Graphic Design Basics

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GRAPHIC
DESI
6
N
BASICS
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GRAPHIC
DESI
6
N
BASICS
AMY E. ARNTSON
Professor Emerita
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
AUSTRALIA | BRAZIL | JAPAN | KOREA | MEXICO | SINGAPORE | SPAIN | UNITED KINGDOM | UNITED STATES
iv
CHAPTER 1 Applying the Art of Design
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Graphic Design Basics, Sixth Edition
Amy Arntson
Publisher: Clark Baxter
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Printed on 30% recycled paper
Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 14 13 12 11 10
TO THOSE SPECIAL STUDENTS,
FRIENDS, AND TEACHERS WHO
MAKE LEARNING A JOYFUL
PROCESS.
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BRIEF
CONTENTS
APPLYING THE ART OF DESIGN 2
GRAPHIC DESIGN HISTORY 18
PERCEPTION 40
TOWARD A DYNAMIC BALANCE 58
GOOD GESTALT 72
USING VISUAL LANGUAGE 88
LAYOUT DYNAMICS 110

THE DYNAMICS OF COLOR 130
ILLUSTRATION AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN DESIGN 150
WHAT IS ADVERTISING DESIGN? 174
PRODUCTION FOR PRINT
AND ONLINE GRAPHICS 186
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CONTENTS
Preface xxi
APPLYING THE ART OF DESIGN 2
TERMINOLOGY 3
KEY POINTS 3
PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES 3
WHAT IS GRAPHIC DESIGN? 4
VALUES 5
DESIGN FIELDS 7
THE DESIGN PROCESS 9
RESEARCH 9
THUMBNAILS 10
ROUGHS 11

COMPREHENSIVES 13
PRESENTATION 14
READY FOR PRESS 14
CAREERS 14
DESIGN STUDIOS 14
IN-HOUSE DESIGN 14
PRINTING COMPANIES 16
ADVERTISING AGENCIES 16
FREELANCE 16
DIGITAL FOCUS: CAREERS 16
NEW MEDIA 16
THE CHALLENGE 16
EXERCISE 17
1
GRAPHIC DESIGN HISTORY 18
TERMINOLOGY 19
KEY POINTS 19
THE BEGINNING 19
THE TURN OF THE CENTURY 22
MODERNISM 24
ABSTRACT MOVEMENTS 27
FIGURATIVE MOVEMENTS 30
AMERICAN DESIGN 31
POSTMODERNISM 35
FORM AND SUBSTANCE 35
DIGITAL FOCUS: POSTMODERN MEDIUM 36
NEW TECHNOLOGIES 36
THE DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS 36
INTERACTIVITY 37
THE FUTURE 36

PROJECT 36
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 39
CRITIQUE 39

PERCEPTION 40
TERMINOLOGY 41
KEY POINTS 41
SEEING AND BELIEVING 41
SEARCH FOR SIMPLICITY 41
INTERPRETATIONS 42
FIGURE/GROUND 42
CATEGORIES 44
STABLE FIGURE/GROUND 44
REVERSIBLE FIGURE/GROUND 44
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3
x
CONTENTS
AMBIGUOUS FIGURE/GROUND 44
CONDITIONS 46
LETTERFORMS 48
SHAPE 49
SHAPE VERSUS VOLUME 49
GROUPING SHAPES 49
THE FORM OF SHAPES 50
LETTERFORM SHAPES 51
DIGITAL FOCUS: VECTOR AND RASTER GRAPHICS 52
TERMINOLOGY 52
EXERCISES 55
PROJECT 55

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 56
CRITIQUE 56
TOWARD A DYNAMIC BALANCE 58
TERMINOLOGY 59
KEY POINTS 59
VISUAL AND INTELLECTUAL UNITY 59
DESIGN AS ABSTRACTION 60
WORKING TOGETHER 60
VISUAL DYNAMICS 61
TOP TO BOTTOM 62
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL 63
LEFT TO RIGHT 63
OVERALL 64
BALANCE 64
SYMMETRY 65
ASYMMETRY 65
BALANCE THROUGH CONTRAST 66
DIGITAL FOCUS: MANIPULATING LETTERFORMS 70
EXERCISES 71
4
xi
CONTENTS
PROJECT 1: WORD ILLUSTRATION 71
PROJECT 2: ELEPHONTS 71
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 71
CRITIQUE 71

GOOD GESTALT 72
TERMINOLOGY 73
KEY POINTS 73

THE WHOLE AND THE PARTS 73
WHOLE 73
GALLERY PROFILE: JOHN HEARTFIELD (1891–1968) 74
GESTALT PRINCIPLES 74
SIMILARITY 76
PROXIMITY 76
CONTINUATION 77
CLOSURE 78
FIGURE/GROUND 79
TRADEMARKS 81
FUNCTIONS 81
MAKING “MARKS” 82
SYMBOLS 82
LOGOS 83
DIGITAL FOCUS: LAYERS 85
EXERCISE 86
PROJECT 86
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 87
CRITIQUE 87
5
xii
CONTENTS
USING VISUAL LANGUAGE 88
TERMINOLOGY 89
KEY POINTS 89
THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITTEN
COMMUNICATION 89
ALPHABETS 89
TYPE CATEGORIES 91
HISTORIC TYPE FAMILIES 93

TYPE FAMILIES 97
SELECTION 98
SIZE 98
LINE LENGTH 98
STYLE 98
LEADING 100
SPACING 102

GALLERY PROFILE: PAULA SCHER (B. 1948) 103
FORMAT 103
STYLE AND CONTENT 104
SOME PROBLEMS 106
DIGITAL FOCUS: MORE ABOUT TYPE 106
A DESIGN SUMMARY 106
EXECUTION 107
SPECIFYING AND CORRECTING COPY 107
EXERCISE 108
PROJECTS 108
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 109
CRITIQUE 109
6
xiii
CONTENTS
LAYOUT DYNAMICS 110
TERMINOLOGY 111
KEY POINTS 111
THE BALANCING ACT 111
SIZE AND PROPORTION 112
VISUAL RHYTHM 115
GRID LAYOUT 119

KEEPING THE BEAT 119
PLAYING THE THEME 119
GRIDS IN HISTORY 119
CHOOSING A GRID 121
CONSTRUCTING THE GRID 121
PATH LAYOUT 121
FOCAL POINT 122
PHOTOGRAPHY IN A LAYOUT 122
CROPPING 122
RESIZING 123
SELECTING 123
DIGITAL FOCUS: RESIZING 124
MULTIPANEL DESIGN 124
LAYOUT STYLES 126
GALLERY PROFILE: APRIL GREIMAN (B. 1948) 127
CONCLUSION 127
EXERCISES 128
PROJECT 128
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 129
CRITIQUE 129
THE DYNAMICS OF COLOR 130
TERMINOLOGY 131
KEY POINTS 131
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xiv
CONTENTS
DESIGNING WITH COLOR 131
THE COLOR WHEEL 132
PROPERTIES OF COLOR 133

COLOR SCHEMES 134
THE RELATIVITY OF COLOR 135
GALLERY PROFILE: JOSEF ALBERS (1888–1976) 137
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR 137
ASSOCIATIONS 137
SELECTING COLOR 139
VISUAL PERCEPTION 139
UNDERSTANDING ELECTRONIC COLOR 141
COLOR MODELS 141
ANOTHER COLOR WHEEL 143
COLOR GAMUTS 143
COLOR IN PRINTING 144
TINT SCREENS 144
SPOT COLOR OR PROCESS COLOR? 146
PROCESS COLOR SEPARATIONS 146
CUTTING COSTS 147
HALFTONES, DUOTONES, AND TRITONES 147
PROCESS COLOR SEPARATION SUMMARY 148
EXERCISES 148
PROJECT 149
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 149
CRITIQUE 149
ILLUSTRATION AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN DESIGN 150
TERMINOLOGY 151
KEY POINTS 151
THE DESIGNER-ILLUSTRATOR 151
WHY ILLUSTRATION? 152
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xv
CONTENTS

ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION 154
RECORDING AND BOOK ILLUSTRATION 154
MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER ILLUSTRATION 156
FASHION ILLUSTRATION 157
ILLUSTRATION FOR IN-HOUSE PROJECTS 157
GREETING CARD AND RETAIL ILLUSTRATION 158
MEDICAL AND TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATION 158
ANIMATION AND MOTION GRAPHICS 158
STYLE AND MEDIUM 158
GETTING IDEAS 159
DIGITAL FOCUS: GRADIENTS 160
REFERENCE MATERIALS 163
CONTEMPORARY VISION 163
THE IMPACT OF PHOTOGRAPHY 164
THE DESIGNER-PHOTOGRAPHER 165
SPECIALTIES 166
PHOTOJOURNALISM 166
DIGITAL FOCUS: PHOTOGRAPHY 167
PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY 167
CORPORATE PHOTOGRAPHY 168
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION 168
GALLERY PROFILE: DIANE FENSTER (B. 1947) 170
FINDING PHOTOGRAPHS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS 170
PROJECT 171
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 171
CRITIQUE 171

WHAT IS ADVERTISING DESIGN? 172
TERMINOLOGY 173
KEY POINTS 173

THE PURPOSE OF ADVERTISING 173
xvi
CONTENTS
10
TYPES OF ADVERTISING 175
TELEVISION 175
GALLERY PROFILE: PAUL RAND (1914–1996) 176
NEWSPAPERS 176
DIRECT MAIL 177
OTHER FORMS OF ADVERTISING 179
DIGITAL FOCUS: ONLINE DESIGN 182
PERSONAL PROMOTION 182
CORPORATE IDENTITY 182
WORKING WITH OTHERS 184
EXERCISES 184
PROJECT 184
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 185
CRITIQUE 185

PRODUCTION FOR PRINT
AND ONLINE GRAPHICS 186
TERMINOLOGY 187
KEY POINTS 187
PART I: A DESIGNER’S TOOL 187
HISTORY OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS 187
DIGITAL FOCUS: DESKTOP REVOLUTION 188
THE MOVING DOT 188
REALISM IN COMPUTER GRAPHICS 188
ANIMATION 188
PAINTING AND DRAWING 189

LAYERED COMMUNICATION 191
ANALOG AND DIGITAL DATA 192
ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSIONS 193
THE SCREEN IMAGE 193
OBJECT-ORIENTED AND BITMAPPED GRAPHICS 194
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE 194
xvii
CONTENTS
11
xviii
CONTENTS
MEMORY 195
RAM AND ROM 195
STORAGE DEVICES 196
INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICES 196
DATA IN 196
DATA OUT 196
FINE ART 196
PART II: PRODUCTION FOR PRINT 198
THE PROCESS 198
AN HISTORIC PROCESS 198
TERMINOLOGY 199
QUALITY ISSUES 200
DIGITAL PREPRESS 200
THE RIP 200
FONTS 201
DIGITAL IMAGE 202
LPI AND DPI 202
FILE LINKS 202
FILE FORMATS FOR PRINT 202

COMPRESSION 203
PREPARING ELECTRONIC FILES FOR A SERVICE BUREAU 203
PART III: PRODUCTION FOR THE WEB 203
INTERNET ORIGINS 203
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE 203
GALLERY PROFILE: MARSHALL McLUHAN
(1911–1980) 204
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES 204
COMMON METHODOLOGY 205
DESIGN SIMILARITIES 205
DIGITAL FOCUS: NEW TECHNOLOGY
AND NEW VISIONS 206
PRODUCTION SIMILARITIES 206
DESIGN DIFFERENCES 206
PRODUCTION DIFFERENCES 206
xix
CONTENTS
WHAT ARE THE RULES? 206
NAMING YOUR FILES 206
FILE FORMATS 207
RESOLUTION 207
FILE SIZE 207
MONITOR SIZE 208
COLOR 208
WEB COMPONENTS 208
PAGES AND SITES 208
LINKS 209
TABLES AND FRAMES 209
ANIMATION AND SOUND 210
WEB SOFTWARE 210

WEB PUBLISHING 210
SUMMARY 210
PROJECTS 211
CRITIQUE 211
IN CONCLUSION 211
Glossary 213
Bibliography 223
Index 227
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PREFACE
Graphic Design Basics introduces students to an exciting and demanding
 eld. Design is linked tightly to society as it both re ects and helps to shape
the world around us. Designers are part of this dynamic, important process.
To enter this  eld requires discipline-speci c information, hands-on prac-
tice, and an understanding of time-honored principles.  e sixth edition of
this text continues to weave a concern for design principles with specialized
information about contemporary applications in the  eld of graphic design.
It continues to showcase inspiring, contemporary work in the  eld.
Following in the tradition of the previous editions of Graphic Design Basics,
the sixth edition o ers students a comprehensive introduction to the  eld of
graphic design that stresses theory and creative development.  is edition
includes additional beautiful, full-color visuals that re ect many stylistic
directions.  e designs and illustrations are chosen from some of the best
work in historical and contemporary design. Although graphic styles are
constantly evolving, the structural underpinnings of good design remain
constant.  e application of these basic principles leads to successful design
solutions.
 e tools of the graphic design  eld are changing quickly, o ering oppor-
tunities for new complexities of creation and delivery of content.  e sixth
edition of Graphic Design Basics provides a guide to generating success-

ful  les for electronic prepress. It also interweaves samples of successful
Web design throughout the chapters. “Digital Focus” boxes highlight the
importance of the computer in graphic design.  e added “Gallery Pro les”
introduce the reader to biographies of leaders in the  eld of graphic design.
 e pedagogical features in Graphic Design Basics are useful for both
students and instructors. Each chapter of the sixth edition begins with “Ter-
minology” and “Key Points” to prepare students to get the most out of the
material.  e Terminology and Glossary introduce and explain theoretical
and technical terms, while the Bibliography opens the door to further dis-
coveries and is helpfully arranged by chapter.  e accompanying Web site is
a vital part of the text and includes links for additional exploration.
xxii
PREFACE
Graphic Design Basics introduces both the form and the function of
graphic design. It works well for courses in the  eld of design, as well
as related courses dealing with visual communication and advertising.
Updated projects and exercises challenge students to internalize the lessons
in the text and to learn by doing. Goals and objectives for exercises as well
as suggestions for critique help students get the most out of these exercises.
Written and oral presentations are emphasized.
Major changes to the body of the text include the increased presence of
Web design and new images of the best contemporary designs as well as
the addition to Digital Focus boxes and Gallery Pro les. And importantly,
the accompanying Web site explores and expands each chapter’s content.
Chapters 1 and 2 present an introduction to the design process and to the
 eld of design history. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss the vital principles of
visual perception, dynamic balance, and gestalt and how they relate to
graphic design.
Chapters 6 and 7 focus on principles and practices of text and layout
design in both print and Web applications. Traditional and electronic color

are discussed in Chapter 8 along with information about the application
of color theory on and o the computer. Illustration and photography are
presented in Chapter 9, with new samples of a wide variety of digital and
analog artwork. Chapter 10 gives an enlarged overview of the goals, media,
and methods of advertising design.
Chapter 11 discusses the process of getting a design successfully into print,
with an updated step-by-step guide for electronic prepress.  e second
part of Chapter 11 gives an overview of preparing  les for the Web and
compares the similarities and di erences between print and Web design.
 ank you to the following reviewers for their help in preparing this
edition.
Florence A. Bommarito, SLCC at FV
Randy Clark, South Dakota State University
Mary W. Hart, Middlesex Community College
Ryan Russell, Penn State University
Jennifer Schuster, Anne Arundel Community College
Adrienne R. Schwarte, Maryville College
Kevin Smith, Radford University
 ank you especially to the sta at Wadsworth and at Lachina Publishing
Services for their excellent work.  ey are both professional and person-
able. I hope to work with the same team on the next edition.
ABOUT THE
AUTHOR
Amy E. Arntson is a Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin–
Whitewater, where she taught art, design, and computer graphics for
over twenty years. Her artwork is exhibited nationally and internation-
ally. She has given presentations on the nature of design and percep-
tion in Europe, Scandinavia, Central and South America, China, and
the United States. Currently a full-time artist, Professor Arntson is also
the author of Digital Design Basics.