Master Layout Design In 8 Minutes! (IMPORTANT)

0:00 so today totally Master layout design with my almost two decades of knowledge crammed into this small video first let's Master the core principles of layout design and that's so we can then build on the Advanced Techniques on top of that afterwards now to start imagine overlaying a grid onto this poster the grid can actually help us organize text images and other elements in a way that feels balanced and easy to follow for instance aligning text blocks and images along the grid line gives your poster a clean and a professional look but here's the pro tip you can break away from the Grid in certain sections to emphasize a particular detail or to add a dynamic element and this can make the poster more engaging and just that much more interesting now a huge

0:47 part of layout design is actually identifying the most important information on your design and that might be an event title or a key message and to do that you can simply make it the largest or the boldest element on Your Design This use of size and contrast will immediately drool the viewer's eye to the primary focus of your design and positioning the main headline or whatever the focal point is in the top or the center of your design further ensures that it's the first thing that people are going to notice and this guides the eye naturally onto the next part of your design now balance and Alignment are also key aspects of layout design and on this poster here they do link back to to layout design now symmetrical balance can be achieved by centering

1:34 your elements or some elements and then having other elements mirrored on each side and this creates a sense of Harmony and stability now this approach works well for more formal or traditional posters typically speaking but alternatively you can use asymmetrical balance and this can make this poster here for more lively more modern by carefully placing elements of different sizes and weights on either side of the design you can create movement and interest while still maintaining overall balance finally for the basics we need to consider white space now this prevents the poster from feeling cluttered and overwhelming it gives the eye room to rest that helps highlight the most important parts of the design for example here on the left design we have ample white space

2:23 surrounding the design elements and this makes them stand out even more whilst also improving the overall read ability and the focus of the poster so now we're going to dive into the more advanced techniques that can take your layout design to new heights now the first tip I have for you is that in graphic design and regarding layout overlapping elements are a hugely powerful and hugely useful technique to be aware of and that is for a variety of different reasons so if you take a look at this Halloween poster it looks fairly decent right the design has an okay layout but we can actually drastically improve it with just overlapping elements firstly we can add a darker composition that overlaps the ghost right here and not only does this add depth and more Intrigue it

3:12 also adds a well needed amount of contrast as a design before was basically just red so this already looks heaps better but to take things a step further we can make the ghost overlap the title at the very top slightly so and again this shows more skill the designer's part and it makes things look that much more interesting importantly you can still read the title but things just look way more professional now and if we set the first design and the final design side by side we can see how different things look simply by adding two overlaying Design Elements so let's now apply the concept of color flow now the goal is to use gradually shifting Hues or color contrast to

3:58 guide a viewer's attention from one part of the design to another and this ensures that your message is clearly communicated so start by selecting a bold eye-catching color for the main headline or key message at the very top let's say a vibrant Coral pink now this color is going to immediately draw the viewer's attention to the most important information on this design now below the headline you can create a color Flow by gradually transitioning from the coral pink to a softer peach or even something like a light orange and this is as you move down the design this subtle shift in Hues guides the viewer's eye downward naturally leading them to the next part of your post or design this might be things like product details or a special offer the

4:47 smooth transition helps maintain a cohesive and Visually pleasing look while directing the flow of attention and to further enhance this effect you can introduce a color contrast to highlight specific elements for example place a bright turquoise button call to action or CTA at the very bottom of the post the contrast between the soft Peach background and the Striking turquoise immediately draws attention to the CTA and this would encourage users to take that next step the order and way you lay your colors on a design is actually still considered layout design Theory now often in graphic design multiple different principles work together in tandem in unison to create a cohesive design

5:33 strategy unintuitive flow refers to a layout design that does not guide the viewer's eyes in a logical or intuitive Manner and of course this confuses the viewers disjointed sequences are where you place content elements in random or disjointed sequencing and this does not follow a logical order of reading and it makes it difficult for viewers to understand the intended flow of your information now a lack of visual hierarchy is a big one now sometimes designers fail to establish a clear visual hierarchy on their layout and again just a design that is too cramped almost as if you're trying to suffocate the viewer with no white space and

6:23 come on we don't want to commit design homicide now do we now instead here's how you can Rectify this issues use with ease so yeah first establish clear hierarchy organize content elements in an order of hierarchy and that's easier said than done right but actually it's not that difficult just think of the most important information on your design and then give that prominence use visual cues like size color and topography to guide the viewer's attention and indicate the relative importance of each element I also have videos completely dedicated to hierarchy linked in the corner but then you want to create visual Pathways so design the layout to create a natural visual pathway that leads a viewer's eye through the content in a logical and intuitive manner

7:14 arrange your elements sequentially following the natural reading order and use visual cues like lines or directional elements to connect related content and then you want to simplify navigation keep navigation elements simple and intuitive and this ensures that viewers can easily navigate through your layout without confusion use Clear labels and use consistent placement for navigation buttons or links and avoid cluttering the layouts with unnecessary navigation options you can even use subtle cues like an arm pointing or a bird spreading its wings in a direction to the next Port of Call and so on remember this quote it's always better to have too much white space than not enough space on a design now that you've mastered the fundamentals of layout design you

8:03 might want to take things to the next level and learn some more advanced layout tips and to do that just click the video on screen but until next time guys design your future today peace