Principles of Visual Design

Principles of design are the fundamental bases that govern design choices with regards to design elements, size, colour, positioning, etc. They act as a compass for the entire design team. Applied successfully, these principles give designers the power to create meaningful, aesthetically pleasing, and well-functioning designs.

Principles of Design

Study the PDF below (for academic use only)

Principles of Design PDF

BALANCE and ALIGNMENT

Balance refers to the arrangement of elements in relation to a visual central axis. It is the distribution of the visual weight of elements. It makes the design feel stable. Like in the physical world, objects in a design carry weight, which is called visual weight. The visual weight of a design needs to be distributed; or it would become a disturbance to the viewer. Balance could be symmetrical or asymmetrical

Alignment is orderly arranging elements in a way that matches how people naturally scan the page. It helps balance your image so that it's visually appealing. creates a visual connection between related elements.

EMPHASIS / DOMINANCE

Emphasis is a strategy that aims to draw the viewer’s attention to a specific point. Emphasis is setting up the focal point of a design, which people see without much effort. Emphasis can be created by size, weight, position, colour, shape, and leading line.

CONTRAST and SIMILARITY

Contrast is the visible difference in properties of the design elements. Similarity is the visible likeness in properties of the design elements.

For contrast, the difference in objects could be light and dark, thin and thick, small and large, bright and dull, etc. Best contrast is shown when we have the maximum and the minimum of a property of the design element in the same design. For example, black and white image. Dull white to dark grey will be a low contrast image.

Similarity: Design elements that appear similar in some way — sharing the same colour, shape, or size — are perceived as related or together.

REPETITION

Repetition is the recurrence of a design element. An element of design like, lines, shapes, forms, colour, etc. is repeated many times. Repetition is a good principle in magazine layout, website design, even for PPTs. The repetition design principle refers to the use of similar (or identical) elements throughout a design. By harnessing this principle, you can guide readers through your communications, create visual cohesion unity and rhythm.

UNITY / VARIETY

Visual unity is when there is a similarity between the individual components of a design. This ensures no single part is more important than the other.

Variety in a design refers to the use of multiple visual elements within a single composition. Variety creates visual interest to capture your viewer’s attention and make your design more interesting.

PATTERN, RHYTHM, and MOVEMENT

Patterns are simply a repetition of one or more design element working in concert with each other. When you repeat elements with intervals the repetitions can create a sense of rhythm in the viewer and a sense of movement. Movement is the path the viewer's eye takes through the work of art, often to focal areas. (leading line)

HIERARCHY

Visual hierarchy is organising elements in a design to show order of importance.

SIZE, SCALE, and PROPORTION

Scale and proportion are both design elements that have to do with size. Scale is the size of one object in relation to the other objects in a design or artwork. If something is drawn to scale, it shows an object with accurate sizing. Proportion refers to the size of the parts of an object in relationship to other parts of the same object.

PROXIMITY

Proximity is arranging elements that are related to one another closer to each other; and placing things that are not related to one another far from each other.

PERSPECTIVE

Perspective is the tool we use to indicate depth. In visual hierarchy objects closer to you drive more attention

UNITY and HARMONY

Harmony can be described as sameness, the belonging of one thing with another. The repetition of design elements like colour, texture, shape, and form is one of the easiest ways to achieve harmony to create a composition. Harmony brings in unity in a design.

WHITE SPACE

White space, sometimes called negative space, isn’t necessarily white. White space refers to any blank or empty space surrounding all the other elements in a design composition. Minimalist designs use a lot of white space, while maximalist designs may not use any.

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