Principles of Design
Creating high-quality products requires a little more than just a great idea. You’ll want to first understand the basic concepts that go into arranging the different elements of your design. Below are the seven principles of design that will help you give your designs extra polish, and give your products edge to land a sale.
Pattern
Patterns allow for our minds to easily connect with your design’s visual flow and can help set the rhythm of your piece. Try arranging your design elements to include a repeating element.
Variety
Conversely, you’ll also want to break the patterns of repetition to help keep your viewer’s interest. Diversifying the size, color, and shapes of your design elements can help you avoid any visual monotony.
Balance
Visual balance, whether symmetrical or asymmetrical, can help your design feel complete and harmonious. The visual weights of your design elements should be equally distributed across your entire composition.
Contrast
The juxtaposition of different design elements is a useful tool to help you spotlight specific elements and can help lead your viewer’s eye towards a particular focal point.
Emphasis
Emphasizing a design element can help you attract your viewer’s attention towards a particular area or focal point. Emphasis is a great way to spotlight the most important aspect of your overall design.
Scale
Scale refers to the proportional relationship between your design elements with respect to size. Varying the size of your design elements can help you create emphasis, divide sections of your design, and aid in visual hierarchies.
Unity
Unity is the measure of how well your design elements come together to create a balanced and harmonious whole. Your design elements aren’t competing with one another for your viewer’s attention, but instead working together to best communicate your message. Unity is widely seen as the single most important goal of any design.
There you have it, your introductory course to the basic principles of design.
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