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Writer's pictureKate Wolf

What makes a good design?

Design differs from art in that it must have a purpose. Visually, this functionality is interpreted by making sure an image has a center of attention or a point of focus. The principles of design are the rules designers follow to create effective compositions that clearly deliver a message to the audience. The fundamental principles of design include emphasis, balance and alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement, and negative space.

Graphic design, like any discipline, adheres to strict rules that work under the surface to make the work stable and balanced. If the work is missing that balance, it will be weak and ineffective.

“Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” — Picasso

The 7 Principles of Design

You might be thinking, "Wait! I thought design was all about creativity?" Whether you’re a business owner or designer who’s just starting out, you may be tempted to go wild and combine the first five fonts and colors that catch your eye, believing you’re creating something unique and new, always remember that you are designing for the consumers and not for yourself as a business owner. You will probably find yourself with a design that is muddled, unfinished, or well, just vomit on a screen or piece of paper. This can be dangerous as certain elements could end up looking like an afterthought and completely out of pace. Though there is no rule about thinking outside of the box there are certain rules that need to be followed in order to create a well-structured design.

Emphasis

You’re creating a poster for a concert. You should ask yourself: what is the most important piece of information my viewer needs to know? Is it the band? Or the concert venue? The date? What about the cost of attending?


Make a mental list. Let your brain organize the information and then lay out your design in a way that communicates that order of priority (this will determine the hierarchy of the information). If the band’s name is the most essential information, place it in the center or make it the biggest element on the poster. Or you could put it in the strongest, boldest type. Learn about color theory and use strong color combinations to make the band name jump off the poster.


Balance and alignment

Every element on a page has a weight. The weight can come from color, size, or texture. Just like you wouldn’t put all your furniture in one corner of a room, you can’t crowd all your heavy elements in one area of your composition. Without balance, your viewer will feel as if their eye is sliding off the page or that the information is simply too cluttered and will make it hard for the viewer to discern what is what in your composition.


Symmetrical design creates balance through equally weighted elements aligned on either side of a centerline. On the other hand, asymmetrical design uses opposite weights (like contrasting one large element with several smaller elements) to create a composition that is uneven but still has equilibrium.


Symmetrical designs are always pleasing, if not occasionally boring. Asymmetrical designs are bolder and can bring real visual interest and movement to your composition.


Contrast

Contrast is what people mean when they say a design “pops.” It comes away from the page and sticks in your memory. Contrast creates space and separates elements in your design. Your background needs to be significantly different from the color of your elements so they work together and are legible.


If you plan to work with type, understanding contrast is essential because it means the weight and size of your type are balanced. How will your audience know what is most important if everything is in bold?


Most designs only feature one or two typefaces. That’s because contrast can be effectively achieved with two strong fonts (or even one strong typeface in different weights). The more fonts you add, the more you dilute and confuse the purpose of your design.


Repetition

If you limit yourself to two strong typefaces or three strong colors, you’ll soon find you’ll have to repeat some things which is fine. It’s often said that repetition unifies and strengthens a design. If three things are in blue italic sans-serif, a motif is created and you are back in control of your design.


Repetition can be important beyond one printed product. Current packaging design is heavily embracing beautiful illustrated patterns. Anyone thinking about a startup knows one of the first things you need is a strong logo to feature on your website, business cards, social media and more. Brand identity? Another term for repetition, a theme that is carried throughout your company's visual image.


Proportion

Proportion is the visual size and weight of elements in a composition and how they relate to each other. It often helps to approach your design in sections, instead of as a whole.


Grouping related items can give them importance at a smaller size. Proportion can be achieved only if all elements of your design are well-sized and intentionally placed. Once you master alignment, balance, and contrast, proportion should emerge naturally.


Movement

Taking a step back to our concert poster. If you decided the band was the most important piece of information on the page and the venue was the second, how would you communicate that with your audience?


Movement is controlling the elements in a composition so that the eye is led to move from one to the next and the information is properly communicated to your audience in the correct order of priority.


Movement creates the story or the narrative of your work: a band is playing, it’s at this location, it’s at this time, here’s how you get tickets. The elements above—especially balance, alignment, and contrast—will work towards that goal.


If you look at your design and feel your eyes get “stuck” anywhere on it—an element is too big, too bold, slightly off-center, not a or not a complimentary color—go back and adjust until everything is in harmony.


Negative space

All of the other elements deal with what you add to your design. negative space is the only one that specifically deals with what you don’t add. Negative space is exactly that—the empty page around the elements in your composition. Often simply giving a composition more room to breathe can upgrade it from mediocre to successful.


Negative space isn't sitting there doing nothing—it’s creating hierarchy and organization. Our brains naturally associate ample negative space around an element with importance and luxury; clean design. It’s telling our eyes that objects in one region are grouped separately from objects elsewhere.


Even more exciting, it can communicate an entirely different image or idea from your main design that will reward your audience for engaging with it. This is how smart logos are created. A good example of this is the negative space arrow in the FedEx logo between the E and the x.

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