I'm literally just making this to rant. Not attacking any specific person, group, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, etc. etc., just ranting about what irks me about designers on this site.
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It's a header image I made for a client's twitter profile. They are a trio of authors who wrote a huge book about breast care. This image is solely purposed to advertise and inform, but that doesn't mean that the design should be neglected, quite the contrary. You start on the left, where the pink box surrounds the title of the book which immediately catches your attention because of the color and the natural placement of it where the eye always goes to. This then is lead towards the amazon logo, informing the viewer that they are able to purchase this wonderful book on amazon. This white box leads your eye towards the image of the book because of how much it stands out with the black color. You are then lead to the "call-to-action"(a call-to-action is a design tactic used to persuade a viewer to act on something.) BUY NOW! next to the book. This immediately informs the viewer that it is available for purchase and also that it nudges them towards buying it.
Why?
Because of how it was designed. The stark contrast of the book is balanced out by the gray negative space and the angle of the book is mirrored with the mouse next to the BUY NOW! The pink ribbon is a key to the balance between the larger pink shape and is also informing the viewer that this book delves into breast cancer, which is bound to get more attention because of the amount of women and men that are affected by the cancer. This is all based on the design principles of Balance and Hierarchy and Emphasis.
So I'll stop spilling and get to the point.
DESIGN IS EVERYTHING.
If you don't think about how this design interacts with a viewer, you'll never get anything done. The sole purpose of a designer is to solve a problem someone else has, visually or typographically, what have you. And understanding basic design principles and elements is a sure fire way to pack a clever punch to your designs.
Skills don't come all at once, they are developed over time. If you're designing a book cover for someone, that person obviously wants you to make their cover eye-catching, unique and tell about the book in a clever, purposeful way. That's what makes us designers so successful. If we can take a problem, and solve it, then we can better the world!
Wow I preached but you get the point. Hopefully. Think more thoroughly about your design choices. And if you're just designing for fun, that's totally okay too, that's how I started. But wouldn't you want to have a really amazing design that gives you actual results?? That actually draws people in because of how well designed it is? There is no greater feeling than seeing a physical change in how people will perceive graphic design in a positive way.
