Before hiring a graphic designer the first thing you should know is exactly what is is that you want. Are you looking for someone to do everything for you, to manage the entire process for you from design conception to production on print and interactive projects, or do you already have a brand identity and jsut need someone to design a brochure?

Once you have this figured out, ask for recommendations from other business associates and review their online portfolios. If you do not have any contacts or referrals to work with there are a lot of design organizations you can contact to get a list from (American Institute of Graphic Artists, Graphic Artists Guild) or magazines (Communication Arts, How, Print), or you can contact your local chamber of commerce.

Now that you have a list of designers try doing preliminary research by reviewing their online portfolios, these are usually a good way to start weeding out which ones you think will not meet your needs. Once you have your short list of designers, call them and ask for a meeting time so that you can review their professional portfolio.

These face-to-face interviews are extremely important. It gives you the chance to see how well you will interact with the designer as well as an idea of how the process will work.

When reviewing the portfolios keep these points in mind:

• Is the work strong, and is it logically organized?
• Does the work speak for itself or does each piece need to be explained?
• Is there a concept behind each piece or is it merely decorative eye candy?
• Has the work actually been produced or is it prototype?
• Does the artists style match your style?
• Does the portfolio contain samples of materials that you will need the designer to produce for you.

Questions to ask the Designer

• Pick a design and ask the designer to explain how it met the clients specific needs for that project.
• Find out how many applications the designer has produced for a specific brand campaign.
• Ask to see samples of the entire program if they are not readily available.
• Ask who acted as project manager for the project, the deisgner or the client.
• Ask if the client is currently successfully using the design.

Another thing you should do is ask for a copy of their resume. It is not necessarily important that they have a formal education in design. For every excellent designer without a college degree, there iks a lousy one with the degree. What the degree will tell you is that the designer will most likely work with a logical process rather than a impulsive way. What you should really look for in the resume is their breadth of experience. What level of clientele have they worked with? Have they been trained/worked with any other more experienced designers/creatives? Have they won any awards? Is the content of their resume logically organized? All of these factors will start building the picture of what it will be like for you to work with them.

It is important for you to understand the designers approach to projects, their process and methodologies, as well as how they value their relationships with their clients. Some designers perfer to show only one solution to each project – the best solution to meet your needs. Others choose to keep clients in the loop throughout the design process, sharing creative ideas and sketches and working collaboratively with their clients. Both options are valid, it is up to the client to decide which process and which designer is best for them.

The process of designing is the ability to control the interaction of elements within a defined space. Understanding the principles of how to organize elements within this space is the second step to becoming a graphic designer. (The first is to be able to define the structure of the elements themselves.)A single image within a single defined space exerts a certain amount of independent force. It instantly creates positive and negative space. It defines itself and what it is not. The designers goal is to achieve an aesthetic order within the space that makes visual sense for the overall goal of the piece. The more elements you introduce the more difficult this task becomes. Below are five visual conditions that an artist needs to be aware of when designing, making sure that the proper amount of each (or lack of) is not only appropriate, but also contributes to the meaning of the piece.

1. Proportion
   Proportion refers to size relationships. The relative visual ratios can be compared within one image or between multiple images through contrasting line, shape, color, and size and the amount of each. Some artists use ‘correct’ proportions in order to depict realism while others use exaggerated proportions in order to express moods and feelings.
   
2. Emphasis
   Emphasis is the creation of visual importance through the use of selective stress. Through the use of emphasis a designer can cause one element or area of a piece to be the most important part of the page. This point is usually called the ‘focal point’. By using contrasting color, size, texture, etc., a designer can use emphasis to draw a viewers eye to the focal point of the piece. Contrast, isolation, location, convergence and the unusual can all be used to create emphasis.
   
3. Movement
   Movement describes the way the eye travels on a piece. The sequence in which the viewer sees the parts of a work of art and the relative importance of each is controlled by emphasis.
   
4. Balance
   Artists use balance to achieve different expressive qualities. Balance can be affected by placement of objects, use of colour, direction of line, use of pattern, etc. Some artists intentionally create visually unbalanced works to evoke a specific emotion. There are three different types of balance:
   • Formal/Symmetrical Equilibrium
     one half mirrors the other
   • Informal/Asymmetrical
     Visual weight is the same on op[posing side but they are not identical in layout
   • Radial
     Parts grow outward from the center (spider webs, flowers, bicycle spokes, snowflakes)
     
5. Repetition
   Repetition develops a rhythm within the piece. Through repetition, similarities in a work are accented to create an uncomplicated, uniform appearance through organization of images, colour (monochromatic or analogous), shape (repetition of related shapes) and space (equal space between objects).Note: Some works are interesting because of the artist’s deliberate creation of a chaotic effect.
   • Simple Regularity
     consistent shapes and intervals (picket fence)
   • Alternation
     the repetition of two images (circle, square)
   • Inversion
     repetition where the position of the unit is reversed or turned upside down
   • Radiation
     units fan out from a central point
     

When you build a house there are basic materials that you need in order to complete the project. The basic support structure, fastening materials, roofing materials, paneling, etc. Inside each category there are a multitude of options (ie; your support structure could be aluminum or wood 2x4s, I-beams, bricks, cement and re-bar, etc.).

Graphic design is no different. In design we believe that there are 6 major categories of materials that are used when developing your final piece. How you use these elements will be discussed in Part 2. In this article I will begin by discussing the six categories; Line, Value, Color, Shape, Texture, and Space. When you understand the categories you will have an easier time identifying the choices you have within each.

Lets take a look at each one individually:

1. Line
   Line records movement and creates space and shape (width and length), but not depth. A line’s direction can convey a mood: Horizontal: calm (sunset), Vertical: potential (skyscrapers), Diagonal: movement & vitality.
2. Value
   Value is the overall relative lightness and darkness.
3. Color
   Color is the most complex piece of the designer’s visual vocabulary. A designer needs to understand the human response to color. Color Theory starts with the three primary colors (red, yellow, blue). By mixing equal amounts of the primary colors our net result is what we call the secondary colors (orange, green, purple). And without getting too much deeper one more stage of mixing (equal amounts a primary and an adjoining secondary color creates the tertiary colors (red-orange, blue-green, etc). While when we select our color palette for our design projects we can choose any number of colors, we quickly learn that not all colors are harmonious. Here are the six most common harmonies:
   • Monochromatic
     a single hue that varies in value, we accomplish this by adding various amounts of black and white.
   • Analogous
     adjacent on the color wheel, slight variance (red, red-orange, orange)
   • Complementary
     opposite sides of the color wheel (red & green)
   • Split Complementary
     one color and the analogous colors of it’s compliment (red, yellow-green, blue-green)
   • Tetradic
     4 colors equally spaced on the color wheel
   • Triadic
     3 colors equally spaces (primary R-Y-B)
4. Shape
   A shape is a closed two-dimensional figure described by an edge.
   Negative Shape: The area not used by the subject or the space between shapes.
5. Texture
   Texture is defined by the surface quality of an object. It can be tactile, visual, or both.
   The three main approaches to the creative use of texture:
   • Simulated
     rendering of real textures (simulated wood grain)
   • Actual
     the physical piece (a piece of wood)
   • Invented
     man-made non-representational
6. Space
   Space is the illusion of depth (3d in a 2d format).
   • Size and Vertical Location
     smaller objects appear to be farther away than larger objects
   • Overlapping
     obscured objects appear to be farther back
   • Detail
     atmospheric ibjects that are farther away appear to ave less contrast, foreground will be clear and distinct
   • Linear Perspective
     all lines converge on a common horizon point (vanishing point)

Every industry has a language of it’s own, and every certain terms in each can be interpreted differently by each individual person. Typography is the same. There seems to be two different camps of manipulating type; in print and on screen. Some terms enjoy unanimous approval, others are proprietary. I will try to help you understand both and point out some general “rules” along the way.When discussing typography we usually start by separating fonts into categories. Some people use three, others a lot more. I generally put them into five categories: Serif, Sans Serif, Display, Script, and Dingbats.

1. Serif
   A serif faces contain cross-lines at the end of a strokes. Times is a serif typeface. Serifs help distinguish individual letters and provide continuity for the reader.
2. Sans Serif
   Typefaces without serifs are called Sans Serif. Helvetica is a sans-serif typeface. Sans Serif fonts are also sometimes referred to as gothic or grotesque.

   For headlines and short bursts of text Sans Serif fonts tend to be more legible and instantly recognizable. Conversely, for body copy, or long passages of text, serif faces are easier to read. (If you want to use sans-serif fonts for long blocks of text, try making the line lengths shorter, and add more leading. Some people believe that san-serif fonts should be used for body text on screen because all the little serifs are not rendered well, but this is a matter of opinion.)

3. Display
   Display or decorative faces are letter-based fonts that fall outside the previous categories. Due to the detail in the design of these fonts, they usually look best when used in larger sizes such as in headlines, thus, display. Conversely, they tend to be unpractical for use as text because of their limited legibility.

   This is one of the most popular categories, probably because there are so many of them to choose from. You can achieve just about any look using display faces. Among some of the more popular display type foundries are Emigre, T-26, and House industries.

4. Script
   Script faces are designed to mimic cursive handwriting or are made from actual handwriting. These can convey a range of emotions from quiet elegance to a playful casual mood. Script faces set in all caps tend to be extremely difficult to read. If you do use a script face, remember to allow for extra character or line spacing for faces with exaggerated curves, curls, and swashes. Also, avoid long lines of text set in script as this is usually too difficult to read.
5. Dingbats/Symbols
   Dingbats are decorative symbols, or glyphs, used by printers and designers to add interest to pages. From bullets to frames to tiles to clip art, these fonts replace each letter and character on the keyboard with a piece of art

We Are Family
A type family consists of variations on a typeface; regular, italic, bold, bold italic, etc. Some fonts range from ultra light to ultra black and also contain other variations like condensed, extended, etc. These come in handy when you need to fit a certain amount of copy across a predetermined length. If you have too many or too few characters, and adjusting the tracking makes the text too difficult to read, consider using a face with multiple widths in the family. Just to illustrate the point here is the Helvetica Neue family according to Adobe :

Horror-zontal Scaling
Typefaces are designed to maintain a consistent line quality and serif weight across these variations. Adjusting a font’s horizontal scale will in effect create a new face. For example Helvetica has a consistent line weight around all vertical, horizontal and curved strokes. if you set the horizontal scale of Helvetica to 200%, then the vertical strokes will be stretched to twice the size while the horizontal strokes remain the same. Now the face will have an inconsistent line weight, and is no longer true to the way Helvetica was designed. This is why we have alternate versions of fonts like extended and condensed,

Measuring Type
Before computers, when type was cast in metal, it was measured in points. This refers to the height of the metal body that held the individual letter. This was usually slightly larger than the highest and lowest feature in the entire face design.

Traditionally, a point is 1/72 of an inch. Picas are another form of measurement used for type in print. 12 points = 1 pica. 6 pica = 1 inch. This method is still in use today. Most design software for both print and web give you the option in working in points.

In CSS the size of a font is adjusted using the font-size tag.

Print designers often use the term x-height, referring to the height of the lowercase x, but in CSS, web designers us the term em, which refers to the height of the lowercase M. These are basically the same measurement. This is important because at smaller point sizes, fonts with a larger e-x-height, or em, are easier to read when everything else is equal.

According to Miles Tinker and Donald Paterson, readable text starts at 9 points, improves at 10, maxes at 11, then starts to fall off at 12 points, and gets much worse at 14 points. This theory, of course, assumes the reader has unimpaired vision and is reading print.

Monotype vs. Proportional
Type is defined by the space around it, whether between letters, words, or lines. Monospaced means that every character uses up the same amount of space, a capital O and a lowercase l will both require the same amount of horizontal space. Proportional means that the space to the left and right of a letter remains the same, but each individual letter’s footprint will vary.