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August 2023
When I bought my first car, an aqua coloured 1979 Toyota Corolla 4-speed manual, the act of buying the car didn’t grant me a licence.
I purchased the car prior to getting my licence. I learned to drive in the car under the tuition of an experienced driving instructor (because my mum’s nerves couldn’t cope, bless her).
I failed my first driving test because I didn’t have enough experience with the clutch. In my defence, we had a 6-week driving period before we were apparently ‘test-ready’. Yes, 6 weeks! It feels a bit like the Wild West now, but let’s carry on.
Upset with myself, my brother offered to help me hone my clutch skills so I could pass the next driving test, which was booked in as soon as I failed the first. Unable to hit the open road, we sat in my Corolla and went up and down our driveway in first gear and reverse until my clutch work was flawless.
I passed my second test with flying colours. Thanks bro.
Why am I telling you this? Because the act of repetitive training and achieving accreditation in any discipline means something.
Like driving, design takes time to learn the principles and methods of application. It can take years to hone your skills thoroughly, and the learning is never really done. A designer needs to know what skills and applications to apply and when. And sometimes, what not to apply. Design is a discipline.
So, like my ’79 Toyota Corolla didn’t grant me the skills to drive, access to design software doesn’t grant someone the skills of a designer.
Let’s dig deeper.
I’ve worked with, within, and alongside many different teams over the years, and I’m often surprised to learn that management purchases design software for non-designers with the expectation of design-level outputs. This is grossly unfair to non-designers.
No doubt, there was non-designer excitement at the prospect of ‘doing design’ when the software was installed. And undoubtedly, joy turned to overwhelm, then avoidance, when it was discovered how complex programs like InDesign can be. The next logical step … “let’s get Canva”.
Again, access to software doesn’t grant someone the skills of a designer.
Design isn’t the ability to use software or move things around a digital artboard, although those do form part of being a graphic designer. And design isn’t “making things look pretty”.
Design, at its core, is deep problem solving that factors the user / audience into all decisions related to the task at hand.
Design isn’t throwing everything down on a page in a shouty fashion.
Design is as much the absence of something as it is the inclusion of only what is essential.
Design is building an aesthetic that conveys a strategic intention.
Design is functional and contextual.
Design is intentional.
For the sake of this article not running into next year, let’s stick with and dig into just the discipline of graphic design.
Graphic design is the intentional act of solving communication conundrums with visual and textual content. Any graphic design efforts should be intentionally aligned with either an overarching strategy or an individually nuanced direction for specific media or audiences.
Throwing the kitchen sink and everything else at a piece of design work is like overcooking calamari … Once you’ve gone too far in one direction, you’re better off starting again.
Some of the best visual communication pieces I’ve seen don’t have all the bells and whistles; rather, they pare back and remove what isn’t essential to the communication to maximise the intended message and achieve cut-through. Graphic design is about embracing your audience by visually speaking to them in a way that creates an emotional connection and hooks into their needs. Design is not overwhelming or visually shouting at your audience. Design is considered.
The discipline of graphic design is executed using design principles. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the graphic design principles used by professional designers:
– Alignment
– Contrast
– Hierarchy
– Repetition
– Balance
– Emphasis
– White space
– Movement
– Rhythm
– Harmony
These principles are often lacking in a non-designer’s (or junior designer’s) design outputs. But this doesn’t mean all is lost. Applying design principles can be taught. For designers, these skills are taught and honed over a period of years, often with the support of design peer feedback.
This is something a non-designer with Canva or InDesign doesn’t have access to. But some inroads can be made by undertaking training and an honest and ongoing self- or peer-critique of your work.
Typography is the most noticeable skill I see missing from amateur design outputs.
Typography is the design, selection, application, and refinement of text to achieve the most aesthetically pleasing and readable composition.
Typography can be anything from choosing the right font (not because you like it, but because it aligns to strategy, and the aesthetic you need for your audience), to tweaking kerning (letter spacing) or leading (line height).
When applying typography, a professional designer will take the following into consideration:
– Font selection (style)
– Font combinations
– Font weight
– Font size
– Hierarchy
– Kerning
– Leading
– Line breaks
– Effects applied to type
– Alignment
– Margins, gutters, column width, and placement
– Nuanced adjustments made to lettering.
Even non-designers can learn how to apply the rules of typography with a little training. Training. Application. Feedback. Repetition.
Typography is the single most important applied skill that takes the written word from average to excellent.
Without typography, the world would be an ugly place.
The story of the Corolla isn’t quite finished. After getting my licence, the very first time I drove alone, I crashed into a pole when turning into a driveway. This anecdote serves as a reminder that even after short bursts of any type of training, the learning is not really complete.
Design is no different. Post-training, you'll need frequent hands-on design experience, coupled with trusted feedback and a propensity to be a self-propelled upskiller. This is the only way to further refine your graphic design skills and keep up with ever-changing software updates and design expectations.
A good designer will never let their learning curve flatline.
In the interests of helping professional service firms without design teams look professional in the market, BrandOps has put together this Marketer’s Guide to Typography.
In this publication, we explain the various aspects of typography and explore a series of before and after design executions that showcase the importance of typography in visual outputs.
August 2023
When I bought my first car, an aqua coloured 1979 Toyota Corolla 4-speed manual, the act of buying the car didn’t grant me a licence.
I purchased the car prior to getting my licence. I learned to drive in the car under the tuition of an experienced driving instructor (because my mum’s nerves couldn’t cope, bless her).
I failed my first driving test because I didn’t have enough experience with the clutch. In my defence, we had a 6-week driving period before we were apparently ‘test-ready’. Yes, 6 weeks! It feels a bit like the Wild West now, but let’s carry on.
Upset with myself, my brother offered to help me hone my clutch skills so I could pass the next driving test, which was booked in as soon as I failed the first. Unable to hit the open road, we sat in my Corolla and went up and down our driveway in first gear and reverse until my clutch work was flawless.
I passed my second test with flying colours. Thanks bro.
Why am I telling you this? Because the act of repetitive training and achieving accreditation in any discipline means something.
Like driving, design takes time to learn the principles and methods of application. It can take years to hone your skills thoroughly, and the learning is never really done. A designer needs to know what skills and applications to apply and when. And sometimes, what not to apply. Design is a discipline.
So, like my ’79 Toyota Corolla didn’t grant me the skills to drive, access to design software doesn’t grant someone the skills of a designer.
Let’s dig deeper.
I’ve worked with, within, and alongside many different teams over the years, and I’m often surprised to learn that management purchases design software for non-designers with the expectation of design-level outputs. This is grossly unfair to non-designers.
No doubt, there was non-designer excitement at the prospect of ‘doing design’ when the software was installed. And undoubtedly, joy turned to overwhelm, then avoidance, when it was discovered how complex programs like InDesign can be. The next logical step … “let’s get Canva”.
Again, access to software doesn’t grant someone the skills of a designer.
Design isn’t the ability to use software or move things around a digital artboard, although those do form part of being a graphic designer. And design isn’t “making things look pretty”.
Design, at its core, is deep problem solving that factors the user / audience into all decisions related to the task at hand.
Design isn’t throwing everything down on a page in a shouty fashion.
Design is as much the absence of something as it is the inclusion of only what is essential.
Design is building an aesthetic that conveys a strategic intention.
Design is functional and contextual.
Design is intentional.
For the sake of this article not running into next year, let’s stick with and dig into just the discipline of graphic design.
Graphic design is the intentional act of solving communication conundrums with visual and textual content. Any graphic design efforts should be intentionally aligned with either an overarching strategy or an individually nuanced direction for specific media or audiences.
Throwing the kitchen sink and everything else at a piece of design work is like overcooking calamari … Once you’ve gone too far in one direction, you’re better off starting again.
Some of the best visual communication pieces I’ve seen don’t have all the bells and whistles; rather, they pare back and remove what isn’t essential to the communication to maximise the intended message and achieve cut-through. Graphic design is about embracing your audience by visually speaking to them in a way that creates an emotional connection and hooks into their needs. Design is not overwhelming or visually shouting at your audience. Design is considered.
The discipline of graphic design is executed using design principles. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the graphic design principles used by professional designers:
– Alignment
– Contrast
– Hierarchy
– Repetition
– Balance
– Emphasis
– White space
– Movement
– Rhythm
– Harmony
These principles are often lacking in a non-designer’s (or junior designer’s) design outputs. But this doesn’t mean all is lost. Applying design principles can be taught. For designers, these skills are taught and honed over a period of years, often with the support of design peer feedback.
This is something a non-designer with Canva or InDesign doesn’t have access to. But some inroads can be made by undertaking training and an honest and ongoing self- or peer-critique of your work.
Typography is the most noticeable skill I see missing from amateur design outputs.
Typography is the design, selection, application, and refinement of text to achieve the most aesthetically pleasing and readable composition.
Typography can be anything from choosing the right font (not because you like it, but because it aligns to strategy, and the aesthetic you need for your audience), to tweaking kerning (letter spacing) or leading (line height).
When applying typography, a professional designer will take the following into consideration:
– Font selection (style)
– Font combinations
– Font weight
– Font size
– Hierarchy
– Kerning
– Leading
– Line breaks
– Effects applied to type
– Alignment
– Margins, gutters, column width, and placement
– Nuanced adjustments made to lettering.
Even non-designers can learn how to apply the rules of typography with a little training. Training. Application. Feedback. Repetition.
Typography is the single most important applied skill that takes the written word from average to excellent.
Without typography, the world would be an ugly place.
The story of the Corolla isn’t quite finished. After getting my licence, the very first time I drove alone, I crashed into a pole when turning into a driveway. This anecdote serves as a reminder that even after short bursts of any type of training, the learning is not really complete.
Design is no different. Post-training, you'll need frequent hands-on design experience, coupled with trusted feedback and a propensity to be a self-propelled upskiller. This is the only way to further refine your graphic design skills and keep up with ever-changing software updates and design expectations.
A good designer will never let their learning curve flatline.
In the interests of helping professional service firms without design teams look professional in the market, BrandOps has put together this Marketer’s Guide to Typography.
In this publication, we explain the various aspects of typography and explore a series of before and after design executions that showcase the importance of typography in visual outputs.
