April, 2011 | Graphicdesignmontreal.ca

Web Page Layout – Composition Tips and Principles for Web Page Layouts

Many new and upcoming graphic artists struggle with various visual, web page layout and composition issues. Whether you are laying out a web page, a flyer, an illustration, a book, magazine or business card, below, you will find a very useful guide filled with concise advice on how to effectively produce a quality layout. We have examined a few general visual design, layout, aesthetic graphic design and graphic design composition principles which can be applied to illustration, graphic design and any kind of work that involves visual composition, depth and perception including web design, photography and film or video production. Effectively, we have produced the greatest series of page layout and composition tips discussed using traditional design principles for photographers, animators, graphic designers and web page designers.

Web Page Layout – Main Direction: Composition Basics

You can emphasize a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction. Vertical Space is harder to control than horizontal space. Most of our environment consists of vertical objects. A tilted horizon or angle, can cause compositional discomfort for viewers, and is often used to achieve dramatic, intense, dynamic, energetic, stress-inducing effects. We strive to maintain stability in a picture. We should be cautious when tilting the horizon in news or documentary productions. Direction was used in effective layouts and compositions throughout history, and for culture-specific purposes in architecture. Of course, the combination of horizontals and verticals reflects our current reality.

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Graphic Depth Factors – Linear Perspective, Relative Size, Overlapping Planes, Height In Plane

Graphic Depth – Linear Perspective

Linear perspective was something that took a long time to conceive of and was neglected in medieval artwork, as was graphic depth altogether. Leonardo DaVinci, among many others elaborated on the principle of vanishing points, which suggest that all lines (graphic vectors) associated with objects converge to a common location which disappears in the distance, which is why we perceive the world as such. This point is on the horizon line at eye (or camera) level. When creating architectural or technical drawings, one uses one, two and even three point grids to determine the various vanishing points of a three dimensional object/location. This notion evolved in to drawing techniques commonly known as 1, 2 and 3 point perspective. When things are farther away, they appear closer together, which is called the crowding effect. Placing background objects closer together can also enhance depth. Texture refers to objects that repeat and more of them are closer together, the farther away from the camera they are. This results in crowding through texture. The faster the points meet, the greater the distance. This artificial tactic is referred to as forced perspective. (graphic depth factors continued…)

Visual Graphic Design Layout – Object Framing

Visual Layout – Facilitating Visual Closure

When working as a graphic designer, it is important to organize and frame content so objects can easily be grouped visually based on their geometric shapes or patterns. Psychological closure allows us to mentally fill in all the gaps for information we are unable to see. We cannot see any object from 360 angles at once, yet are able to identify most objects from any angle. This phenomenon enables us to perform well in our environment, even given our visual constraints/limitations. We tend to break things down into their simplest forms, like shapes (squares and triangles). Strong diagonals often result in perceiving triangular shapes. In ordered to establish your framing, you can always look for certain shapes, images, angles, patterns and other features in order to get graphic closure.

For example, on a particular work of art, the rocks to the left of the screen are simply a few properly positions splotches of paint. However, they create a convincing image due to their clever positioning. (visual graphic design layout continued…)

Graphic Design Cover Letter

We have had numerous requests for help on academic subjects and post-graduate assistance, in order to help Montreal graphic designers find work, and successfully prepare their portfolios for various competitive arts and multimedia programs. Below you will find a letter of intent that allowed one of our own employees to enter a University-level arts program at Concordia University. We have titled this document “Graphic Design Cover Letter” to help the many struggling graphic artists and creative designers locate this document, and successfully enter their first program of choice. It is completely unedited, meaning it has not been at all modified from its original version. Enjoy the read! Comments and feedback are most welcome. Forward this article to your friends and colleagues, and remember to bookmark it. Also feel free to subscribe to our feed for more frequent updates, tips and tricks, and graphic design industry news items. Read the arts program cover letter below for a real life example of what has worked for a once aspiring and now successful multimedia and web designer.

I would like to major in Communications Studies because I see this as an opportunity to enhance my creative abilities. I would like to learn script writing and take courses that will complement my design skills such as film production, (graphic design cover letter continued…)