By Jenna Sudol, AMS First-Time Attendee Stipend Receipient
I had never met John McWade, senior staff author for Lynda.com at LinkedIn, prior to attending his session at the Ag Media Summit, although I felt I owed him a thank you. The Lynda.com library is my go-to resource for design help. Since my freshman year of college, I have referred to Lynda.com tutorials to spark creativity, learn new skills, and navigate all too frequent error messages within adobe software. Naturally, I was eager to attend McWade’s “Design Deep Dive” sessions.
McWade shared seven design essentials that even beginner designers can put to work for more polished results.
Keep It Simple; McWade preached the power of a simple design and “using less stuff.” Oftentimes designers overthink and overpopulate their work, creating distraction and dissonance for the viewer.This suggestion can be especially useful when it comes to logo design. “A good logo acts as an identifier, not a story-teller,” he said.
Minimize Difference; Working with cohesive color pallets and using white space works to minimize noise and the resulting dissonance. McWade asserted contrast was key to minimizing differences. Lowering the contrast between colors and fonts quiets a presentation, while greater contrast ignites excitement and agitation.
Have a Focal Point; McWade could not stress enough the importance of focal points. He said there should be one present in “every page, every ad, every design, always.” In the absence of focal points, the eye is left to wander the page in a way that the designer cannot control. A good designer is cognizant of their ability to manipulate how designs are viewed.
Put White Space to Work; McWade claims many designers are hesitant to use white or empty space in a presentation, which is a flaw in their logic. “White space is visual silence,” he says.
Get Extreme; Primarily, McWade posits the power of quiet designs, although when designers are struggling to make an impact, the opposite side of the spectrum may be appropriate. One sure-fire way to incite interest in a design is making items super big, super small, or a combination of both. McWade defines reverse scale, as the process of shrinking a conventionally large object or image and enlarging a small one. This tactic is especially helpful when a design is not packing a punch. Another way to get extreme is with color. McWade identifies black, white, and red as powerful colors that make a statement, hence their popularity in design.
Unblock It!; McWade contends removing all or some of the rectangular perimeter from an image can be beneficial. The reasoning behind this design suggestion is that “boxes create extra shapes for our brain to process,” he says. Creating visually appealing designs largely requires eliminating dissonance and noise, especially in the publication and promotion sphere.
Use Beautiful Color; Humans are attracted to color; incorporating dynamic color palettes is an easy way to improve a design. When working with a design that includes a photo, sampling 6-10 colors from the image creates a custom pallet that is sure to compliment the photo.