Graphic Design Cheat Sheet

The core ideas of Graphic Design distilled into a single, scannable reference — perfect for review or quick lookup.

PiqCue — piqcue.com/graphic-design/cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Typography

The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing. Typography involves selecting typefaces, adjusting point sizes, line lengths, line spacing, and letter spacing to create hierarchy and convey tone.

Color Theory

The study of how colors interact, combine, and affect perception and emotion. Designers use color wheels, harmony rules such as complementary and analogous schemes, and an understanding of hue, saturation, and value to create effective palettes.

Visual Hierarchy

The arrangement of design elements in order of importance, guiding the viewer's eye through content in a deliberate sequence. Hierarchy is established through variations in size, color, contrast, spacing, and placement.

Grid Systems

Structural frameworks of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines used to organize content on a page or screen. Grids provide consistency, alignment, and proportional relationships that make layouts feel cohesive and professional.

Composition and Layout

The deliberate arrangement of visual elements within a defined space to create a unified, balanced, and engaging design. Good composition considers principles such as the rule of thirds, balance, proximity, and white space.

Brand Identity

The collection of visual elements, including logos, color palettes, typography, imagery style, and design patterns, that together represent an organization's personality and values. A strong brand identity ensures recognition and consistency across all touchpoints.

Contrast

The degree of difference between two or more elements in a design, used to create visual interest, establish hierarchy, and improve readability. Contrast can be achieved through differences in color, size, shape, weight, or texture.

White Space (Negative Space)

The empty areas between and around design elements that give compositions breathing room, improve readability, and draw attention to key content. White space is not wasted space but an active design element that shapes perception.

Vector vs. Raster Graphics

Two fundamental types of digital images. Vector graphics are defined by mathematical paths and can be scaled infinitely without quality loss, while raster graphics are composed of pixels and lose clarity when enlarged beyond their resolution.

Gestalt Principles

A set of psychological principles describing how humans naturally perceive visual elements as organized patterns and groups. Key principles include proximity, similarity, closure, continuity, and figure-ground relationship.

Key Terms at a Glance

Typography:The art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and visually appealing, encompassing typeface selection, sizing, spacing, and hierarchy.

Kerning:The process of adjusting the horizontal space between two specific characters to achieve optically consistent spacing.

Leading:The vertical space between lines of text, measured from one baseline to the next. Also referred to as line spacing or line height.

Tracking:The uniform adjustment of letter-spacing across a range of characters or an entire block of text.

CMYK:A subtractive color model using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black) inks, standard for commercial print production.

RGB:An additive color model using Red, Green, and Blue light, standard for digital screens and displays.

Hex Color:A six-digit hexadecimal code (preceded by #) used to specify colors in web and digital design, representing red, green, and blue values.

Bleed:The area of a design that extends beyond the trim edge, ensuring no white borders appear if the cut is slightly off-center during printing.

Vector Graphics:Digital images defined by mathematical paths and equations, allowing them to be scaled to any size without loss of quality.

Raster Graphics:Digital images composed of a grid of pixels, where resolution is fixed and quality degrades when the image is enlarged beyond its native size.

Resolution (DPI/PPI):The density of dots (print) or pixels (screen) per inch in an image. Higher resolution means more detail. Standard print is 300 DPI; standard screen is 72 PPI.

White Space:The empty or unmarked areas in a design that provide breathing room, improve readability, and direct attention to key elements. Also called negative space.

Visual Hierarchy:The arrangement of design elements in order of importance, guiding the viewer's eye through content using size, color, contrast, and positioning.

Grid System:A framework of intersecting horizontal and vertical guidelines used to structure and organize content in a consistent, proportional layout.

Composition:The overall arrangement and organization of visual elements within a design space, governed by principles such as balance, proximity, alignment, and the rule of thirds.

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