Introduction to
Digital Media Design
A hands-on approach to take you through the building blocks, common skills and hacks across all forms of digital design. Understand the fundamentals so you can start creating straight away.
Exercises & Extras
Apply what you've learned to portfolio-quality projects.
See examples and download project sheets for the classroom.
About the Author
I'm David Leicester Hardy, an associate professor at James Madison University in Virginia, and a multidisciplinary graphic designer specializing in UX, UI, web, motion graphics, and interactive design. With over twenty years of professional experience, I have worked for advertising agencies, educational institutions, private firms, non-profit institutions, and artists and musicians.
Prior to my career in higher education, I was a senior web designer for MGM Resorts where I designed and built large-scale websites for Las Vegas properties such as The Bellagio and Mandalay Bay.
As part of my professional practice, I run a boutique digital-first design studio called Structure & Craft.
Book Chapters
Introduction: Convergence with Tech, Divergence of Media
- Progress of graphic design
- Rationale and objectives of the book
Chapter 1: User Interface and Digital Design
- Familiar controls, their uses and variations
- Text and object size for screen and target size for touch controls
- Hierarchy and visual flow in digital design
- Strategic use of color and texture
- Signal-to-noise ratio in headings, descriptors, commands, etc.
- Methods of overlaying text on images
- How to reduce visual clutter using modularity and affordance
- Interface design process from sketch to high-fidelity product
Chapter 2: User Experience and Strategy
- Rapid prototyping processes and workflow
- User research and creation of personas
- Data-driven design and experiential praxis
- User-centered design that considers empathy and psychology
- Screen sizes and performance / task hierarchy
- Gestalt theory for functional elements
Chapter 3: Animation and Motion Graphics
- Motion design principles
- 2D animation in 3D space
- Five basic transformations
- Pacing, audio integration, and transitions
- Digital storytelling as an emotionally compelling and engaging format
- Uses and final output for animation and motion graphics
Chapter 4: Interaction Design
- IxD's relationship to UI
- Extending animation for user-interfaces
- Microinteraction description and process
- Delighting users through perceived tactile experiences
- Intuitive systems and patterns
- Various methods for prototyping interactions
Chapter 5: Design for the Web
- Layout strategy for various viewport widths
- Important takeaways in quickly learning HTML (structure) and CSS (styling)
- The concept of semantic mark-up, and how it bolsters visual design
- Creative coding and how to quickly iterate “in the browser”
- How to design in chunks using the sandwich technique
- Tips for designing something that's actually possible to build with code
Chapter 6: Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality
- Conceptualizing virtual experiences for brand / business objectives
- Calculating field of motion and periphery
- Designing UI with proximity in mind
- Workflow beginning from a popular design software
- Overview of 3D development platform
- Outline of ARkit and Swift technologies
Epilogue: Standing on the precipice
- Recap the tenets of working in a multidisciplinary way
- Predictions for the next 10-15 years
- Wrap-up
