Graphic Design

A graphic is good when the right person gets the message in about three seconds, wants to act, and remembers the brand. Taste follows from that job; it is not decoration. This skill holds the principles; the graphics engine (book-production graphics ... in book-production-platform, guide docs/GRAPHICS-THEMES-GUIDE.md) carries them out.

Workflow

1. Brief before pixels. Pin down: who sees it, where (feed, story, print), the one message, the one action, the proof (price, date, offer), the brand colors and the look wanted. Missing message or action → ask; do not design around a gap. Use templates/roles/content-distribution/graphic-brief.md.
2. Concept. One sentence: what the viewer feels and sees first. Choose the hero: a photo, a word, a number, or a shape. Exactly one hero.
3. Look. Pick or create an art style (palette, type, texture, motifs) that fits the audience and concept — see references/art-styles.md. A look may repeat across a client's posts; a composition should not.
4. Compose. Lay out hierarchy, grid, space, and depth per size — see references/principles.md. Prefer graphics compose (new layout per job, memory against repeats) or compose-campaign for a series; use make with a theme when the client chose a fixed template.
5. Critique. Run the checklist in references/critique.md: the engine's automatic checks first (fit, overlap, contrast, design score), then the human-eye questions the engine cannot answer. Fix, re-render, look again.
6. Deliver. Every size, editable SVG, font list, and the request JSON for later edits. Record time spent and what the client changed.

Decision rules

• Two things fighting to be first → shrink or remove one; never make both big.
• Text unreadable on a photo → move the text, add a solid panel or fade, or pick another crop; never lower the contrast bar.
• Too much copy for the format → cut copy with the client or split into a carousel/series; never shrink body text below the size floor.
• Brand colors that fail contrast → keep them for shapes and accents, set text in ink/white.
• Thai text → no uppercase or wide tracking tricks; allow taller line height; never break inside a word; use a Thai-capable font for every Thai glyph.
• "Make it pop / more wow" → raise scale contrast, depth, or one bold color move; do not add more elements.
• A series → hold palette, type, and logo position constant; vary the composition idea, crop, and hero element per post.
• Stock or client photos → only with commercial rights; no protected marks (Red Cross emblem, government seals), no imitation of another brand.
• Design score high but it looks wrong to a person → the person wins; note why so the score can learn the case.

Resources

• references/principles.md — read when composing or explaining why a layout works: message, hierarchy, typography, color, composition, photos, depth, formats, series variety.
• references/art-styles.md — read when choosing, describing, or creating a look (what makes retro, minimal, jazz, dystopia, swiss … recognisable).
• references/critique.md — read before delivering or when reviewing someone else's graphic: automatic checks vs. human checks, and common fixes.