Basic Design Principles

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Basic Design Principles

• February 6, 2006

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What are the basic Design Principles?

• Balance
• Contrast
• Unity
• Harmony
• Rhythm
• Proportion

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Balance

• Visual Weight Which circle looks heavier?

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2 Types of Balance

• Informal Balance
• Asymmetrical
• Visual weight

• Formal Balance
• Symmetrical
• Visual weight

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Contrast

• Used to make things stand out
• Illustrations
• Photographs
• Using Colors
• Underlines
• Borders

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Contrast

• Different typestyles
• Different type sizes
• Different type weights
• Slanting type and graphics
• Using shapes of different sizes

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Unity and Harmony

• Extremely similar
• Go hand-in-hand
• Harmony items in design blend with theme

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Whats wrong with this advertising?
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Rhythm

• How your eye scans the page
• Eyes follow a Z pattern

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Proportion

• Relation of one thing to another in size
• May be applied the size of items in relation to
  the page

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Satisfying Designs

• Rule of Thirds
• Visually diving the page into thirds
• Can be horizontal or vertical
• Provides balance

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Satisfying Designs

• Alignment
• The placement of text on a line
• Left, right, center, justified