Basic principals of graphic design

Alinement

Alignment is an important fundamental of design, since it helps create a sharp, ordered appearance by ensuring the elements have a pleasing connection with each other. Aligning objects properly will clean up a design and eliminate the messiness or sloppiness that can occur when elements are placed randomly.

Hierarchy

When you have multiple elements in a design, you want to make sure you’re giving extra weight visually to your most important message. This is called hierarchy and it can be accomplished in a variety of ways—larger or bolder fonts, placing your most important message physically higher than other pieces of information, or using shapes to frame the focal point. Utilizing this principle in your design starts with your message first and the goals of your design. Figure out what the most important piece of info is first. Perhaps you want the main message of your design to be a quote, but you also want to let viewers know how to follow you or that you have a sale. Visually establish your main message as the focal point with larger text or shapes to make it pop and then include your secondary message in a way that doesn’t overpower. We suggest designing your main message then adding additional text and using the design wheel on iOS to get suggestions for ways design multiple elements in one design. Alternatively, if you’re communicating on social media, you can communicate your secondary message in the copy or comment area.

Contrast

Contrast is an important principle of design because it lets you draw out the most important elements of a design and add emphasis. Contrast happens when two design elements are in opposition to each other, like black and white, thick and thin, modern and traditional, etc. Contrast is what helps guide the viewer’s eyes to the most important parts of your design and helps organize the information in an easily digestible manner.

Repetition

Repetition is an important design basic because it helps strengthen the overall look of the design. It also ties together different elements to help them remain organized and more consistent. Consistency and repetition is especially important in branding because you want your particular look to be instantly recognizable.

Balance

Balance gives a design its form and stability and helps to distribute the elements evenly throughout your design; this even spacing will offer an appearance that is professional and attractive instead of being jumbled and messy. Balance doesn’t mean elements need to be the same size, or that they must be distributed evenly across the page — it can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. Symmetrical balance weights the elements evenly on either sides of the design, while asymmetrical uses contrast to even out the flow of design (i.e. dark elements are balanced out by light ones).