FEB 09 2018
The 4 Basic Rules of Design
01Design
Know how to distinguish between great design and shoddy work with these 4 design principles.
You don’t need to be a design expert to identify good creatives. Anyone with taste can catch bad design - I’m sure you’d have experienced it some time. Once you’re through with this article, you will be able to tell your designer what exactly you like or don’t like in his/her work.
Here are the 4 basic rules of design:
#1 - All elements of the creative must fall in place and follow a certain order
In design language, this is called ‘alignment’.
The words, icons and pictures used in the creative need to be arranged such that they have a pleasing connection and a smooth flow.
Which of these two creatives do you think has better alignment?
Wrong Right
#2 - The main message of the creative must be evident at first glance
In other words, ‘hierarchy’ must be maintained.
One main element of the design must be the focal point, and the rest of the messages or visuals used should just be supporting elements or embellishments. Plus, the foreground and background should contrast one another.
Which of these two creatives do you think has better alignment and contrast?
Wrong Right
#3 - No single portion of the creative must look crowded or empty
You might have heard your designers refer to, ‘balance’, ‘space’ and ‘proximity’.
This is precisely what they mean. No part of the creative must look too cluttered or too sparse. Symmetrical or asymmetrical, elements must be distributed in a harmonious way throughout the creative.
Which of these two creatives do you think follows the principles of balance, space and proximity?
#4 - Choose colours and fonts wisely
‘Typography’ and ‘colours’ are not something to fuss over. Picking the right colours and fonts is essential to keeping your design relevant to your audience.
Colours must be chosen in a way that makes the creative stand out, yet look pleasing to the eye. Fonts must be legible so that the copy (text) is easy to read.
Which of these two creatives do you think has a better choice of font and colour?
Do you have anything you’d like to add to this list, or any experiences you’d like to share with us? Do let us know in the comments section below.
