Rescuing Your Graphic Designs

By Florie Lyn Masarate

Take a deep breathe. It is always best to clear your mind first before plunging in on your work. This should be your starting point because you are about to solve some graphic design problem the classic way.

Outline your project. Make a simple outline of the presentation graphics you will be needing. Do not get into details yet.

Identify what you are trying to say. Keep your audience visually interested by keeping your designs simple. Avoid too much clutter that can lose the focus you want to convey to the readers.

Keep it simple. Simple is way better than complex, especially in images that will only be seen for a short time. Complexity obscures rather than clarify your message. Try not to fill out every available space.

Assess the type, graphics and photos. See how all these factors will blend together in the final presentation. MS Word and Excel offer some formatting programs you can experiment on to see which one is suitable.

Add emphasis using color and contrast. Your graphics must be seen easily and it should attract more attention than any other factor around it. If this is not done, their attention will be diverted on something else; ads, banners, flyer, etc.

Get a new perspective. After focusing on the graphics project, get some fresh perspective. Ask someone with enough experience in design some questions that you want answered. How do these graphics strike you? And other similar questions that can help you make up your mind.

Put some finishing touches. You may want to brighten colors, change font sizes or rearrange graphics for better overall layout. Anything that can make your designs looks better. Avoid putting on too much as it may bring more harm than good.
Take one last good look. No matter how careful you are, there will always be some mistakes to correct. Misspellings, margins and graphics that still need to be properly arranged. It is best to print out samples until you are satisfied with what you see.

Print and mount the finished work. You would not want your final work wrinkled or warping just because it is not mounted properly. There are mounting products you can choose that is quite easy to do and still appear professionally done.
With these graphic design rescuing tips, you can really look forward to a presentation without those knots in your stomach. Keep these tips in handy.

About the Author
Florie Lyn Masarate got the flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.