Hi, that's a Text in progress,
this is my submission to
the Game Design Essay Jam

In fact, that's graphic design stuff I learned few years ago from school, then now from observation & experience. Hope it will be useful to people. It will later become a pretty document to look at where these tips will be applied.

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Accessibility is taking people you don't know into consideration.

Graphic design is a way to enhance a game, visually, but it must also be a way to include. Your visual choices must be real decisions.

Credit people.

Beyond considering your audience, consider the people behind the scenes. Credit people. EACH person. From those who have written games that have inspired you (or games you're currently hacking if applicable) to those at the origin of the material you are using: photographers, type designers, graphic designers, illustrators, and all the creators involved in the content you use. Add their names, and when possible the year the content was created and their website.

How to easily make a WOW effect:

• make it big (really BIG, like big letters on flat color)
• make it fake (like fake paper but A LOT)
• make it flashy (like really bad for eyes, but also nice to look at, such as crazy pink on dark blue, or electric yellow on deep black)
• don't be afraid to overdo it (like, really)
• make it big fake and flashy

*these tips are used for a long time by people, and I always saw other people be amazed by it. Is it bad? No. Is it good? No. Is it WOW? always. But be sure content is enough good, else it will just be an empty shell that people grab on mass as soon as you publish it and that's all. Make sure the content is good enough to make your product appeal to people over the long term. Or not. Sometimes, empty shells are cool to look at. Sometimes, the boundary between art and design is thin, and that's fine. A project without legs but with beautiful wings can be cool too. Sometimes really cool.

How to make a WOW-SO-PRO effect:

• make it small and precious (yeah, really small)
• make it fake (like: fake as in "never use textures of real stuff, you weird!")
• make it black (or use only one color beside your black)
• don't be afraid of empty spaces
• make it empty

*hum... same thing than the previous one, but this time you're speaking like a (financial) rich person, so don't lose time to explain.

Most important:

• make it
• & make it accessible (or provide a friendly version)