them with lines.
3. Add details.
4. Draw connections and highlight promising ideas.

Your mind map can include ideas about your topic, but it can also include information and data from your research as well as descriptions of images you could use to represent your research.

"Mindmap: coffee project" by Rob Enslin is licensed under CC BY 2.0

3. Create an outline

After collecting all of your information and brainstorming your design, you need to organize it and to give it a logical flow. You can do this by connecting your points to each other and to the work you're analyzing. This is also the time to start thinking about the layout of your project. Make a rough sketch that will guide you as a reference when you put together your final piece.

Once you have a sketch and outline completed, it is time to bring your ideas to life! As you design your project, you can continue to refine your research and experiment with the layout of your graphic if your initial sketch is not as effective as you expected. Play around with graphics, colors, and other design options to make your final project cohesive and captivating.

Design Your Project

When it comes time to bring your project to life, you will want to pick the right tool to work with. Canva is a web-based graphic design tool that is a great resource if you want to edit at home or on campus since you can access your projects on any computer once you've logged in. Canva is also very beginner-friendly with a drag-and-drop interface, so you can design with confidence even if it's your first graphic design project.

Note: Canva has different account levels. We recommend sticking with the free account. Anything with a $, crown, or other tiny icon requires a paid account or needs to be paid for if you want to use it. If you have trouble finding free graphics or other items in Canva, try changing up the words you're using to search or use the filters in the search bar to change your results.



 

Getting Started

To get started with Canva, sign up for a free account at canva.com or login with your MocsNet Gmail account. Once you open Canva, you can either create a design from scratch or choose from one of the templates available for free. The templates are a great resource to browse if you are unsure of where to start with your design. 

Customizing Your Design

Canva's workspace is equipped with a toolbar that allows you to customize your content. 

Design. This tab has two menus in it: templates and styles. Templates lets you review examples or add a template to the blank document. Note that in the free version of Canva, if you change your template you will have to start your document over. Styles lets you change your font styles, color scheme, or both at the same time. 

Elements. This is where you will find illustrations, photos, charts, and other graphics that you can add to your design with one click. Use the search box at the top of the menu to find graphics for your design.

Text. The Text tab allows you to add textboxes to your design. If using a template, you will probably already have some textboxes in your design but you can add more using the Text menus. Once you have a textbox on your design, doubleclick into it to add or edit text. When you do this, you will notice that an editing bar similar to Google Docs or Microsoft Word appears above your design. Use the editing bar to change the font, size, color, or other characteristics of your text.

Uploads. You may have trouble finding the exact images you need using the search bar in the Elements tab. You can take your own photos or use other images you found online and upload them to Canva using this tab. Once you have your images uploaded, you can add them to your design just like any other document. If you need to edit a photo, add it to your design. While the image is selected (it has a purple outline around it), use the "Edit photo" button in the editing bar to find filters and effects you can apply to your image.

Apps. This tab lets you find other tools and features in Canva, like the Charts tool. After you open the Charts tool for the first time, it will be added to your toolbar. The Charts tool lets you add a variety of types of charts that you can customize. This is a great way to include data on your graphic in a visually engaging way.

Finishing Your Design

Once you have finished editing your project, you will need to share your project. The best way to do this is to save it as a PDF, so you can easily print it, email it, or submit it to Canvas.

To save your design as a PDF, click the "Share" button in the top right corner of the Canva window. Select "Download", then choose one of the PDF options. PDF Print is a slightly higher quality option and will print better if you need a hard copy. Check the "Flatten PDF" option, then click "Download". Once you have downloaded your PDF, make sure it is saved in a folder that you can easily access again. 

If you need help with Canva, come to the Studio or get in touch with us through chat on the Library website! You can also find additional resources linked below that you may find helpful.

Other Helpful Links

Here are some links that you may find helpful while working on your podcast or any other multimodal assignment.