Design is a part of our everyday life. It can be seen in nature like leaf patterns, in art works and even in print. Design itself is seen in various walks of life. It is a component of architecture, photography and even writing.
Design in its entirety is guided by certain principles which aids designers improve their output and make them better designers generally. Principles of design describe the manner in which elements of design are utilized to create a work of art. These principles include but are not limited to;
Negative (or white) Space which refers to the space between content, lines and margins. Simply put, it is the space which is left unoccupied in a design. This is an important concept in design as it helps define different sections of the design. It also helps to keep the design tidy and uncluttered. This can be seen in my design as parts of the screen where there is no item of design (blank orange).
Proximity which is another word for closeness refers to the grouping of items in a design to show that they are related. For example, while designing a complimentary card for a business executive it will make sense to place his designation close to his name while his email address and phone number will be placed together as they qualify as contact details. In my design, this can be seen at the top of the page where most actions are.
Contrast as a design principle refers to the properties of an item which makes it different from another. Contrast is always relative as a circle for instance can only be said to be big when compared to something else. Contrast can be achieved by making changes in either the colour, shape, size, texture, visual weight or style of text. In my landing page, the “Try now” button stands out as it is a different colour from other action buttons.
Repetition is the use of recurring styles throughout the design to give it a consistent look and feel. It ensures that while navigating through the design, the consumer does not feel like the lack of continuity. It entails the use of the same or similar fonts, colours and even alignment to achieve this purpose. In my landing page, I used a single font to give it a consistent look.
Alignment is the refers to the spatial arrangement of items in a design in relation to one another or the frame. All items of a design should be aligned properly to avoid a design looking cluttered. Text in a design can be aligned by Leading (line spacing), Tracking (character spacing) and/or Kerning (changing the space between specific characters). It should be noted however that some items in a design might be placed in a manner that flouts the alignment. This is usually done to make the item standout. In my design, all text is aligned to the left as this makes it more convenient to read.
Balance is the equal distribution of visual weight across a design. This aims to make the design stable. Balance can be symmetrical where the design is identical on both sides, asymmetrical where even though the design is different on both sides its still balanced or radial where elements of the design are distributed around a central point. Asymmetrical balance is utilized in my design to give it balance, even though the design can not be divided to two identical halves (as in symmetrical balance), the visual weight is equally distributed.
