Principals of Design: Grouping

Day 18/150

Grouping

Elements in a layout interact with the borders to create meaning and the position of elements in relation to each other has an effect, the relative positions of multiple objects have associations. In as sense, when  a third element is introduced into a design consisting of two elements, the third element is forced to take sides.

Study of Grouping

Seven dots arranged in a space.

The "150 Days" series is a post-per-day review of design topics to help me brush up on skills and become a better designer and new media producer as part of my career reboot.

Principals of Design: Placement

Day 17/150

Placement

The fist graphic design consideration of visual communication is placement. A component's placement in relation to the boundaries of the layout begins to communicate something to the audience. An element placed in the center of a layout communicates something different than an element placed so that the distance between the object and the borders are different on every side. Stability, tranquility, dominance, order: these are ideas associated with an equal spacing. Placing an element off-center has the effect of conveying movement, tension and uncertainty. Unequal placement usually reduces emphasis, while equal placement usually increases emphasis.

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It's easy to create a guide over your layout to help you evaluate the placement of elements in a layout. Draw an X from corners of the layout, and a + through the midpoints of the sides. They should intersect at the center of the layout. The areas outside the lines, represented as dark areas in the image below, show the areas within which elements may be placed and have unequal placement.

Spacing is a concept related to placement. All spaces within a layout are important. The spacing between elements with the layout can be compared to the spacing between other elements, and any elements and the boundaries of the layout. It all and affects the communication. Equal spacing usually reduces emphasis, while unequal spacing usually increases emphasis.

The "150 Days" series is a post-per-day review of design topics to help me brush up on skills and become a better designer and new media producer as part of my career reboot.

Principals of Design: Introduction

Day 16/150

Graphic design is primarily concerned with making decisions about elements within a layout, a predefined visual space within which information is presented. Typically the primary components, the information, has been determined before the graphic designer begins to work. Working within those constraints, the graphic designer utilizes a basic visual grammar to relate, enhance, organize and prioritize a message. A graphic designer's art is the functional equivalent of body language, and is similarly important to successful communication.

The principals of design are an accounting of the basic terms and definitions of the visual grammar of a graphic designer. Placement, grouping, division, color, typography, harmony, balance, contrast: these are some of the essential considerations of a graphic designer. Design by itself means "on purpose", the result of decision. Graphic design is the purposeful consideration and deliberate application of the principals of design to information in a layout.

The "150 Days" series is a post-per-day review of design topics to help me brush up on skills and become a better designer and new media producer as part of my career reboot.