Principles Of Design And How To Use Them

Graphic design, like most skills comes with its own language and vocabulary. The principles of graphic design are used to describe broad concepts in the world and graphic design. By having a general standard for graphic design foundations, we can cut down on confusion and create designs that translate the message that we’re hoping to convey. By using specific terms to describe different parts of a design we can improve not only the communication between the designer and the viewer, but we can improve the communication from designer to designer. Remember, there are many forms of graphic design, and it is important to have certain things that translate from genre to genre without creating a situation that is prime for misunderstanding.

Alignment

Alignment in terms of design means making sure that every element on the page relates to something within the design. Good alignment means not having useless or arbitrary elements throughout your design. It’s also important to pay attention to how the elements are placed within the design. Think of your design as somewhat of a grid. Corresponding elements in a design should line up vertically, horizontally or diagonally. This is usually easy to accomplish within a standard design program such as Photoshop or Illustrator.

Balance

Balance in design refers to the distribution of the visual weight of the elements in a design. Every element in a design has visual weight. The visual weight can be determined by the elements size, lightness versus darkness and other attributes such as stroke weight. There are three types of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial. Symmetrical balance is when objects are placed evenly on the left and right or top and bottom of a design space or an area of the design space. Unlike symmetrical balance, asymmetrical balance is an uneven distribution of elements in a design space or area. Lastly, there’s radial balance. Radial balance is similar to symmetrical balance in that objects are distributed evenly, but with radial balance, the objects are radiated from a central point. Think of it like the radius and center point of a circle.

Contrast

Contrast is one of those self-explanatory design principles that are often misunderstood. In order to create contrast in design, you’ll need to make a series of careful choices. You can use different fonts, colors or even element sizes to create some contrast in your designs. The key is making sure that your contrast choices are logical and include good implementation of the other design principles.

Proximity

Proximity is the visual and spatial relationship of objects in a design. Having objects of a design grouped together helps to show the connection of those objects. If you group objects together, they will naturally draw the eye in a certain direction.

Repetition

Good design dictates some type of repetition. While is important to have a variety of elements that work well together, its also important to have elements of a design that repeat. You should be using a constant color scheme, fonts and element sizing throughout your design. If you aren’t using consistent and repeating elements throughout your design, than your design will appear disjointed and mismatched.
White Space

White space is simply the absence of any graphics, text or other design elements. This is also called negative space, and it’s one of the best ways to make a design look and feel more organized and professional. The use of negative space in a design is often overlooked. It’s important to remember that there is no reason to fill a page with unnecessary elements. More elements on a page doesn’t make a you a better designer; it just shows that you can put clutter into a small area.

Learning the principles of design can take years. It’s very similar to learning a second language, but with practice and exposure you’ll start to understand these principles better as time goes by. There is so much to say about each of the principles of graphic design, but there just isn’t enough time to truly go deep into each topic. Hopefully you found the article helpful as you continue to learn more and more about the world of graphic design.