Design and visual communication

Design arranges visual elements so that a product, page or map looks consistent and communicates clearly. These curations cover the principles of design that shape visual aesthetics, the history of graphic design from text and image to shared systems, and how map-making shapes our view of reality.

How the principles of design shape visual aesthetics

Visual design arranges basic visual elements according to design principles to make a product's overall appearance consistent, and Alan Hashimoto and Mike Clayton published Visual Design Fundamentals: A Digital Approach in 2004. What choices help create that consistency, and how can you understand their effects? The lessons consider how colour and the relationship between shapes and empty space contribute to visual design.

by Curiate·the principles of design

The history of graphic design from symbols to shared systems

The history of graphic design is the history of combining text with images and concepts, most often for advertisements, publications, or websites. It is frequently traced from the onset of moveable-type printing in the 15th century, though earlier developments and technologies related to writing and printing can be considered part of the longer history of communication.

by Curiate·the history of graphic design

How map-making shapes our view of reality

Cartography is the study and practice of making and using maps, combining science, aesthetics and technique to model reality or imagined reality and communicate spatial information effectively. These lessons answer how maps shape our view of reality and help you understand how choices in map-making influence what maps communicate. They consider how maps balance representation, distortion and perspective.

by Curiate·the art of map-making

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