Principles of Design

B y : A i m e e , Va r u n , K h u s h i ,
J o v a n a , V i n a y.
 What are Design
principles?
D e s i g n p r i n c i p l e s a re g u i d e l i n e s to fo l l o w i f yo u
wa nt to c re ate eff e c ti ve v i s u a l s , f ro m o i l p a i nti n g s
and blog.
D e s i g n p r i n c i p l e s a re g u i d e l i n e s to fo l l o w i f yo u
wa nt to c re ate eff e c ti ve v i s u a l s , f ro m o i l p a i nti n g s
a n d b l o g g ra p h i c s to eye - catc h i n g s o c i a l m e d i a
p o st s . .
 13 Basic Principles of Design
• These are the building blocks graphic
designers and artists use to put creative
works together
• The core principles of art that make up
every design, from the fine art of the
Louvre to the boxes of Corn Flakes at the
local grocery store.

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Balance
• Where objects in real life carry physical weight,
elements in design carry visual weight.

• Large elements are heavier and small elements

lighter, with each element having their own
"weight" based on how much attention they
draw.
• Visual balance is about ensuring your design is
equally weighted on both sides of the central
point.

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Emphasis
• Emphasis is used to focus the viewer’s
attention on a certain part of a
composition.
• The effect is achieved by manipulating
elements to make specific parts of a
design stand out.

• See this example from Wishpond. Emphasis is put

on the “Book a Demo’ button by giving it a yellow
background that contrasts with the dark shadows
behind it.

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Repetition
• Repetition refers to when an element
is repeated throughout a design.
• It could be anything, from using a
certain font colour to adding a
repetitive pattern to a social media
Animalz, a high-quality content marketing
post to a social media post to a social agency, nail this. They use repetition in their
media post. brand colours, elements and company logo to
• Repetition makes designs visually give a holistic experience across their website,
exciting and cohesive. It also creates a graphics and social posts.
sense of consistency by using a
repeating motif that the viewer comes
to expect. 
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 Movement
• W h e n w e t h i n k o f m o v e m e n t w e t h i n k o f, w e l l ,
things moving. A pendulum swinging. A Ferrari
r o a r i n g d o w n t h e f r e e w a y. B u t i n d e s i g n , i t r e f e r s t o
t h e p a t h a v i e w e r ’s e y e t a k e s w h e n t h e y l o o k o v e r a
c o m p o s i ti o n .

• Movement can be harnessed to distract, direct and

p u l l t h e v i e w e r ’s g a z e a r o u n d a d e s i g n .

•  Designers can guide viewers by using lines, edges,

shapes and colours to create focal points and
encourage certain ways of seeing.

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 Proportion
• Proportion is the relationship between two or more elements in a design,
particularly the size and scale of them.

• When things are "proportionate”, it means there’s a coordination between

them that makes the design look aesthetically pleasing.

• Proportion is about finding harmony between two elements. You want to

make sure things look “right”— that the elements look as if they belong
together.
 White Space FR
• The region between different design elements is referred to as "negative” or
“white” space. 

• This is part of the design that doesn’t contain anything. No images, drawings,
shiny colours or text. Nothing.

• The masters of negative space are Apple.

Just look at the minimalist design of their
website:

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Contrast
• Contrast is produced when two or more visual elements in a composition
are different. It can be used to creates specific effects, emphasise the
significance of certain elements, and add visual appeal to your designs.

• Designs that look the same are boring—by experimenting with

contrasting colour hues, shapes, sizes, textures and typography, you can
liven things up.

• Keep in mind that adding too many variations can be confusing for
viewers (the opposite effect you want to have.) As with most of the
different elements of art, it’s about striking a balance.

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Hierarchy
• Visual hierarchy is about organising the value of the elements within your design.
By ranking information from most important to least important you make it easier
for the viewer to digest your content.
• The viewer’s eye should be drawn to the most important element first. These sit
atop the throne at the top of the hierarchy, with the elements laid out below
ranked in order of importance.
• It’s not because they copied each other's homework — there’s a certain hierarchy
that designers stick to in order to draw attention to the right things in the right
order (and make it pretty to look at.)

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Rhythm

D e s i g n e r s c r e a t e r h y t h m b y r e p e a ti n g l i n e s , s h a p e s ,
colours and other elements. 
T h i s m a k e s a p a t h f o r o u r e y e s t o f o l l o w, b u i l d s p a tt e r n s
a n d i m b u e s t h e d e s i g n w i t h a s e n s e o f fl o w.
Click icon to add picture

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 Pattern
• People tend to get confused between
r e p e ti ti o n i n p a tt e r n s , w h i c h i s
understandable, as they both deal with
r e p e a t e d e l e m e n t s . B u t t h e s i m i l a r i ti e s e n d
there.
• A p a tt e r n i s c o m p o s e d o f   d i ff e r e n t
c o m p o n e n t s   r e p e a t e d i n t h e s a m e w a y.  
• Yo u ' l l a l s o n o ti c e p a tt e r n s c o m m o n l y u s e d a s
backgrounds on websites and in mobile
a p p l i c a ti o n s .

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Scale
• S c a l e i s t h e t e r m d e s i g n e r s u s e t o d e s c r i b e t h e r e l a ti v e s i z e o f
a d e s i g n e l e m e n t i n c o m p a r i s o n t o a n o t h e r. A n e l e m e n t o n l y
h a s a “ s c a l e ” w h e n i t ’s b e i n g c o m p a r e d t o s o m e t h i n g e l s e .
• In design, scale is important as it impacts the meaning, tone
a n d e n ti r e c o m p o s i ti o n o f y o u r w o r k . I t ’s t h e n u m b e r o n e
factor in deciding visual hierarchy and tells viewers what to
f o c u s o n ( a n d i n w h a t o r d e r. )
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Variety
• Va r i e t y i s n ’ t j u s t t h e s p i c e o f l i f e — i t ’s t h e s p i c e o f
d e s i g n t o o . I t ’s i n t e g r a l n o t t o r e v e r t t o t h e s a m e o l d
elements within a design to make sure things are
v i s u a l l y i n t e r e s ti n g f o r y o u r v i e w e r s .
• Va r i e t y k e e p s t h i n g s e n g a g i n g . I t s t o p s d e s i g n s f r o m
being stagnant, predictable and downright boring —
all things you want to avoid.

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Unity
• Unity adds order and makes a piece feel like a coherent whole, instead of a
messy combination of individual parts that just so happen to exist on the
same page. It's developed both visually and conceptually.

• To achieve unity you need to look out for three things: whether the
elements you’ve used have a good reason to be there, whether they work
together, and whether the message or concept you’re trying to display is
communicated clearly.

• By making sure your designs united you reduce cognitive load and ensure
viewers actually understand whatever it is your design is trying to achieve.

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Thank You.