Published in · 5 min read · May 21, 2021
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What is visual design? It’s is the strategic use of design elements including typography, color schemes, and assets to enhance an interaction or experience. Why does it matter? Have you ever looked at something and it just seemed ‘off’? You couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but you knew it wasn’t right. Perhaps you’re loyal to a brand and the only thing you can pinpoint is that you like their style, colors, or the way it makes you feel. Visual Design impacts our ideas of quality, effectiveness, energy, and importance.
Enhance the way your work impacts others by using the 5 C’s: Content, Consistency, Color, Connection, and Clean.
The best place to start enhancing the look of your work is with the words!
Focus: Think about the key points you’re trying to make. Keep them separate and don’t overcomplicate.
Simplify: This isn’t a college paper; don’t use filler words. Do you really need “the”, “and”, or “that” in your sentence? As you write your points and content take out unnecessary words.
Chunking: Once your content is focused on a single subject and cleared of distractions — chunk elements by taking similar pieces of content and grouping them together in logical bite-sized portions.
One of the most overlooked elements of visual design is consistency. When this step is skipped your work starts to look ‘off.’ Check for these things to ensure your work is visually consistent:
Fonts: Limit the number of fonts used and consider using the Golden Ratio when sizing– this means that the Heading and Body usually have around a 2-point difference, although this varies depending on the font.
Size: Reusing an asset on another slide? Keep it within the same dimensions. Ensure that the placement of a decorative element is placed symmetrically throughout your work. Don’t squish or stretch your images.
Spacing: Follow the Rule of Thirds by breaking your slide into 9 equal sections. This is a tried and true method for creating pleasing layouts. From there you can use alignments to make your work look sharp. All industry tools have automatic aligners built-in — use them!
Color can evoke memories and emotions. It is also an important factor when designing for accessibility. Your time will be well invested in exploring a color wheel.
Complementary: Complementary colors are across from each other on the color wheel. They make bold impacts when used together like yellow and purple or blue and orange. One tip for not overwhelming your end-user is to change the saturation levels. Like 90% blue and 45% orange, for example.
Contrast: One of the most basic design principles and one of the most eye-catching. Contrast can be used in a variety of ways, but in regard to color, it means the variation of a color and some combinations can be very harsh. Play with the hues, shade, and tints of your colors to reduce eye strain.
Emotion: Color and feelings are closely linked. Consider the message of your content and adjust your color palette accordingly. Fun and bright– try colors like pink, teal, and orange. Serious or somber — blue or gray. Passion and Power — red and brown.
Graphics: Any assets used should feel like they belong together, whether you create your own or use other resources. Vectors should be of the same style and color palette, images should have the same qualities — contrast, sharpness, style. This will elevate your work instantly.
Brand: If you don’t have brand guidelines to work from — make them. Having predetermined design choices to refer to throughout your content and for future work creates consistency and a sense of professionalism.
Content: Consider these things when designing: Who is your audience? What would resonate with them? What is the subject matter of this content? This section? This slide? Is it too literal? Only you know the appropriate answer for your client.
To paraphrase Marie Kondo, “Discard everything that doesn’t spark joy.” Apply this same principle when editing your designs.
White Space: Commonly confused with Negative Space, White Space is important because it gives the eye a place to rest and forces attention to the most important elements — your content.
Clutter: When there is more than one focal point your design may seem cluttered. Decide what is most important to your user (a line of text, an example, or image) and make that your focus. Any other elements should be limited and complementary.
Scope: Visual Design goes beyond the slides and scenes you build in. Consider the player, LMS, website, or the place where your content will exist. What does that experience look like in context to your design? Take the time to review your options in these areas as well.
Practice using these Visual Design skills with a prompt from Sharpen, Go Design Something, or on your own pieces!
