Design Principles
For everything in life, there are principles, guidelines, rules, etc. that guide us with how to make the next step and how to go about our daily activities either with work, relationships, family, etc.
For Design, they are the basics, guidelines we need to know, or follow to make sure we are able to get the right things done from some things as little as text to as much as placement and colors. how one brings these elements of design together would determine how beautiful design would be.
Design is all about the message being passed and learning to appreciate the small details that make up every composition, would make sure the right message is being passed through your design since “Design speaks louder than words”.
Design principles to consider:
- Layout and Composition
- Hierarchy
- Repetition
- White (negative) space
- Color
- Typography
Layout and Composition: they are the foundation of every design and they matter a lot since they can be applied to literally any aspect of design be it graphics design or web design etc. without a proper layout, a design would be all jumbled up and the five basic principles of layout design are:
1. Proximity,
2. white space
3. Alignment
4.Contrast
5. Repetition
Proximity shows relations with different elements. Related groups should be together as they will explain themselves and make work much easier to understand. White space also known as negative space are spaces between elements and it allows elements in a design project, breathe and remove clutter. Alignment is more or less an arrangement of elements as it makes them easy to navigate. Without consistent alignment, the work would be cluttered and difficult to understand. Contrast shows how one element is different from another.
Hierarchy: This helps the user navigate your work better, shows which elements are important, which to notice and which to start from. You can emphasize specific content, or elements, by creating a clear hierarchy in your layouts. Some ways to achieve this are through font weight, style, and scale. If everything is relatively the same style, then nothing stands-out, and the user won’t know where to focus.
Negative Space: Negative space is the area of the design that is empty, around elements and it is an important principle to learn to be good in UI/UX design. Negative space is a kind of breathing room for all the objects on the page or screen. Not only does it define the limits of objects but also creates the necessary bonds between them according to Gestalt principles and builds up effective visual performance. In UI design for websites and mobile apps, negative space is a big factor of high usability and navigability of the interface. The negative space around the layout elements is also called macro space whereas the space between them and inside (for letters and stroke elements) is also called micro space. It may be not only around the objects you place in the layout but also between and inside them. It sorts out clutter and it can be distracting overloading the user with tons of elements and that isn't a good thing. the main point is to make the user focus on one thing at a time.
Color: This plays a vital role in our everyday life as it draws our attention to different things and to important things. Colors can represent a mood, emotion, can communicate to users something important without words. Color theory is important and it has been in use for years and it helps you feel confident. An example is when going out on a date. The mood, environment, the importance of such a date would influence the dress and when either trying to stand out or look chic, you bring in color theory to take out an interesting outfit to match. This gives you confidence and makes you appealing to look at all the while carrying a message to your desired user.
Final Thoughts
Like everything in this life, knowing how to combine different principles perfectly takes practice and practice. It’s normal if in the beginning it‘s difficult and complicated, but then you will notice how it is easier and with design, it is a journey and implementing these principles in your everyday life would male your designs stand out. Never stop learning and practice a lot.
