Pleasing graphic design can be broken down into four steps.
Any good designer knows that designing involves more than
throwing elements on a page. Want to know how to create professional
looking documents? Well, keep reading.
Proximity
Novice designers often place design elements arbitrarily.
Some believe that filled space is good space. This misconception
leads to bad design. White space is advantageous, and scattered
design makes information inaccessible.
Proximity simply means you group related items together.
Move them close together so the human eye can recognize them
as a cohesive group. It’s a visual cue that the reader
will understand almost immediately. Items or groups of information
not related to each other should not be placed in close proximity.
Don’t confuse the reader by forcing them to figure
out what belongs where. Don’t confuse the idea of proximity
with simply placing any items close together. The items should
have a logical connection for proximity to make sense.
Alignment
Novice designers sometimes put elements wherever they’ll
fit. This can create a messy unprofessional appearance. Good
alignment means nothing is aligned on the page arbitrarily.
Each item should have a visual relationship with something
else on the page. Paying attention to alignment forces you
to pay close attention to what’s actually on the page.
Properly aligned items create a pleasing appearance. Readers
know that, although the items may not be in close proximity,
they certainly are all a part of a system. Lack of cohesive
alignment is a major cause of bad design.
Repetition
The idea of repetition involves including reoccurring images
that repeat throughout your piece. It doesn’t matter
if you’re designing a newsletter or a website, repetition
is important. The repetitive element can be a logo, font,
photo, or whatever you want. Repetition unifies your design.
To create a consistent webpage, stationary system, or e-book,
you need a strong display of repetition. Readers must be
able to understand that all of the pages are related. Repetitive
elements establish continuity, and present a professional
appearance.
Contrast
Contrast is a terrific way to add visual interest to your
graphic design. Contrast results from placing two vastly
different elements together in close proximity. If two elements
are slightly different, then it may look more like conflict
than contrast. Contrast is good. Conflict is bad.
Contrast can be created in a variety of ways. You can use
an extremely large font with an extremely small one. You
can contrast a large sans serif font with a small serif font.
The possibilities are endless. But remember, you want contrast
not conflict. Conflict occurs when two items are too similar
to have an immediate noticeable difference.
For example, using two serif fonts in one design is likely
to create conflict. Even if they’re different weight
sizes or colors, their characteristics are still too similar
to create good contrast. However, graphic design rules aren’t
set in stone. Just remember that you must know the rules
before you can decide if it’s a worthwhile idea to
break them.
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