Cyber Monday sale ends in 59 31 54 save US$149 on a new design 

hr min sec

Get a design How it works Find a designer Studio  1 800 513 1678


 Blog Get inspired  Learn design  Build a business  Grow an agency  Look inside 99d  

The 7 principles of design 

— 

by Meg Reid 
3 years ago | 8 min read Design basics

T
he principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to
create an effective and attractive composition. The
fundamental principles of design are Emphasis, Balance and
Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White
Space.

Design differs from art in that it has to have a purpose. Visually, this
functionality is interpreted by making sure an image has a center of
attention, a point of focus. Maybe you’re thinking, ‘But wait! I
thought design was all about creativity?’ If you’re an entrepreneur or
designer who’s just starting out, you might be tempted to go wild
and combine the first five typefaces and colors that catch your eye,
believing you’re creating something fresh and new. You will probably
find yourself with a design that is muddled, unfinished, or well, just
plain ugly.

Graphic design, like any discipline, adheres to strict rules that work

beneath the surface to make the work stable and balanced. If the
work is missing that balance, it will be weak and ineffective.

This article will take you through 7 basic principles of design that
will make your next project stand out.

1. Emphasis
—
Say you’re creating a poster for a
concert. You should ask yourself:
what is the first piece of
information my audience needs
to know? Is it the band? Or the
concert venue? What about the
day and the cost of attending?

Make a mental outline. Let your

brain organize the information
and then lay out your design in a
way that communicates that
order. If the band’s name is the
most essential information, place
it in the center or make it the
Poster design by miai313 for Handel’s Messiah Rocks biggest element on the poster. Or
you could put it in the strongest,
boldest type. Learn about color
theory and use strong color combinations to make the band name
pop.

Like writing without an outline or building without a blueprint, if you

start your composition without a clear idea of what you’re trying to
communicate, your design will not succeed.

2. Balance and alignment

—
Never forget that every element
you place on a page has a
weight. The weight can come
from color, size, or texture. Just
like you wouldn’t put all your
furniture in one corner of a room,
you can’t crowd all your heavy
elements in one area of your
composition. Without balance,
your audience will feel as if their
eye is sliding off the page.

Symmetrical design creates

balance through equally
weighted elements aligned on
either side of a center line. On Poster design by Shwin for Rumspringa
the other hand, asymmetrical
design uses opposite weights
(like contrasting one large element with several smaller elements) to
create a composition that is not even, but still has equilibrium.

Have a question?Ask our team.

Symmetrical designs are always pleasing, if not occasionally boring.

Asymmetrical designs are bolder and can bring real visual interest
and movement (more on that later!) to your composition.

3. Contrast
—
Contrast is what people mean
when they say a design “pops.” It
comes away from the page and
sticks in your memory. Contrast
creates space and difference
between elements in your
design. Your background needs
to be significantly different from
the color of your elements so
they work harmoniously together
and are readable.

If you plan to work with type,

understanding contrast is
incredibly essential because it
Poster design by Daria V. for Mama J means the weight and size of
your type are balanced. How will
your audience know what is most
important if everything is in bold?

As you seek out examples of really strong, effective design, you’ll

notice most designs only feature one or two typefaces. That’s
because contrast can be effectively achieved with two strong fonts
(or even one strong typeface in different weights). As you add fonts,
you dilute and confuse the purpose of your design.

4. Repetition
—
If you limit yourself to two strong
typefaces or three strong colors,
you’ll soon find you’ll have to
repeat some things. That’s ok! It’s
often said that repetition unifies
and strengthens a design. If only
one thing on your band poster is
in blue italic sans-serif, it can
read like an error. If three things
are in blue italic sans-serif,
you’ve created a motif and are
back in control of your design.

Repetition can be important

beyond one printed product.
Current packaging design is Poster design by robbyprada for Zoom.de
heavily embracing beautiful
illustrated patterns. Anyone
thinking about a startup knows one of the first things you need is a
strong logo to feature on your website, business cards, social media
and more. Brand identity? Another term for repetition.

5. Proportion
—
Proportion is the visual size and
weight of elements in a
composition and how they relate
to each other. It often helps to
approach your design in
sections, instead of as a whole.

Grouping related items can give

them importance at a smaller
size—think of a box at the
bottom of your poster for ticket
information or a sidebar on a
website for a search bar.
Proportion can be achieved only
if all elements of your design are
Poster design by Mahuna well-sized and thoughtfully
placed. Once you master
alignment, balance, and contrast,
proportion should emerge organically.

6. Movement
—
Going back to our concert poster.
If you decided the band was the
most important piece of
information on the page and the
venue was the second, how
would you communicate that
with your audience?

Movement is controlling the

elements in a composition so
that the eye is led to move from
one to the next and the
information is properly
communicated to your audience.
Movement creates the story or
the narrative of your work: a Poster design by Stefanosp for Great American Music Hall
band is playing, it’s at this
location, it’s at this time, here’s
how you get tickets. The elements above—especially balance,
alignment, and contrast—will work towards that goal, but without
proper movement, your design will be DOA.

If you look at your design and feel your eye get “stuck” anywhere on
it—an element is too big, too bold, slightly off-center, not a
complimentary color—go back and adjust until everything is in
harmony.

7. White space
—
All of the other elements deal
with what you add to your
design. White space (or negative
space) is the only one that
specifically deals with what you
don’t add. White space is exactly
that—the empty page around the
elements in your composition.
For beginning designers it can
be a perilous zone. Often simply
giving a composition more room
to breathe can upgrade it from
mediocre to successful.

White space isn’t sitting there

Poster design for pmoretti doing nothing—it’s creating
hierarchy and organization. Our
brains naturally associate ample
white space around an element with importance and luxury. It’s
telling our eyes that objects in one region are grouped separately
from objects elsewhere.

Even more exciting, it can communicate an entirely different image

or idea from your main design that will reward your audience for
engaging with it. The logo above uses active negative space to
communicate multiple ideas in one fun, creative design.

How to use the principles of design

—
A design doesn’t have to strictly follow these rules to be “good.”
Some absolutely mind-blowing designs ignore one or more of the
principles of design in order to create an eye-catching and effective
work.

Consider the cover of “The Bed

Moved” by Rebecca Schiff,
designed by Janet Hansen. This
was one of the most lauded book
covers of 2016.

But did you immediately read the

first line as “Theeb?” Did your
eye jump to the bottom line
where the M from “Moved” is
isolated on a different line than
the rest of the word? The design
is clearly breaking the two rules
of movement and alignment.
But! Because of the designer’s
confident use of a bold
contrasting color scheme and a
repetitive structure, your eye is
easily guided to the title and
author of the book.

The important information is

communicated. That jarring
The Bed Moved by Rebecca Schiff. Designed by Janet Hansen for Knopf
moment of slight confusion is
what makes this design so
revolutionary and rewarding.

The elements of a design should be viewed as moving parts which

combine to tell a story. As you approach your design project you
must first familiarize yourself with these principles of design. Only
then will you be able to break the rules to create your own signature
style.

Need something designed? Get a design

Our designer community can create just about
anything for you.

The author Related articles

Meg Reid 10 creative packaging design trends

Meg lives in a small city in the American for 2018
South. Most of her time is spent
designing books, attempting to write
essays, and cooking elaborate meals for 10 inspirational graphic design
her husband, two cats and muppet-y dog. trends for 2018
See Meg's book designs.

Tags
9 hot logo design trends for 2017
Design basics design principles

Any comments?

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Name

Post comment

Email

Jada Henery
4 years ago

This is the best one I have seen all day. You are a life saver

  Reply

detectivecute
last year

yea me too ☹☹

Jada Henery
4 years ago

I take back what I said it is the worst I have had. Why because it would
not past

  Reply

Arun
4 years ago

Really Practical

  Reply

Marko Paajanen
4 years ago

I’m a former college art teacher, and I was browsing the web for resources
to point my current online students to. I noticed how badly most designers
have botch this up (even mixing the elements and principles into the same
list, and calling them the same thing). You’ve done a brilliant job here, and
I wouldn’t hesitate to point anyone to both your elements and principles
explanations.

  Reply

Takelorkibfa
10 months ago

Same

Rekha Gurbani
2 years ago

I consider principle as a leader to lead all for the better. Having deep
knowledge of design principles definitely helps the designer to think out
of the box and showcase the true beauty of creativity.
Thanks & Regards
Exeliq Group

  Reply

CH
last year

Oh god, thank you for posting this. It so useful

  Reply

Zsolt
last year

Pure light in my mind. Thank you.

  Reply

Kelvin Asowa
last year

Good teachings love it

  Reply

Antonia
last year

Glad you liked it!

brennon
last year

yeah i totally agree bro, this stuff is CRAZY advanced. Throw

back to my tribal days am i right brither?

Tara
last year

Thank you so much for this article. It captures the most important points
and explains them in a way that eliminates any apprehension. I am very
grateful.

  Reply

Antonia
last year

Glad you liked it!

Azure Richmond
last year

Even as an experienced designer, the way you describe these principles is

super helpful and enlightening. Thanks for posting!

  Reply

Blacq Albyno
last year

Excellent

  Reply

Muhammad Ayyaz
last year

A good piece of education and information for a designer but a simple

logo is good than a complicated logo.

  Reply

phelisia
10 months ago

Very articulate and insightful. Thank you for sharing

  Reply

HASSAN MURTAZA
10 months ago

This has been a helpful piece of art, an amazing article.

  Reply

Michael Udoh
5 days ago

Please what are the practical aspects of this, I need it how can I get it
please.

  Reply

Want design tips &

business trends (and the
occasional promotion) in
your inbox?
—
Subscribers to our newsletter have been scientifically
proven to be smarter, better looking and at least 50%
more awesome than average.

 Your email Sign me up!

by Tamara Milakovic
I'm a freelance designer 

By completing this form, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy
Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy
Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.

Join the community

    

Current design contests

—
Designers, check out these contests so
you can start building your career.

thful logo and Logo für Zahnarztpraxis Logos, websites & more! Sleek and simple logo and YoDA.. your doct
covers for... branding required for...
Get a design
dia pack | $399 Logo design | $304 Logo & brand guide | $414 Logo & social media p

We need an eye catching and Online Multi-Brand Clothing Design a Cartoon style APE Company Crest/coat of
recognizable logo for our... Store arms/logo Tshirt
Logo & brand identity pack | $599 Logo & business card | $649 Illustration or graphics | $335 Logo design | $299

Get a design Designers, see opportunities 

Design services Support Resources Company

Design contests Help Pricing About

1-to-1 Projects Become a designer Contact

Find a designer Blog

Discover inspiration 99awards

Agencies

99designs Studio

99designs Select

API integrations

© 99designs | by Vista | Terms | Privacy     