Congratulations, you have gotten a

job as a librarian. I bet nobody told

you that you would also be doing
lots of things that require graphic
design!
Flyers,
Posters,
Bookmarks,
Displays,
OH MY!

Where is the library class for that?
Why Me?
I am in no way qualified to discuss graphic design, its true.
Im not a graphic designer, I just play one at the library.
My Learning Journey:
Married to an art/graphic design major
Taken a variety of continuing ed
webinars, workshops, etc.
Research, research, research
Practice, practice, practice
Trial and error (with lots of error)
BSP
Alert!
20 years + of researching,
practicing, etc.

You can find it in this book, coming
in the Summer 2014 from ALA
Editions.
What I Use
Microsoft Publisher
A pretty standard tool. Easy to use.

GIMP
Free online tool
Note: STEEP learning curve, but there are tons of cool brushes you
can use to add things like weather effects, wings, doodles, etc.

A Variety of Smartphone Apps
For example, the PhotoShop Express app is an easy tool that you
can use to crop, colorize, etc. images that you take using your
phone. It is less expensive than buying the complete PhotoShop
package.
The Comic Book app allows you to create a complete comic book
page.
www.hawksmont.com
Most graphic designers agree: No more than 2 to 3 Colors
No more than 2 to 3 Fonts

Fonts should be: Easy to read, look good together (complimentary)
Colors: Google color theory & color wheels You want to use complimentary colors
Most Basic Complementary Colors: Red/Green, Blue/Orange, Purple/Yellow

Posts about Fonts: What Font Should I Use?
Posts about Color: Introduction to Color Theory
Color Theory 101

RGB Color Guide from RapidTables.com
We are used to reading from Left to Right

When we approach a sign, we scan the page
In a Z pattern

Put information where people are used to
looking for it based on how we know they scan
a page






Note: There are a couple of other layout
options:
3 Design Layouts
Headline/Program Title
Date/Time
Library Logo


General Description/Info





Note: This is also called
the Focal Point or
Pulling Focus
Typography the fonts you use
are design elements.
Headlines and text all need to be
considered in the overall design
process. Fonts should be
complimentary, legible, and fit the
overall theme.

Here are 10 Common Typography Mistakes by Brian
Hoff.

More Resources:
I love typography
Typography Daily
Remember: Font types communicate a
message. Dont use a serious font for a funny
piece and vice versa.
Giving text components different size (weight)
helps your viewer understand the hierarchy of
importance of the various components of your
piece. It also helps readers know which order
to read the elements (color can do this too)

Headline
Date/Time

Description

Library Information
When you have a big chunk of text, left or right
justify your text. This creates a clean line that is
easy to follow. It also seems to better utilize
the space on the page. We tend to want to
center justify our text, but word in the graphic
design community is that left or right justifying
your text is the best practice: best for design,
best for space, best for the reader.
When you have a big chunk of text, left or right
justify your text. This creates a clean line that is
easy to follow. It also seems to better utilize
the space on the page. We tend to want to
center justify our text, but word in the graphic
design community is that left or right justifying
your text is the best practice: best for design,
best for space, best for the reader.
Left
Justify
Right
Justify
Center
Justification
Take a look out your window at the tree line, nature is not symmetrical.
When we design things symmetrically, the eye becomes confused and doesnt know what
part of the page is important and to stop and read. All the elements are given equal
weight in a symmetrical design.
Making our page non-symmetrical creates a space that gives visual clues to the reader
about what elements are most important.
White space is also called negative space,
because it isnt always white.

White spaces are those blank spaces on the
page of your design. They are important
because they give your viewers a place to rest
their eyes. They also help you define the
spaces that ARE important to your
readers/viewers.

White space can be dependent on your
audience. I think you can use less white space
with teens than you can for adults because
teens are heavier Internet/media users and
they are used to a different aesthetic.

Using White Space Effectively
Borders create a clean edge
Sometimes breaking the border
makes for good design too
When writing text, use verbs!

You are inviting people to come into your
library and DO something. Use verbs to let
them know what that something is.

The you at the beginning is implied when they
read it.
Creating Call to Action Copy
You want your graphics to be
complementary. Choose graphics that
look stylistically the same.

If you are using line drawn graphics, use
ALL line drawn graphics.

If you are using cartooinish looking
graphics, then they ALL need to have that
same cartoonish look.

Consistency makes it look like we know
what we are doing. They dont have to
know that we dont.
You can use a Smart
Phone or a Tablet to
download a variety of
Apps to make your own
graphics.
Picture Me This
Generating Marketing Creativity with Apps
5 Best Photo Editor Apps
Comic Book Photo Shake Word Foto Filter Mania
You can use Pics in your Marketing Materials
Bookmakrs Made Entirley w/Phone
You can save your
pictures and
incorporate them
into posters, ads,
end cap signage,
etc.
If it works
for the
piece,
Break the
rules
Text and Object Fill




Cropping Clip Art!







Instagram
Do a test print:

Check for layering (ordering) of objects to make sure
elements are not knocking other elements out of place or
overlapping and cutting off text.

Check your alignment to make sure all the elements are
aligned the way you want them to look. Use the alignment
function to straighten out your edges.

Make sure the colors are printing the way you think they
should look and they still look good together. Sometimes
the color is slightly different when printed compared to
what you see on the computer screen.

Make sure all fonts are clearly legible. Some fonts only
work well if they are really big.

Once you have confirmed everything is good, you can do
big print runs.


Note: You
can group
objects
together,
right click &
save as a
.jpg
Things I have actually done (or seen done):
Put my home phone number on a sign

Put a complete strangers phone number on a sign by
re-arranging the numbers. She called to let us know
that everyone was calling her house to sign up for a
program.

You never want to be the PUBIC LIBRARY. Thats hard
to live down.

You dont want to put the wrong date, time.

You dont want to misspell a guest speakers name.

You dont want to misspell the name of your library.
And yes, I have done that.
Some Graphic Design
Resources
Graphic Design Basics
Desktop Publishing : 12
Most Common Mistakes
Graphic Design Blender
Dont forget to look
in your librarys book
collection!