Arranging visual elements.
WHAT THE PRINCIPLES ARE
- Hierarchy: what is seen first
- Alignment: elements relating to each other
- Proximity: related things grouped
- Contrast: differences that are deliberate
- Repetition: consistency across a piece
- White space: room to breathe
WHAT HIERARCHY REQUIRES
Deciding what matters most, and making it visually dominant.
WHY IT MATTERS MOST
A design where everything competes communicates nothing.
WHAT ACHIEVES DOMINANCE
Size Weight Colour Position Isolation
WHAT ALIGNMENT DOES
Creates order, even when unnoticed.
WHAT MISALIGNMENT DOES
Reads as careless, also unnoticed.
WHAT TO ALIGN TO
An invisible grid, consistently.
WHAT PROXIMITY COMMUNICATES
That things belong together.
WHAT THE COMMON ERROR IS
Equal spacing between unrelated and related items.
WHAT WHITE SPACE PROVIDES
Clarity, and an impression of quality.
WHY BEGINNERS REMOVE IT
Empty space feels wasteful, and filling it feels productive.
WHAT TO RESIST
That impulse.
WHAT TO DO WHEN A DESIGN FEELS WRONG
Remove something, before adding anything.
