Can You Pass a Graphic Design Certificate Exam?

By: Talin Vartanian
Estimated Completion Time
3 min
Can You Pass a Graphic Design Certificate Exam?
Image: izusek / kyphoto / Photodisc / Zoonar RF / E+ / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images

About This Quiz

If you're a graphic design whiz who knows everything about colors, shapes, lines and unity with regard to an image, than you'll have a blast taking this graphic design quiz! With exactly 35 questions about balance, rhythm, contrast and more, it's time to see if you truly have what it takes to be a professional graphic designer!

There are many elements and principles of design that are utilized in many branches of graphic design professions. Some of these professions include a Multimedia Designer, Web Designer, Logo Designer and a Flash Designer. You may also work in fields like publication, marketing and advertising, motion graphics and packaging. And depending on the type of work you do, you'll have to be familiar with at least one (or more) graphic design editors and software. Some of these include Canva, Adobe Lightroom and Picasa. There are even some graphic design apps that you can download on your smartphone!

Whether you're a graphic design student, expert or someone who just likes to play with shapes in Photoshop for fun, we encourage you to do your best on this graphic design quiz! See if you're worthy to pass a graphic design certification program by scoring at least a 30/35 right now!

Which of the following is NOT an element of design?
Line
Unity
Color
Texture
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The right answer is Unity. Unity is a principle of design, not an element.

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Which of the following is NOT considered to be a design phase?
Orientation
Analysis
Design
Feedback
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Feedback is not a phase of design. The other missing two phases are Implementation and Concepts.

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Your image resolution (for web) should always be set at ...
52 ppi
102 ppi
72 ppi
89 ppi
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is 72 ppi. PPi stands for "pixels per inch."

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Your mockup image resolution should be set at ...
150 ppi
99 ppi
125 ppi
135 ppi
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is 150 ppi. A mockup is an example or a prototype of something else that is used for teaching and evaluation.

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If you see a repeated pattern on a logo or graphic design image, what is this called?
Rhythm
Scale
Format
Font
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In graphic design, a rhythm refers to a repeated pattern that "flows" throughout the logo or image. This may also involve colors as well.

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Which of the following does NOT describe rhythm?
Analysis
Regular
Flowing
Random
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Analysis" is not one of the five types of rhythm. The other missing two types are Alternating and Progressive.

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Spirals, symmetry and fractals are all examples of ...
Balance
Format
Rhythm
Unity
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The patterns in the question all describe Rhythm, which is one of seven basic principles of design. Other patterns of rhythm includes lattices and meanders.

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When various aspects of an image or logo have clarity and purpose with each other, this is referred to as ...
Unity
Empasis
Color
Scale
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Horizontal and vertical axis are used with regard to Unity. This refers to the placement of certain images and logos, so that it creates a meaningful purpose with its surrounding logos, colors and text.

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An "equal" proportion with regards to symmetry and asymmetry is known as ...
Scale
Unity
Balance
Rhythm
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is balance. Balance is one of the seven basic principles of design, and refers to how "balanced" the graphic design image is. For example, if all of the shapes are too far to the right in an image (with too much space on the left), this is considered to be imbalanced.

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Which of the following is NOT an aspect of Balance?
Color
Pixels
Shape
Size
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pixels are not considered to be an aspect of balance (it's an aspect of resolution). Color, shape and size, however, are all aspects of Balance.

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Which of the following is NOT one of the seven basic principles of design?
Contrast
Balance
Texture
Harmony
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

When something is smooth or rough, this is referred to as texture. Texture is an element of design, but it isn't a "principle" of design.

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"Chroma" is another word for ...
Tone
Hue
Tint
Saturation
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Chroma" is also referred to as saturation. If you see a bright red color for instance, this would be very saturated, where as a dully grey color would not be as saturated.

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Which of the following is NOT a primary color?
Violet
Red
Yellow
Blue
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Violet is not a primary color, it is a secondary color. The other two secondary colors are orange and green.

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If an image has dark values of color, what is this called?
Low key
High key
Mid Key
Tint
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is low key. This refers to images that have dark values of color, which is an aspect of tone.

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Which of these colors is the "coolest" (with regard to temperature)?
Red-orange
Blue-green
Green
Red-violet
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Blue-green is considered to be the "coolest" color on the color wheel. A "cool" color is the opposite of "warm" colors and refers to blues and greens.

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"Naturalistic" and "Geometric" refer to ...
Color
Line
Size
Shape
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Circles and squares are shapes, which specifically refers to geometric shapes. A naturalistic shape is a shape that is created by nature, like a flower.

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"Diagonal" and "Horizontal" are words that describe a ...
Size
Space
Line
Contrast
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You can draw a variety of lines, such as horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. Some lines are also curved, which is an aspect of a "graphic unifier."

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If a circle is the focal point on an image, it is considered to be ...
Large
Tinted
Balanced
Dominant
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

An aspect of an image doesn't have to be large for it to be dominant. For example, if you see an all-black piece with a little pink square in the middle, that pink square draws your attention in, so it's considered to be dominant.

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"Active" and "Passive" are _________ attributes.
Balanced
Aesthetic
Emotional
Spatial
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A graphic design image can convey a variety of emotions which falls into one of two categories: active and passive. For example, boredom is a passive emotion.

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Which of the following is NOT an aspect of Aesthetics?
Abstract
Depth
Decorative
Realistic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is depth, which refers to Spatial aspects of an image ("flat" would be another Spatial aspect). The missing Aesthetic attribute would be Impressionistic.

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If you want to print an image, what should you set your image resolution at?
75 ppi
150 ppi
300 ppi
125 ppi
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is 300 ppi. This is considered to be the minimum resolution for prints, which will increase depending on how large the print needs to be.

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If you are tinting a color, what other color should you be adding?
White
Black
Blue
Violet
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The correct answer is white. If you want to tint a color, or decrease its tone, just add white to it.

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If you add a little bit of black to blue, you are ___________ the blue color.
Contrasting
Cooling
Shading
Tinting
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While shades don't mean sunglasses in this context, it does refer to making a color look darker. This is simply achieved by adding black to colors like blue, green and violet.

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If a logo is far away from another logo, this is referred to as ...
Unity
Balance
Harmony
Proximity
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Proximity simply means how close or far two or more things are away from each other. If two things are really close to one another, then they have close proximity.

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Size, width and weight are all aspects of _________.
Dominance
Contrast
Proportion
Gradation
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

If two or more elements of an image are proportionate with one another, than they all work in unison with regards to their size, weight and width. If a piece contains several large circles and only one small circle, that small circle would be not in proportion with the other large circles.

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If you're implementing infographics into an image, which type of graphic design would this be?
Marketing
User interface
Publication
Packaging
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Marketing and advertising is a branch of graphic design that implements infographics into their logos and images. This branch also utilizes banners and social media ads.

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Magazines and newsletters are examples of ...
Art and illustration
Motion graphics
Publications
Packaging
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Publication graphic design involves graphic design images and logos that are used for published prints. Other examples are books and newspapers.

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Which of the following is NOT a type of graphic design software?
Sublime Text
Inkscape
CorelDraw
GIMP
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Sublime Text is not a type of graphic design software, but the rest of the answers are. Other notable examples are Illustrator and Photoshop.

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Emphasis involves which of these aspects?
Color
Placement
Size
All of the above
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Emphasis involves a wide variety of aspects that you can implement to make text and images stand out. You could add value to a color, make a text bold or increase the size of an image to emphasize it.

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Which of the following is NOT a texture?
Hard
Soft
Straight
Spiky
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Straight is not a texture, it's a type of line. Other textures include smooth and rough.

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Motion graphic design involves ...
Graphic novels
Office branding and wall murals
Stock images
GIFs and trailers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Motion graphic design involves anything that moves. GIFs. trailers, animated logos and apps are all types of graphic design.

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If you're designing a logo for a bar of soap, which type of graphic design is this?
Packaging
Advertising
Illustration
Publication
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Packaging graphic design involves creating logos for various types of products. Some of these includes soap bars, wine bottles and shampoo.

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If part of an image is dark while the other part is light (in color), this is referred to as ...
Size
Contrast
Balance
Unity
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Contrast doesn't only refer to opposite colors, but opposite shapes, sizes and textures as well. It can also refer to focus, such as part of an image being out of focus.

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What does "white space" mean in an image?
An area of an image that is blank
An area of an image that has text
An area of an image that is white in color
An area of image that is black in color
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"White space" in graphic design doesn't literally mean "white" in color (though it could refer to it if the background is white). It specifically means that the space in between two or more images or elements is blank or "negative."

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If you combine a primary and a secondary color together, you get a ...
Neutral Color
Semi-neutral color
Tertiary color
Warm color
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A tertiary color is when you mix a primary and a secondary color together. For example, if you mix red and orange together, you get red-orange.

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You Got:
/35
izusek / kyphoto / Photodisc / Zoonar RF / E+ / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images