What You Can Learn About Infographic Design From Star Wars [Infographic]

by Nadya Khoja December 7, 2015 Follow @venngage

December 7, 2015

The hype for the new Star Wars movie is increasing every day. The Force Awakens is quickly approaching, and there is a lot that can be learned from the original releases about design. After all, the visual aesthetic of the 1970’s films was quite ahead of it’s time, and even today considered beyond spectacular. The reason being that there are some very specific design factors in play, however the infographic which follows simplifies those elements to the point that anyone can learn how to apply them to their own infographic designs and templates.

Depth

Adding depth to your infographic can be achieved by creating some space between the background, middle and foreground. For instance, if you are placing text or icons in your infographic, playing around with different sizes and levels of opacity can add to this effect.

Contrast

In order to achieve a sense of contrast, you can place two different images side by side that are opposite in nature. In the example presented in the infographic, this is done by placing a small ship next to a large ship to show contrast in size and power dynamics. Other forms of contrast representation can include contrast in color, style, tone, texture and even emotion.

Negative Space

Proper use of negative space will give your infographic a clean and easy to digest appearance. Negative space adds focus to a specific element that you want your reader to pay attention to. For instance, if you position a lone figure in a desert, your focus is automatically drawn to the individual, however if you place a person in a crowd, it becomes more difficult to pin your attention onto someone specific.

Perspective

Have you ever stood at the bottom of a tall building and looked up, thinking to yourself, “Wow, I’m really small,” only to then make your way to the top of the building and look down, remarking that it’s in fact everyone else who is small? This is what perspective is, and it is often overlapped with depth. To create perspective in your infographic it all depends on where you place certain text or icons in relation to each other. Pictograms are a type of chart used in infographics that often highlight a perspective or ratio.

Symmetry

Symmetry essentially adds balance to your infographic. It makes your design more comforting to the human eye and more attractive.

Directional Cues

When you’re ever talking to someone, do you pay attention to where they are directing their gaze? Have you ever noticed that if they are suddenly looking intently in one specific direction, that you can’t help but look to what they are staring at? This is a form of directional cue and forces your audience to turn their gaze in a certain direction or focus on a specific element. In a movie if a person is looking at a rock on the ground, we all focus on the rock, not on the man. Direction in an infographic helps your reader to understand where the focus is. It is often used in conjunction with negative space.

Repetition

Repetition enforces ideas and behaviour. In an infographic repetition can be used by repeating the same word or phrase over and over again to emphasize a point, or using an image to show volume and increase importance of a value.

The Star Wars movies have made excellent use of design, and as complex as they may appear to the untrained eye, if broken down in the right way, anyone can learn how to design with The Force. Use the following infographic for continuous reference when you are creating your own infographics for your content marketing needs.