Author: Margaret

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Design Principles

Basic Principles TYPOGRAPHY

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There’s a lot I could say about typography (just ask my family!) but let’s start with some basics.

First of all typefaces have personalities of their own. Plain typefaces send the message that they mean business because they are no-nonsense in their look and feel. Curly fonts tend to be whimsical and romantic. These are the ones you usually see on wedding invitations and personal emails.

Type must be appropriate for the topic, be sympathetic to any images nearby and be suitable for the intended reader. Until recently, there was a view that sans serif fonts – those without pointy ends, such as Arial – were easier to read than serif fonts. Whilst this might be true as a general rule, some recent research suggests that the typefaces we find the easiest to read are those that we grew up with. In other words, the fonts that were in use when we were learning to read, remain the easiest for us to read. Type faces reflect social conditions and go in and out of fashion, just like wedge heels.

You’ll notice that I’m using the terms font and typeface interchangeably here. They aren’t actually the same thing, but the explanation is rather long and tedious so I’m not going to go into that now. Suffice to say that you need to choose your typefaces carefully. Don’t write a board report in comic sans, it just doesn’t send the right message about you or your topic.

You’ll be seeing more about typography in future posts, so stay tuned.

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Design Principles

Basic Principles WHITE SPACE

by Margaret1 Comment on Basic Principles WHITE SPACE

White space is also called neutral space and is considered to be as important as the words, pictures and objects it surrounds. It doesn’t necessarily need to be white.

Neutral space helps us make sense of what we are looking at. Imagine going into a room and seeing every wall covered with information, photos and messages. You would probably feel a bit overwhelmed. Your eyes would need to scan back and forth while you try and make sense of all the data and work out what the most important information is.

Way back in the 1950s there was a whole movement of type designers who thought that simple, uncluttered lettering was preferable to the ornate curliness of the 1920s and 30s. This was known as the Swiss Style and is typified by a very clean and uncluttered look. The catch phrase of the time was ‘less is more’.

Critics of this approach subsequently stated that ‘less was a bore’.

Less is more

So how do you achieve simplicity without oversimplifying your ideas?

Any ideas?

Design Principles

Basic Principles BALANCE

by MargaretLeave a Comment on Basic Principles BALANCE

Balance is a delicate and natural thing. It can be symmetrical (even on both sides like a butterfly’s wings) or asymmetrical (uneven on each side, but still feeling balanced). There are many examples of balance in nature and I think balance is quite personal. When the balance is right, it just feels right. When it’s wrong, it feels uncomfortable. Off kilter is the way I would describe it.

Balance can be achieved using colour, weight – that is, areas of lightness and darkness – and different textures. The best way for me to explain balance is to ask you to think about serving up a beautiful meal. What are the proportions of the components of your meal? Are there a variety of foods and do they complement one another? Are there a range of textures and tastes, sweet and salty, crunchy and smooth? Is the total effect pleasing and soothing? Is there just the right amount of everything on the plate?

If you are trying to achieve balance, be it in your life or on the page, you need to pay attention to what feels right and trust your instincts.

Design Principles

Basic Principles CONTRAST

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Contrast is what makes your design interesting.
There are lots of ways to achieve contrast in your work. You can use different shapes and sizes, light and dark or big and small. As well as providing interest, contrast provides emphasis. For example, a splash of colour will attract interest but can also be a way of highlighting an important fact or issue.
If you want to be noticed, you have to stand out in the crowd and be different from the rest. The single black sheep is always more interesting than an entire flock of white sheep.

Design Principles

Basic Principles PROXIMITY

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Proximity is about how near or far objects are from one another.

Our brains make a lot of assumptions for us based on where things are located in relation to one another. People assume that there is a relationship between things that are together, even if there isn’t.  We just assume that things that are close together, belong together. Think of salt and pepper shakers, or two friends meeting in the park. When we see a couple with their heads close together, deep in conversation, we know that they are  ‘a couple’ and not just friends. When you are designing documents or slides, always put related information together so that people can easily see that it’s related. It’s equally important to use lots of white space to separate information that’s not related.

This seems really obvious, but its a design principle that is often neglected.

Design Principles

Design Principles UNITY

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There are some fundamental principles of design which you need to get familiar with. Once you do this, you can apply them to all sorts of situations. The first principle is UNITY.

This means very simply that your documents (or slides) should have the same look and feel all the way through. This can be achieved by using consistent fonts and colours and by not mixing up your graphics. For example, if you are using high quality photographs as visuals, don’t just suddenly plonk in some clip art because you can’t find an appropriate photo.

You might be thinking that this will make your work boring or that you don’t have time to fiddle with things to make them match, but UNITY is really important for your audience. It makes your audience feel comfortable without them even knowing why. It makes you look more credible and professional when your work has a unified look and feel.


Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Design Principles

Let’s get started…

by MargaretLeave a Comment on Let’s get started…

So here we are at the first post. As I said in the introduction, learning about design involves thinking, observing and just having a play around with ideas.

The first idea to ponder is what is ‘good’ design and why is it important? I strongly believe that everyone has a little bit of a design mind and that’s why we like gardening, cooking, art and maybe even having a tidy desk. In my book, good design is a combination of functionality and beauty. In other words, well designed things are both useful and attractive. I’ll have a lot more to say later about why it matters that things are attractive and why it doesn’t have much to do with decoration, but that’s a conversation for another session. If you are interested in the connection between functionality and beauty you should read Donald Norman’s book on why we like things to look nice.

What do you need to do?

Start by carefully observing the world around you. Do you have favourite objects, tools or websites? What makes them useful? Name three things that are well designed and say what’s good about them. You can post examples here if you would like to.

Then find three things that are badly designed – post some examples as well. Alternatively, get yourself a work book and write down your thoughts, ideas and examples.

Is this an example of good design?

Design Principles

Welcome to my blog

by Margaret2 Comments on Welcome to my blog

This blog has been designed to introduce you to some basic ideas about design. You can use these ideas if you are developing presentations, documents or any other kind of work where you need to make your ideas clear.

Improving your skills involves thinking and practicing. Your skills will not improve by just reading through the material, you need to apply the ideas.

Feel free to comment on any of the information, or ask any questions.

Happy learning!