If you’re starting to annoy coworkers, friends and family with your constant design critiques, then congratulations. You’ve learned to recognize bad—and good—design when you see it. Our work here is done. Before you unleash the full force of your new powers to set the universe right, allow us to leave you with some final and somewhat contradictory thoughts.

Everything is Changing

We don’t need to tell you the media business is in flux. That’s old news. As the cliché goes, change is the only thing that doesn’t change, especially in communications where we’re all technophiles.

The new news is the contemporary assumption that everyone is a fluent multimedia visual communication designer. And everyone means everyone. Sometimes the amateurs and the audiences are better visual communicators than the pros. Meanwhile, the media bosses have begun to operate as if anyone who wants to work in the business can produce effective visual communication across any platform. “Anyone” covers the self-described wordsmiths, too, such as journalists, copyeditors and copywriters.

This reality requires you, whatever your specialty, to develop the good eye that goes beyond memorizing layout rules. You also need to know why those conventions work—or don’t work—and that means knowing something about art, design and formal composition. Otherwise, you show up for work with an embarrassingly poor visual aesthetic.

There’s Nothing New Under the Sun

Even as everything about the media professions from business models to technology is changing, when it comes to graphic design, there really is nothing new under the sun.

Advertising and marketing communication folks produce public relations materials. Public relations practitioners produce advertising, marketing and news materials. The news industry borrows visual conventions from the entertainment industry, which adopts innovation from the advertising industry. And vice versa and so on.

We’re all visual communicators using and abusing the same rules of graphic design and layout. While industry turmoil may be inspiring innovation in visual styles and trends, the grammar of visual communication hasn’t changed. Regardless of the platform or the format, the fundamentals don’t change. Good design is good design. Form follows function. Use visuals and type to capture attention, control eye flow, convey information and evoke emotion. White space is not your enemy.

Sometimes You Just Need to Hire a Professional

If nothing else, you now have enough knowledge to work alongside visual experts without drawing their scorn.

Knowing enough to know the good stuff when you see it also means knowing your own limitations. Sometimes you do just need to hire a professional. Appreciate the talent, skill and experience of the full-timers—artists, designers, art directors, illustrators, photographers, videographers, cinematographers, Web designers and developers, etc.

Words of Encouragement

If our little book is your first foray into visual communication and design, there is way more to learn if you’re interested. If you think graphic design might be your future, get busy. Take a class. Find some online tutorials. Read, read, read. Glom onto a mentor. If, for you, some knowledge is plenty, we salute you for reading along with us this far.

Regardless, we hope you enjoy your new know-how. Try to avoid becoming an overzealous visual snob alienating colleagues and loved ones. Don’t be afraid to break the rules with a purpose. Strive always to delight your audiences. Treat professional creatives with respect. Don’t forget to have some fun.

Finally, as we say to our neighbors, thanks for stopping by.