Design Analytical Essay: Use Of The Tool Canvas To Create My Invitation Card

For this assignment I have used the tool canvas to create my invitation card, the focus of the assignment was to use typography as the design type in addition as any design practice would require I followed the design fundamentals and design principles that were relevant to this specific design requirements. The invitation card I have designed is for a seaside wedding celebration. I used shapes and lines as my design fundamentals. A shape is a defined area of organic or geometric such as squares and circles. A positive shape automatically creates a negative shape. Color is light reflected off objects. Color has three main characteristics: hue or more commonly known as red, blue, green and definition of the color such as how light or dark it is, and intensity how bright or dull it is. I filled the negative spaces created by the smaller rectangle within the bigger one with a nude pink color as per the wedding theme. The design principles applied in this invitation card are balance, emphasis, alignment, contrast and repetition. Balance in design is similar to balance in physics. A large shape close to the center can be balanced by a small shape close to the edge. Balance provides stability and structure to a design. It’s the weight distributed in the design by the placement of your elements.

Alignment is an important fundamental of design, since it helps create a sharp, ordered appearance by ensuring the elements have a pleasing connection with each other. Aligning objects properly will clean up a design and eliminate the messiness or sloppiness that can occur when elements are placed randomly. In Spark Post, it’s easy to align elements in relation to each other or to your background photo thanks to the dotted line that appears when you move blocks of texts or shapes. The app will let you know when you’ve lined up your text or shapes in the middle of your design and with the edges of other elements in your graphic. llows us to create order and organisation. Aligning elements allows them to create a visual connection with each other.

Hierarchy

When you have multiple elements in a design, you want to make sure you’re giving extra weight visually to your most important message. This is called hierarchy and it can be accomplished in a variety of ways—larger or bolder fonts, placing your most important message physically higher than other pieces of information, or using shapes to frame the focal point. Utilizing this principle in your design starts with your message first and the goals of your design. Figure out what the most important piece of info is first. Perhaps you want the main message of your design to be a quote, but you also want to let viewers know how to follow you or that you have a sale. Visually establish your main message as the focal point with larger text or shapes to make it pop and then include your secondary message in a way that doesn’t overpower. We suggest designing your main message then adding additional text and using the design wheel on iOS to get suggestions for ways design multiple elements in one design. Alternatively, if you’re communicating on social media, you can communicate your secondary message in the copy or comment area.

1. Contrast is an important principle of design because it lets you draw out the most important elements of a design and add emphasis. Contrast happens when two design elements are in opposition to each other, like black and white, thick and thin, modern and traditional, etc. Contrast is what helps guide the viewer’s eyes to the most important parts of your design and helps organize the information in an easily digestible manner. Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements (opposite colours on the colour wheel, or value light / dark, or direction – horizontal / vertical). Contrast allows us to emphasize or highlight key elements in your design.

Repetition is an important design basic because it helps strengthen the overall look of the design. It also ties together different elements to help them remain organized and more consistent. Consistency and repetition is especially important in branding because you want your particular look to be instantly recognizable. Read about how blogger Planning Pretty uses Spark Post to create a consistent brand with her imagery. (Pro-tip: You can create one master design and duplicate it for slight modifications with just one tap.) Repetition strengthens a design by tying together individual elements. It helps to create association and consistency. Repetition can create rhythm (a feeling of organized movement).

References

1. Darwin Springs, Alice Springs. (2019, 03 30). Principles of Design. Retrieved from J6 Design : http://www.j6design.com.au/6-principles-of-design/
2. Dhanvai, V. (2017, 06 19). Principles of effective web design. Retrieved from Reign: Principles of effective web design
3. Henry. (2017, 05 15). HOW TO START YOUR DESIGN CAREER IN 2018. Retrieved from UX Planet : https://uxplanet.org/how-to-start-your-design-career-in-2018-9c56a9203329