How we place those items on the page determines the structure of our designs and affects the overall readability and determines how well our design communicates the desired message. The principles of design govern that placement and structure. Graphic design encompasses the creation of a great many types of projects but for the purposes of these lessons we're focusing on the elements and principles of design as they apply to typical desktop publishing projects including logos, ads, brochures, business cards, newsletters, books, and to some extent, Web pages.
Different instructors or designers have their own idea about the basic principles of design but most are encompassed in the 6 principles of:. Even though no one will know whether you actually do the exercises and assignments included with each lesson and class, I strongly encourage you to do so. It will help to reinforce your understanding of each of the concepts covered throughout this Graphic Design Basics course. Principles of Design Lesson 1 Generally, all the principles of design apply to any piece you may create.
How you apply those principles determines how effective your design is in conveying the desired message and how attractive it appears. There is seldom only one correct way to apply each principle.
Balance Try walking a long distance with a 2 pound bag of rocks in one hand and a 10 pound bag of marbles in the other. After awhile you'll want to shift your load around, putting a few marbles in the rock bag to balance your load, make it easier to walk. This is how balance works in design.
Visual balance comes from arranging elements on the page so that no one section is heavier than the other. Or, a designer may intentionally throw elements out of balance to create tension or a certain mood.
You can often learn a lot about who is listening intently to another person, which are strangers, or who is ignoring who by how close together they sit or stand. In design, proximity or closeness creates a bond between people and between elements on a page. How close together or far apart elements are placed suggests a relationship or lack of between otherwise disparate parts.
Unity is also achieved by using a third element to connect distant parts. Alignment Can you imagine how difficult it would be to find your car in a crowded parking lot if everyone ignored the parking lot stripes and parked in every which direction and angle?
Imagine trying to get out of there! Alignment brings order to chaos, in a parking lot and on a piece of paper. How you align type and graphics on a page and in relation to each other can make your layout easier or more difficult to read, foster familiarity, or bring excitement to a stale design. Imagine the ensuing traffic jams and accidents. Repeating design elements and consistent use of type and graphics styles within a document shows a reader where to go and helps them navigate your designs and layouts safely.
Contrast On the basketball court, one pro team looks much like another. But send a few of those players for a stroll down most any major city street and something becomes apparent — those players are much taller than your average guy on the street. That's contrast. In design, big and small elements, black and white text, squares and circles, can all create contrast in design.
Were you ever the guy on the bottom struggling for a breath of fresh air or the last one in trying to find a place to stick your left elbow so the door will close? It wasn't comfortable, was it? Imagine trying to drive the car under those conditions. Designs that try to cram too much text and graphics onto the page are uncomfortable and may be impossible to read. White space gives your design breathing room.
Illustrating the Principles of Design Principles of Design Lesson 2 The examples you'll find here demonstrate varying degrees of each of the six principles of design in a before and after format. View them individually and as a whole to see how different principles are applied.
How might you do any of these differently? Note: The text, not always readable in the examples, is the same as the definitions in Lesson 1. In the second "Balance" example the text block and graphic are resized to bring them closer together and better balance each other.
To tie the elements together, move them closer together resizing helps accomplish this. Notice that the graphic one of the marbles slightly overlaps the box enclosing the vertical text, unifying the two elements. Reversing the word "balance" out of the blue box also adds more contrast to the composition. The increased leading in the text block redistributes the white space in a more balanced manner.
The spacing between the two paragraphs of text is reduced slightly as well. There is nothing inherently wrong with centered headlines, text, and graphics. They lend a formal tone to a layout. But, for this series of layouts something a bit more informal is called for. Also, large blocks of centered text are usually harder to read. Within the second "Repetition" example, the headline is repeated three times using graphics that tie in with the copy in the text blocks.
Overlapping the graphic and text elements unifies the elements of the design. Another aspect of consistency that can be seen when viewing all 6 of the "after" examples is the blue borders, blue reversed boxes, and the typeface Britannic Bold used for the names of all the principles of design. The drop cap used in three examples Bermuda LP Squiggle is another element of consistency. There's isn't enough contrast between the headline and text due in part to size but also because the two different serif faces used or too similiar not obvious from the small graphic, trust me, they are different typefaces.
That oversized graphic provides real contrast and reinforces the copy tall basketball players. Dropping the text down to the bottom portion of the page also reinforces the 'towering' aspect of the graphic.
The reversed text in the blue box, the blue border, and the drop cap carries through the overall unifying elements found throughout the series. Additionally, the round shape of the drop cap and its color echo the shape and color of the basketball in the graphic. White space doesn't have to be white. The large block of black created by the graphic of people adds a large block of black white space. Multiplying the number of people and reducing the size of the car in the second "White Space" example provides additional contrast and reinforces the theme of the copy.
Additional leading, larger margins, deeper paragraph indents all add white space or breathing room to the design. The oversized drop cap is another element of contrast and also helps to balance the page with the large, dark elements at the bottom of the page. The drop cap style, reversed title, and blue box are consistent with the rest of the series. In the next six lessons in this section we will look at each principle of design in more detail and explore ways to incorporate each into your designs.
We'll also touch on the ways that your software can simplify some related tasks, such as using style sheets to aid repetition and consistency or using leading and other spacing features to improve proximity, unity, and distribution of white space. Although individual lessons can be taken out of order, I recommend following the Graphic Design Basics course and these lessons on the elements of design sequentially to get the full benefit. Also describes other elements sometimes included as basic building blocks.
Examine their role in design including the psychology of shapes in logo design. Class also touches on freeform shapes. Take a look at mass or visual weight of graphic and text elements. This class includes a large section on size and measurements for type and paper and images. Which colors go well together? Color symbolism and association is the primary focus of this class.
It also touches briefly on the mechanics of color reproduction on the Web and in print. Despite their apparent simplicity, effective graphic design is not created randomly or by chance. Outstanding graphic design follows design principles that aid in their success. These principles are conceptual ideas that assist graphic designers in the creation of great designs.
One of the most important principles or design rules that graphic designers follow is balance. Balance is what gives a design stability and equilibrium. The image to the right is an example of symmetrical balance. This is an example of asymmetrical balance. It is not perfectly balanced at all. Asymmetrical balance can create tention, movement, and a different atmosphere by throwing out the balance scale. If used effectively, this can be a great way to draw attention to a design.
Rhythm and unity are the design principles that bring everything together. By repetitions of a visual image rhythm imparts a sense of organization that brings a graphic together.
Scale controls object size while proportion manages size ratio. Emphasis is the design principle that makes sure attention is drawn to the most important part of a design.
This can be seen in the design to the left. This design uses scale and proportion to draw your attention to the main focal point. Variety on the other hand can be used to harmonize the effect of emphasis by spreading interest throughout the design keeping it lively and interesting.
Graphic design principles, used correctly in a balanced way, are the keys to an effective and elegant design that can successfully deliver its message in a dynamic way. Balance Symetrical, radial, formal, and informal ways of arranging elements on a page to achieve visual balance is the focus of this class. Also covers the 'rule of thirds' and other structural elements. Our bodies need a balance of nutrients to keep us healthy but every now and then it's OK to feast on chocolate, ice cream, and an entire supersize bag of potato chips.
Balance in design is much the same. For most of our reading our eyes and minds are most comfortable with evenly balanced layouts where the graphics don't overpower the text and the page doesn't seem to tilt to one side or the other. Observe a group of people in a room. Alignment While centered text has its place it is often the mark of a novice designer. Learn how to align text and graphics to create more interesting, dynamic, or appropriate layouts.
Lack of alignment creates a sloppy, unorganized look. Mixing too many alignments can have a similiar effect. However, it's also OK to break alignment when it serves a specific purpose such as to intentionally create tension or draw attention to a specific element on the page. For simple arrangements, items can be aligned using the automatic align options in your software. For more complicated layouts the use of guidelines and grids aid in the precise placement of elements.
Contrast Big vs. These are some ways to create contrast and visual interest. Learn a variety of ways to use contrast. Contrast is one the principles of design. Contrast occurs when two elements are different. The greater the difference the greater the contrast.
The key to working with contrast is to make sure the differences are obvious. Four common methods of creating contrast are by using differences in size, value, color, and type.
Contrast adds interest to the page and provides a means of emphasizing what is important or directing the reader's eye. On a page without contrast, the reader doesn't know where to look first or what is important. Contrast makes a page more interesting so the reader is more apt to pay attention to what is on the page. Also find one real life example of hierarchy. In Design one should avoid the appearance of having made arbitrary decisions when visual elements are out of alignment it is noticeable, and can devalue a piece of work if done unintentionally.
Principle of Design - Alignment. Create one 4in x 4in square, in this square draw an example of Alignment using only basic shapes. You can also use color in this design to accentuate Alignment. Also find one real life example of Alignment. In design one attempts to place visual elements in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement, or particular arrangement to fulfill a purpose or achieve a particular look and feel. Principle of Design - Balance.
Create one 4in x 4in square, in this square draw an example of Balance using only basic shapes. You can also use color in this design to accentuate Balance. Also find one real life example of Balance. Proximity is used to create relationships between elements. Creating relevance, hierarchy, organization and adding structure. It can also be used to dispel connections, suggesting no relationships between elements.
Breaking organization and structure. Audiences will assume that elements that are not near each other in a design are not connected.
When visual elements appear randomly or poorly positioned, it is noticeable, and can devalue a piece of work if done unintentionally. Principle of Design - Proximity. Draw a 4in x 6in horizontal rectangle. In this rectangle you are going to use the concept of proximity to create a business card for yourself. You will need to have the name of your company, address, email address, phone number can be fictitious. This design must contain at least one shape. This shape can be ised in any way but must be included.
This is to be done on paper first and will be re created using digital means later. Think of this as your prototype to your finished design later. Good design practice, seeks to repeat some aspect of a design throughout a piece of work, be it for a simple or complex piece of work. Repetition creates a particular style and creative cohesiveness, creates emphasis, higherarchy, structure and strength into a design. The ultimate goal of any piece of Graphic Design is to make an impression, hopefully a lasting impression.
If a design achieves this goal, it will be fulfilling its purpose, to communicate and insist upon a particular message which lingers and becomes familiar. The more we see something the more we become familiarized with it and in turn remember it.
Think of coke a cola. Remember, there is design all around you every day. Think about things you come in contact with or observe during your day. Read through this Link and take notes. You can use your sketchbooks or iPads or online portfolios to take your notes. There will be a quiz based around the terms on these pages. You only need to know 1 - Elements and Principles Design Combinations. Sample Link:. You can do it, too! Principles of Design tasty tuts. Context is integral to contrast.
Contrast occurs when two or more elements in a composition are different. In your sketchbook; Create one 4in x 4in square, in this square draw an example of contrast using only basic shapes. Common Practical Hierarchy Examples:. In your sketchbook; Create one 4in x 4in square, in this square draw an example of hierarchy using only basic shapes.
Alignment can be used to achieve a particular look and feel. Once should always be conscious when working with alignment to achieve the intended result. But, if done intentionally it can be radical, dynamic or free. The use of a grid can be useful to achieve proper alignment.
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