Being selective about the photographs you use in a layout can also provide interesting shapes. For instance look for photographs that have large areas of negative shapes and/or empty spaces. 

In this lesson you learn and review how to effectively use shapes in a design layout. Knowing how to design with shapes is one important design skills to master and will have you designing like a pro instantly.  Especially having the ability to design both positive and negative shapes simultaneously. 

Illustrations or photos with blank backgrounds, referred to as cutouts, also create nice positive and negative shapes within a design layout because of their contour edges, as seen in this example. 

Recognizing shapes in typography that can be integrated with other visual components can create very interesting designs. Here are examples of logos using shapes and typography.

In this lesson you will learn how line can be effectively used in your design layouts to create movement and direction to centers of interest.

Use value to draw attention to important information, add spatial depth, and establish a mood.

This design example shows a full range of values which include black, white, and gray.

One way to test whether a design or layout has enough value contrast is to squint your eyes when viewing a composition. Doing so will blur and simplify the design into areas of values. 

In this lesson you will see how texture can be used in graphic design layouts to add special effects that help get your designs noticed. 

In this lesson, you will learn how space can be used in a graphic design layout.

Space keeps the design from looking overcrowded by the visual components. It makes type easier to read and it helps guide the viewer through the design.

The type should be utilized to emphasize the important content and subordinate the less important parts of the text in order of importance.

The basis for a formal design is the placing all of the visual components in an absolutely centrally balanced arrangement within the layout. 

Asymmetrical (informal) layout are achieved by randomly placing the formal elements in the composition until there is a sense of balance. 

The Rule of Thirds is a compositional formula which places the focal point “out of center” to create a more asymmetrical design.

Hi Class,

Here is another method for simplifying an image for vector art, using "Adjustment Levels" in Photoshop. Using levels will give you more contol over tha amount of detail you maintain in the image. My image actually ended up being 4 values instead of three. I can easily make adjustments on the individual layers, but I like the way it turned out. I hope this is helpful to you. - TZ

This video demonstrates a few of my favorite approaches to creating logos. I'm sure it will give you a few tricks to try if you are new to logo design or need a new direction. 

You will also find the "Managing Your Design Projects with Layers" demo (Lecture #36) useful.

TZ

HINTS:

• Use a variety of character attributes such as bold, ilalics, CAPS, underline, color, etc.
  
• Avoid covering important images and photos with text. Look for images that will also create interesting negative shapes to design type in.

It's always good to know what went wrong in a design when you are a beginner, but you can also learn just as much from deconstructing a design that works well. This review points out what is good in the design and why it works.

Being innovative with your design work is important, but keep your audience in mind and anticipate how they will connect with the product and information. This review gives you some pointers, and more discussion about the importance of establishing a visual hierarchy in the design.