Principles of design
Design Theory
What is design theory? Design theory is a system that helps graphic designers better understand
how they can communicate a message to audiences through visuals.
Graphic designers typically use design theory when designing images for marketing
purposes, like creating advertisements & other communication materials for a company or
creating brand logos.
What is Graphic Design?
Graphic Design is the visual way of communicating by putting
different elements in proper places in order to achieve a specific
communication.
Basic elements of Graphic design:
LINE, SHAPE, FORM, TEXTURE
Thin
Thick
Jagged
Wavy
LINE can be used to emphasize a Word
To guide our eye
To divide 2 groups
When working with LINES pay attention with it’s
Thickness, Texture, Colour & Style
SHAPE is a 2 Dimensional area with recognizable boundary.
These are broadly divided in 2 categories:
Geometric
(regular)
Organic
(free flowing)
SHAPE is very important and can help you communicating your ideas
visually and make them recognizable. FONTS are also geometrical shapes.
You can create simple illustrations with shapes and it can make your
design meaningful.
When a shape become 3 Dimensional we call it Form.
TEXTURE is a physical quality of a surface. It adds depth and tactility
in your design.
TEXTURE can be hard, soft, silky, rough or anything else.
It can be used as a background or inside the element of the design.
1. Contrast
It is one of the most common Graphic Design Principles and every graphic designer
uses. Contrast refers to the difference between the elements (e.g. shapes, forms,
colours, Big & small, Bold & light)
Contrasting elements are opposite elements. They make designs interesting
and use to add emphasis.
2. Balance
Every element you place in your design has a weight on it, and it can come from
colour, size, or texture.
Balance refers to, how you put these elements on your design and avoid putting all
your heavy elements in the same place.
There are two types of balance:
Symmetrical - Which creates balance by aligning equally weighted elements. They
are same or similar on both sides of an axis.
It gives a sense of Security, it’s Traditional, it’s Conservative.
Asymmetrical – Here it is the opposite, you align a heavy element with a smaller
ones to create a contrast effect. But it still looks balanced.
It gives a non- conventional look to the design, more dynamic and interesting.
3. Hierarchy/Emphasis
Hierarchy in graphic design utilizes several key principles, including size, color,
contrast, alignment, repetition to emphasize certain characteristics of the design.
It controls those factors in order to show importance within the design as a whole.
The important information or element that you intend to show in your design first,
the peoples’ eye should also see it first, in your project. After that comes the
secondary information.
This help people to see your design and understand better what & how you intend
to communicate.
For example in a Movie poster design, the first thing you need to see is the Movie
title, then it can be the name of the director and after that the name of the actors
and actresses should come.
4. Repetition
Repetition is a great tool to reinforce an idea you want to transmit through your
design and it also helps to unify your project. It can bring artistry in your design.
Your design look consistent, build a pattern or emphasize your message.
You can use the repetition principle in different elements as colour, typefaces,
shapes, or other graphic design elements.
5. Proportion
Proportion refers to the size of elements in relation to one another in a design. It
plays a vital role in creating visual harmony and balance.
If something is out of proportion in your design it may fall over.
That’s why we should think about the size and quantity of our elements in design
and how they relate to each other.
No matter how many objects we use those should be proportionate.
6. Rhythm
Rhythm in design is the visual created by repeated shapes, elements, colors and
movements. It is used to create a sense of flow and connection within a design, as
well as draw attention to certain areas of the composition
There are 5 types of visual rhythm: random, regular, alternating, flowing, and
progressive.
Random rhythm – Repeating elements with no specific regular interval creates
random rhythms. The spacing could be a millimeter here, a centimeter there,
while the elements could be all over the place.
Regular rhythm uses familiar, repeating elements throughout the course of the
design to create a specific effect and guide viewers through the piece in a
predetermined way.
Alternating rhythm – You can repeat more than one element in a design. In an
alternating design, you use a 1-2-1-2-1-2 pattern. An alternating rhythm is, in fact,
a regular rhythm with more complexity.
Flowing rhythm is designed to evoke a feeling of movement. Often, designers will
repeat specific elements in a patterned flow throughout the piece, which can
create that sensation of movement.
Progressive rhythm continues to repeat the patterns as viewers expect. As they
move through a slight change each time.
alternating, progressive. regular
flowing random
7. Pattern
The pattern in Graphic Design refers to a repetition of multiple graphic elements on
your design working together to create an eye-catching and harmonious design.
8. White Space
White space is also known as negative space, and it refers to the area of a design
that is empty and not include design elements. But white space is actually a really
important design element, you need to give your design elements space to breathe
and easily differentiate them from other elements.
White space is also used in Logo design to create hidden images on it and give
more information about your brand and avoiding to saturate it.
9. Movement
The movement principle in graphic design refers to how the human eye interacts
with your design.
The most important element in your design must be the first thing people see, and
after seeing it your design needs to lead the viewer to the next most important
element and then to the other.
10. Unity
Unity principle refers to how well all the elements used in your design project
work together, they should have a clear relationship and communicate the
same concepts, this will cause that your design looks more organized and every
element on it will be related to each other.
Conclusion
These 10 design principles must be known by every graphic designer, now you can
implement these principles on your designs and practice them, this will help your
graphic design projects look better and communicate easily your ideas.
And once you have mastered all these principles you can start to play with them
and using to create unique design and creative ways to communicate your ideas
through your graphic design projects!
