8 Simple Graphic Design Techniques

Did you ever buy a whole gallon of Oreo cookie ice cream that you really didn't need?  When you get home you asked yourself this question? Why did I just buy that?

I have. What was I thinking?!

It may be because the designer who created the advertisement in the magazine you just read, knows the right way to grab your attention with a gallon of Oreo Cookie ice cream. And you   run right out and buy a gallon. Ugh!

Using cropping, positive/negative, location and color

One lessons that is informative and gets students to really think about what they see in advertisements is to teach graphic design techniques.

I start out showing them examples of how the different design techniques (positive/negative, overlapping, cropping, texture, touching, scale, intersecting forms, color) are used in magazine advertisements. They have great fun seeing and guessing which advertisement uses which technique.

Positive/Negative, Cropping, Touch and Overlapping

After we review all the techniques they decide on a motif or symbol. They choose six of the techniques (and one motif/symbol) to work on for their rough draft. 

A work in progress- using positive/negative, color, cropping and texture

For the final, after they measure out their border and four frames, they choose their top four techniques. All frames are colored in with markers. The broad tip markers work best for coloring these.

                        

A final copy above- using touch, scale, positive/negative, texture

Another final copy above- using positive negative, overlapping, color, scale.

What do you think about this lesson?  How do you teach graphic design?  What works for you? Let me know!