How to Develop Your Design Eye

Design is all around us, from the chair you’re probably sitting on, all the way to the master artworks of the renaissance painters. Aesthetics and design are arguably some of humankind’s greatest feats. As a marketing student and a design enthusiast, I am deeply fascinated by people’s abilities to naturally create things which never fail to please the human eye.  How does one get to a point where they can effortlessly tell whether something is visually appealing  or not? How do you then improve your own design sensibilities to create materials that will catch people’s eyes? Look no further, as I am going to give you a crash course on how to develop your design eye.

What is a Design Eye?

To put it simply, by design eye, I mean your design sensibilities. Your ability to look at something, then distinguish elements in its design, appreciate nuances in its creation, and even critique it. A marketer with a keen eye for aesthetics is a deadly weapon.

I’m sure you can tell that the graphic on the bottom is far nicer than the one on top, but can you tell exactly why? This is what your design eye trains you for. Developing your design eye is a blade that needs honing throughout your career. This is to say, one does not simply become the know-it-all to design. Design, at the end of the day, is subjective. However, a true design connoisseur will know when something is fundamentally creative & well made, they can then apply those values in their own work.  So how do we develop these sensibilities?

STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!

If you want to begin thinking like a designer, it is crucial that you begin immersing yourself in design. Straightforward, right? It is important to look at other people’s work, there are always going to be people out there who are better than you. It's crucial to learn to use these people as inspiration to develop your own skills. I did the same and reached out to a colleague who, in my opinion, has one of the best eyes for design. Here is what graphic designer for the Telfer Marketing Association, Minh-Ahn Vuong (check out her work here!), had to say when asked about the best way to develop your design eye:

“I think the biggest thing for me is exposing yourself to other people’s design. So following different designers or design accounts, cause if you regularly look at them it kind of helps train your eye. The more you expose yourself I don’t the more you can develop your own opinion and eye for detail.”

Some Aesthetic Fundamentals

Now this is all nice to know, but if you are truly inexperienced in design, you need to understand a couple of things before you start trying to dissect other people’s work. Design, whether it is oil painting or creating a consumer product, still relies on a few fundamentals. These are some of the principles you should have  a basic understanding to begin studying other people's work.

Some Colour Theory Never Hurts Anyone

Begin studying the colour wheel. There are plenty of resources available online, however the most basic breakdown of the colour wheel can be found here. Understand analogous colours and complementary colours. Look at other art and try to consider how the artist use colours. Are they using cooler tones or warmer tones? Start using tools like Adobe Color to break down the colours in images you like, study how artists use different colours together. Once you begin looking at colour in design, you will slowly begin accumulating more comfort with colour theory. Intime, you will be able to instinctively pick colours for your designs that just work together.

Compositional Rules are Important too!

No matter how gorgeous the elements in your design are, if they are not composed with elegance and intention; your design will always remain lackluster. Composition is the art of organizing all the elements in your design so that they are presented in a harmonious fashion. Read through Canva’s 10 rules for composition to gain a basic understanding of some of the principals of composition. Be sure to research some of these concepts even further. Even with mediocre graphic elements, a meticulous composition will still leave an artwork with an inherent beauty.

For the Graphic Designers – TYPOGRAPHY!

Text is a huge part of commercial art, infographics and any other piece of art which is also conveying practical information. As a graphic designer, or even a marketing professional it is important to grasp the fundamentals of typography; the art of using letters to make copywriting legible, digestible, and most importantly: visually appealing. Inkbot Design has a great article called “10 Typography Rules Every Designer Should Know”, this will give you all the knowledge you need to delve into the world of Typography.

Rules are made to be broken

Remember that artists who have a intense understanding of any of these rules may break them. The most ingenious artists can bend their work around conventions in a thoughtful and calculated way. Try and notice how designers may use any of these rules and how they break them.

Recreate other’s works

“Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation” - Mason Cooley

Now to start off, NEVER EVER pass off someone else’s original ideas as your own! The purpose of recreating other people’s work is so that you can begin understanding the methods and techniques used in creating great designs. When you recreate someone’s work you will inevitably end up with a rather stronger understanding of how the designer may have approached creating the subject. It is a great tool to polish your design sensibilities. 

BACK TO STUDYING!

Now that you hopefully have a deeper understanding of some of the principles behind design, I urge you to begin your studying. Remember to look beyond the design field that you are in. What I mean is, if you are a photographer do not only look at photography to study. There is a heap of design brilliance which you can learn from painting, architecture, industrial design, etc. Some things you should be asking yourself when looking at other designers’ works are:

·         What do I like about this?

·         What do I feel on my initial impression?

·         What techniques is the designer using?

·         What stands out in this design?

·         What would I change/scrap?

·         What was the designer’s intention?

Use these questions as a starting point to begin developing your design eye.  

Some Resources

Here are some resources where you can find great designs from other artists:

·         Behance

·         Pinterest

·         Canva

Now you’re all set, use the principles you’ve learned today and go hone your design sensibilities.