Tools and Conventions

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Key Conventions

Elements of Design:

The elements of design are largely the same as those used for art, namely line, shape, texture, form, space, colour, and value . We normally also consider typography as an element of graphic design. The big difference is that in design we use these for a purpose.

Here's a good guide and video to the elements and principles of art:

https://artincontext.org/elements-of-art/

Design elements from a graphic design perspective

A great explanation for the different elements

https://www.graphic-design-institute.com/what-are-elements-design/

And a great video...

Principles of Design:

The principles of design refer to how the elements are used and composed. the seven most widely used are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space.

A good guide and video to design principles: 99designs.com/blog/tips/principles-of-design/

And a great video...

Logo Design:

This great site and video explores the 7 types of logo design

https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/types-of-logos

Key Tools - Photoshop (raster)

Relevant tools and techniques (Level 1)

Photoshop Tools include:

Cropping: Cut out unwanted parts of an image
Adjusting brightness / contrast: Make an image lighter or darker
Brushes: “Paint” with brushes of different styles and sizes
Pen and shape tools: Create straight and curved lines, shapes, and more
Adding text: Add and adjust text

Advanced tools and techniques (Level 2)

Advanced Photoshop Tools include:

Advanced type control: Improve type layout
Content-Aware Fill - Removes unwanted objects from images.
Puppet Warp - Manipulates specific parts of an image.
Select and Mask - Precise selection of objects from backgrounds.
Image enhancement: Change images through selected filters

Complex tools and techniques (Level 3)

Complex Photoshop Tools include:

Layer Masks: Selectively hide or reveal portions of an image
Smart Objects: Embed layers and objects within a single layer
Blend Modes: Combining layers in different ways
Channels: Isolate specific colour or brightness information
Colour correction: Adjust and correct colours and tones

Key Tools - Illustrator (vector)

Relevant tools and techniques (Level 1)

Illustrator Tools include:

Line tools: Draw straight, curved and free lines
Shape tools: Create different shapes, adjust as you create
Colour tools: Selecting and applying colour
Live paint: Colour artwork using brush or pencil strokes.
Shape builder: Combine, edit and merge shapes.
Pathfinder: Combine or subtract shapes to create new forms.

Advanced tools and techniques (Level 2)

Advanced Illustrator Tools include:

Artboards: Create multiple layouts within one document.
Symbolism tool: Use and edit reusable graphic elements.
Gaussian blur: Add blur effects to objects or text.
Clipping masks: Hide portions of artwork using shapes or paths.
Blend tool: create repeating shape patterns and colour blends
Layers panel: identify and adjust the different sections of your artwork

Complex tools and techniques (Level 3)

Complex Illustrator Tools include:

Mesh tool: Create complex colour blends and gradients.
Perspective grid: Draw objects in a 3D space.
Grid / pixel grid: Create perfect alignment

Using efficient tools and techniques in outcome production.

Examples include:

Use keyboard shortcuts

Use layer names and colour to find things more easily

Group layers to keep things organised

Create Smart Objects to work efficiently

Create and use actions

Use AI select tools

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