4 min read · Jul 29, 2020
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The principles of design are made up of various mixes of the elements of design all put together in one picture, making the picture look better. When more than one principle is used together an artist can create artwork that will amaze people and get good publicity, hopefully benefiting the artist who made them.
When you as an artist create artwork the principles of design become very important to it. They are the devices that you need to use and will unknowingly use since they make your images look nicer and become more visually appealing to people who are looking at your work.
The principles that you can use to make your image stand out and catch other people’s eyes are ones like contrast, the center of interest, repetition, and rhythm, while ones that help make your image more visually appealing are ones like harmony, the direction of movement, and balance.
Not all work needs to have a lot of these principles but almost all of them have at least one, even abstract art or optical illusions use two or more to create an image that attracts the viewer’s eyes and makes their eyes want to look at it.
That is why the principles are important, too make your artwork look visually appealing, catch people’s eyes.
Below is the principle of design:
Contrast refers to how different elements are in a design, particularly adjacent elements. These differences make various elements stand out. Contrast is also a very important aspect of creating an accessible design. Insufficient contrast can make text content in particular very difficult to read, especially for people with visual impairments.
The way these elements are laid out on a page should create a feeling of balance. There are two basic types of balance: symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetrical designs layout elements of equal weight on either side of an imaginary center line. Asymmetrical balance uses elements of differing weights, often laid out in relation to a line that is not centered within the overall design.
Emphasis deals with the parts of a design that are meant to stand out. In most cases, this means the most important information the design is meant to convey. Emphasis can also be used to reduce the impact of certain information. This is most apparent in instances where “fine print” is used for ancillary information in a design. Tiny typography tucked away at the bottom of a page carries much less weight than almost anything else in design, and is therefore de-emphasized.
Proportion is one of the easier design principles to understand. Simply put, it’s the size of elements in relation to one another. Proportion signals what’s important in a design and what isn’t. Larger elements are more important, smaller elements less.
Hierarchy is another principle of design that directly relates to how well content can be processed by people using a website. It refers to the importance of elements within a design. The most important elements (or content) should appear to be the most important. Headings and subheadings should be formatted in a way that shows their importance in relation to each other as well as in relation to the title and body copy.
Repetition is a great way to reinforce an idea. It’s also a great way to unify a design that brings together a lot of different elements. Repetition can be done in a number of ways: by repeating the same colors, typefaces, shapes, or other elements of a design.
The spaces between repeating elements can cause a sense of rhythm to form, similar to the way the space between notes in a musical composition creates a rhythm. There are five basic types of visual rhythm that designers can create: random, regular, alternating, flowing, and progressive.
Patterns are nothing more than a repetition of multiple design elements working together. Wallpaper patterns are the most ubiquitous example of patterns that virtually everyone is familiar with. In design, however, patterns can also refer to set standards for how certain elements are designed. For example, top navigation is a design pattern that the majority of internet users have interacted with.
White space — also referred to as “negative space” — in the areas of a design that does not include any design elements. Space is, effectively, empty.
White space serves many important purposes in a design, foremost being giving elements of the design room to breathe. Negative space can also help highlight specific content or specific parts of a design.
Movement refers to the way the eye travels over a design. The most important element should lead to the next most important and so on. This is done through positioning (the eye naturally falls on certain areas of a design first), emphasis and other design elements already mentioned.
Variety in design is used to create visual interest. Without variety, a design can very quickly become monotonous, causing the user to lose interest. Variety can be created in a variety of ways, through color, typography, images, shapes, and virtually any other design element.
Unity refers to how well the elements of design work together. Visual elements should have clear relationships with each other in a design. Unity also helps ensure concepts are being communicated in a clear, cohesive fashion. Designs with good unity also appear to be more organized and of higher quality and authority than designs with poor unity.
