





Design and Layout, Graphic Design, Web Design
Graphics Tools Within the Design and Layout, Graphic Design, Web Design area you'll find a wide range of annotated links to Web design tutorials, design and layout principles and tutorials, graphic design principles and tutorials, tips, and resources, and cross-platform and cross-browser issues. You'll also find helpful Web design style guides and Web sites devoted to Web design and layout, graphic design, design and layout, and related design topics.
Design Principles: Graphic Design Principles
Online course all about basic graphic design principles. Topics include: design: organizing elements, design principles: organizing intervals, balance around the optical center, balance the weight of graphic elements, balance positive and negative space, balance color, beware of individual color idiosyncrasies, avoid adjacent colors differing only in hue, consider the idiosyncrasies of color contrast, use color to create memorable moods, save bright or saturated colors for special uses, blue is for backgrounds, red and green for central elements, use depth cues to indicate importance/activity level, use similar colors to denote relationships, relate halftones with similar color tones, link color changes to dynamic events, use color consistently, never rely on color alone, consider perceptual disabilities, be aware of the gender connotations of colors, be aware of the social connotations of colors, develop color design under user conditions, computer type is not print type, choose a typeface appropriate to the material, consider readability, use italics sparingly, use typefaces consistently, shape of type affects cognition, density of type affects reader attention, create a rhythm, maintain visual consistency, use graphics to supplement non-visual information, don't let graphics distract, consider the gestalt of perceptual organization, put buttons and menus at the edge of the screen, use icons for recognizable concepts, make the affordance of objects obvious, page; don't scroll. [Article/tutorial series by Julie Jacobs and William Mueller, Design Principles for Interactive Texts.]
Demystifying Form and Function in Graphic Design Projects
“This is at the very heart of every good design, but what is it, and why do we need to remember it? As the rule suggests, this rule comes in 2 parts. What makes up the concept and who is going to see it? I can see that was clear as mud to some of you, so I will clarify.” [Article/tutorial dated 04/08/2008, by Lois Knight, for AGDesign (All Graphic Design).]
The Gestalt Principles
Brief, helpful explanations and examples of similarity, continuation, closure, proximity, and figure & ground. [Article/tutorial part of Graphic Design Tutorials, SFCC Graphic Design (Spokane Falls Community College).]
Graphic Design Basics - Principles of Design
Series of articles, tutorials at About.com that include the principles of design, visual examples, form and function, principles of graphic design basics classes series. [Article/tutorial by Jacci Howard Bear, About.com Guide for Desktop Publishing.]
How to Use the Grid System in Graphic Design
[Article/tutorial by Eric Miller, for About.com Guide for Graphic Design.]
Page Design
Online chapter from The Web Style Guide. Sections include visual hierarchy, consistency, page dimensions, page length, design grids for Web pages, page headers and footers, page layout, general design principles, and much more.
Articles, Tips, and Tutorials on Web Design and Cross-Platform, Cross-Browser Web Design
Articles, Tips, and Tutorials on Web Design
More Web Design Trends & Cliches
Lots of examples and discussion of 2007 trends at year end. Includes screenshots, links to examples. List includes cute cartoons and mascots; swirls, drips and flourishes; broken borders (and no borders); oversize RSS icons; high-texture designs; rich color with dark gray backgrounds. Interesting article. [Article/tutorial dated 12/10/2007, by author name, for Modern Life.]
* Applying Divine Proportion To Your Web Designs
Explains divine proportion, divine ratio, the golden section, provides lots of screenshots and examples - all in terms of applying these to Web site design work. Shows how to figure out the divine ratio and apply it to your layout, and links to free and commercial tools to help with this, too.

































