Design for impactful communication

An introduction to design
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Design for impactful communication

An introduction to design

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In the world of data, design skills are becoming increasingly important. We regularly need to
design visually appealing dashboards and visualisations to communicate our complex data
findings to non-technical stakeholders.

These design skills equip us with the necessary tools

needed to create visually appealing charts, graphs,
and dashboards that are easy to understand and help
us make our data-driven decisions more accessible to
a broader audience.

In this deck, we will discuss composition, layout and

colour theory, as well as the key differences between
RGB and CMYK colour models.

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Design for impactful communication

Intro to colour mixing models

RGB Red, Green, Blue) CMYK Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key)

RGB is known as the additive colour model and is primarily used CMYK is known as the subtractive colour model and is primarily
when mixing light. This means that anything emitting light will used when mixing colours on a surface. CMYK is most
use the RGB mixing method. RGB is most commonly used in commonly used in colour printers, because it allows them to print
screens of televisions, computers, and smartphones. a greater variety of colours than RGB would.

The additive model focuses on adding light to colours in order to

make them brighter. If we mix all three the primary colours of
As most of our work will be on screens,
light, the result would be pure white light.
weʼll be focusing primarily on the RGB
colour model.

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Hue, value, and saturation

| When working with colour digitally, it is crucial to understand that colour can be described using three primary
characteristics: hue, value, and saturation.

● Hue refers to the type of colour and is generally referred to as the name of
01. Hue the colour, such as red, green, or blue.
● When a colour is at its brightest, it is referred to as a pure hue.

● Value refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour. It is often described as

02. Value how close a colour is to pure black or pure white.
● Value can also be referred to as the brightness of a colour.

● Saturation can also be known as the purity or intensity of a colour.

03. Saturation ● A fully saturated colour is the most intense or pure version of that colour,
whereas the least saturated version would be closer to a shade of grey.

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The colour wheel

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These colours are the bare minimum needed to create a basic RGB colour wheel. It can however become much more
complex due to colour being a spectrum of many different hues, tints, and saturations. This is known as a colour
spectrum wheel. A normal colour wheel is made up of three different colour categories; primary, secondary, and tertiary
colours.

Primary Secondary Tertiary Colour wheel Spectrum wheel

+ + =

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Basic colour harmonies

It is important to understand the colour wheel before deciding which colours to use, because it shows us which

| colour harmonies would work well together. Colour harmonies refer to the use of specific colour relationships
or arrangements to create visually pleasing and balanced colour combinations in various design contexts.
Understanding these harmonies is essential to achieving a well-balanced design.

Monochromatic Analogous Complementary

This harmony uses variations of a single This harmony uses colours that are next These colours are located directly
colour by adjusting its value or to each other on the colour wheel. For opposite each other on the colour wheel.
brightness. It creates a simple, example, we might use bright green, lime For instance, lime green and purple, or
harmonious, and calming effect. green, and yellow together. red and cyan.

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Design for impactful communication

Additional colour harmonies

Split-complementary Triadic Tetradic Double complementary)

This harmony uses a base colour and the This harmony uses three evenly spaced This harmony involves two sets of
two colours adjacent to its colours on the colour wheel. For complementary colours, creating more
complementary colour. It creates a example, red, blue, and yellow. complexity and contrast. They can be
softer and more harmonious contrast. challenging to balance but offer a wide
range of possibilities.

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Hex codes

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Hexadecimal is a numbering system that uses 16 different characters to represent values from 0
to 15. These characters include the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F. In the context of hex
codes. The letters A to F represent values 10 to 15, respectively.

Format

A hex code is typically written with a "#" symbol followed by six digits and is most frequently used to represent colours in the
RGB colour model. In this model, each colour channel R, G, and B) is represented by two numbers, ranging from 00 (minimum
intensity) to FF (maximum intensity).

The hex code for pure red would be #FF0000. This shows that red is at maximum intensity and green and blue are at minimum
intensity of 0.

Hex codes are vital when transferring colours between

programs or mediums to make sure that the colour we are #FF0000
using stays consistent and we don't need to guess if a colour is
similar enough or not.
#FF9900

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Proximity

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Proximity refers to the visual and spatial relationship between elements on a page or screen. Proximity involves
placing related elements closer to each other while separating unrelated elements to establish a clear and
intuitive layout.

Bad proximity Good proximity

● None of the elements are really grouped together. ● Elements are divided into related groups.
● Challenging to decipher and understand the ● Clear that the colours and text in the bottom left
design. serve as a key for the graphs on the right.

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Design for impactful communication

White space
White space, also known as "negative space," refers to the empty or unused space around and between

| elements in a design. Whitespace is not necessarily white, as it refers to the absence of content, text, or
graphics rather than the actual colour on screen. It plays a fundamental role in design aesthetics, usability, and
communication.

Bad white space Good white space

● The only white space is on the edges of the design ● The white space is evenly distributed throughout
and uneven. the design.
● The result is cramped and unbalanced. ● More breathing room and balance in the design.

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Alignment
Alignment refers to the arrangement of visual elements in a layout to create order, cohesion, and clarity. It

| plays a crucial role in ensuring that a design is visually appealing, easy to understand, and effectively conveys
its message. Aligning objects or text by hand can be quite a challenge, so it is recommended to use guides and
grids in order to align everything perfectly.

Poor alignment Good alignment

● Objects aligned by sight, rather than with guides or ● The guidelines and grid help our alignment.
grids. ● Evenly spaced text and visualisations.
● Our scene is inconsistent and difficult to interpret. ● Resulting in a consistent and cohesive design.

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Design for impactful communication

Contrast

| Contrast involves creating distinctions or differences between visual elements within a design. It is used to add
structure and separation in the design and makes the design more legible and accessible to a variety of users.

Poor contrast Good contrast

● Extremely difficult to navigate or read the design. ● The design is much more legible and accessible.
● Everything looks equally important. ● The contrast helps separate the graphic from the
● Difficult to see or read elements. text and results in a more balanced design.
Design for impactful communication

Hierarchy
Hierarchy is used to organise and prioritise visual elements to guide the viewer's attention and understanding

| of a design. By using all of the design concepts weʼve learned, we can make some elements on screen more
interesting than others. This shapes a clear path throughout the design to help the viewer digest and navigate it
with ease.

Poor hierarchy Good hierarchy

● All text has the same size and formatting. ● Heading is the largest text on screen and bold.
● The graphics all have a similar contrast and size. ● Low contrast of the other graphs and increasing
● Impossible to know what information is most the size of the bar graph.
important. ● Easy to understand and navigate.

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Design for impactful communication

Repetition
Repetition focuses on repeating certain design elements, such as shapes or colours, in order to create

| cohesion and maintain relationships across multiple designs. The key difference between repetition and the
previous design principles is that repetition applies to multiple designs within the same project and not just a
single design on its own.

Examples
In the example below, the repetition of colour and position is used to maintain relationships across the two designs. Even though we
donʼt use any labels or text to explicitly state that there is a link, the matching colours and positions of the elements illustrate it clearly
enough for the viewer to follow along.