Focal point and visual hierarchy- what do you look at first when you look at a design? You probably look at the point of emphasis, the focal point (part of the design which most stands out). A focal point is chosen by the designer to attract the viewer to look at important points within the design. A main focal point can be established along with supporting secondary focal points, called accents which are not so strongly emphasised. How can you create emphasis? Make it brighter, make it larger, make it go in different direction, position it differently, arrange all the elements to lead to it, isolate it, reverse it, make it a different colour, make it a different shape than other elements, make it clear and the other elements hazy.
Rhythm-In music most people think of rhythm as the ‘beat’ a sense of movement from one chord to another, a flow. In design, you can also think of rhythm as the beat, but a beat established by visual elements such as shape, line, colour, texture, than by sound. Rhythm is a pattern that is created by repeating elements and creating a sense of movement from one element to another. When you draw evenly spaced vertical lines on a page you establish a steady rhythm.
Movement-Elements should be arranged so that the viewers eye flows from one element to another through the design. Movement and rhythm often go together.
Unity-relies on a basic knowledge of the formal elements(line, tone, shape, space, texture, colour) and an understanding of design principles, such as balance, emphasis, and rhythm. Unity is the goal of composition. Unity allows the viewer to see an integrated whole rather than unrelated parts. To create unity you must consider the following:-
Correspondence-when you repeat an element like colour, shape, or texture or establish a style, you create a visual connection or correspondence among the elements.
Continuity-Continuity is related to correspondence. It is the handling of line, shapes, textures and colour to create similarities of form. In other words, if you were designing stationery, you would want continuity within the design of the business card, the letterhead and compliment slip.
Grid-subdividing a page into fixed horizontal and vertical divisions, columns, margins establishes a framework for organising elements in a format.
A SIMPLE APPROACH TO GOOD DESIGN
The Ideal Size. The most natural and pleasing size ground upon which to draw or paint is a , or a rectangle whose dimensions are 1 unit by 1.62 units.
Rule of Thirds, Visual Center, Grids
.
n
Visual Center
Placing important elements or the focal point of the design within the visual centre of a piece is another design trick. The visual centre is slightly to the right of and above the actual centre of a page.
Below: In this calendar, the months emanate from the year located front and (visual) centre.
Grids
Roughly dividing a page into thirds or finding the visual centre are relatively easy and you don't usually have to be exact to achieve your goals. However, constructing the underlying structure of a piece is a bit more complicated — but essential for most designs. Most balanced designs (and even unbalanced ones) rely on a grid. This invisible structure (visible while working in your page layout program) helps ensure that you place all the elements in the right location to achieve balance as well as to help with continuity and consistency of design. Grids can be simple or complex depending on the needs of the design and the designer. Sometimes the use of a grid is obvious. Below: This asymmetrically balanced design uses a simple three column grid to ensure that each text column is the same width and that it is balanced by the nearly empty column on the left. The grid also dictates the margins and ensures that the page number and header appear in the same place on each page.
