Jean LeLoup & Bob Ponterio
SUNY Cortland © 2017 |
What we perceive is not necessarily what we see. The psychology of human perception helps us to focus on the few important elements among the millions of details that bombard us. When creating a design to communicate an idea, attention to some basic principles can help more effectively communicate what is important.
Four Basic Principles
from The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
Repetition: Repeat visual elements of the design throughout the piece. You can repeat colour, shape, texture, spatial relationships, line thickness, sizes, etc. This helps develop the organization and strengthens the unity. Alignment: Nothing on the page should be placed there arbitrarily. Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page. This creates a clean, sophisticated, fresh look. Proximity: Items relating to each other should be grouped close together. When several items are in close proximity to each other, they become one visual unit rather than several separate units. This helps organize information and reduces clutter. |
The juxtaposition of different stylistic elements can help items stand out and grab the audience's attention, or they might simply make a page look awkward. The type and degree of difference contribute to the overall effect. Too many stylistic differences create clutter rather than a highlight. This is especially true in the selection of typefaces in a document.
Dynamic Relationships
from The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams
A conflicting relationship occurs when you combine typefaces that are similar in style, weight, size, and so on. The similarities are disturbing because the visual attractions are not the same (concordant), but neither are they different (contrasting), so they conflict. A contrasting relationship occurs when you combine separate typefaces and elements that are clearly distinct from each other. The visually appealing and exciting designs that attract your attention typically have a lot of contrast built in, and the contrasts are emphasized. |
Font Basics
Type Contrasts
For more information:
Readability Means Good Page Layout - or - Readability, Browsability, and Searchability on the use of good graphic design in documents by Eric Morgan
Typesetter : Compare Screen Type (utility for side by side comparisons of fonts)