- I'm Sean Adams, and this is the
advanced course covering layout and composition.
If you've taken the fundamentals course,
you've already been introduced to the basics.
These are great.
And now it's time to move on to the deeper dive.
So welcome, get ready to dig in
and be inspired, challenged, and learn some extraordinary
techniques along the way.
Understanding and mastering composition
and layout is like learning the piano.
The more you do, the better you become.
Once you've gotten the hang of the basics,
it's time to move on to advanced issues.
Now, there are fewer absolutes
and more opportunities for personal
expression and spontaneity.
It's time to move into the world of jazz.
Not everything is 100% correct or 100% wrong,
that's what makes it exciting.
Of course, the goal of any design project
is to get and keep the viewer's attention.
Communicate an idea and make it memorable.
The tools we'll look at here reach those goals.
We'll cover issues of complex color and communication,
and look at all composition from
a three-dimensional point of view.
We hope to use typography to make information clear
and accessible, but here we'll look
at ways of augmenting, or subverting
clarity and communication.
I've wanted to dig into more extreme uses of negative space,
black and white contrast and scale for a while.
And here, we do just that.
Of course, no course of layout and composition
would be right without exploring options
and techniques to really knock the socks off the audience
using scale, repetition, and hierarchy.
The proliferation of template systems
and artificial intelligence are two threats
we face as designers.
At some point, nice and expected design
will be accessible to everyone.
But the Ace and R pocket is our ability
to create ideas and execute them with unexpected solutions.
That word, unexpected, is used often during this course.
How can you use symmetry with power
and strength contrary to traditional classical layout?
What processes for determining a layout
are unorthodox and alternative?
How can you use disharmony to create
an emotional response from the audience.
These are core issues we'll explore using
examples, work from a variety of designers, and diagrams.
Understanding how to use layout
as a powerful tool is a critical part
of a designer's success.
Knowing the right way and sometimes doing
it the wrong way, separate you
from the next template system that comes along.
Integrating your personal point
of view and spirit as a dimension
makes the work proprietary.
This is better for you, your client,
or other designers you work with.
And it's fun.
Welcome.