Graphic Design

Foundation Of
Good Design
Summary Notes
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Contents

3 Introduction

4 Elements of design

12 Principles of design

24 The Design cycle

27 Bibliography

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Introduction
Today, we will focus on the foundation of good design.

We refer to this foundation as the elements as well as the principles of design and how to combine them into a visual unity.
The elements of design are the building blocks of your design and the principles are how you apply these building blocks.
To put it into simpler terms: imagine that you are in charge of a large building project. As the project manager, you will
need the necessary building material as well as a team of builders and architects to construct your client’s dream home.
The building material we refer to as the design elements. The team of people you will be working with we can refer to as
the principles when it comes to graphic design. What this means is that the elements are the physical ingredients or
building blocks we use to construct our design. The principles refer to how we apply these elements in an effective
manner.

The end result of successfully applying the elements (our building material) and principles (our team) is a successful
building project which we refer to as an effective visual hierarchy. Neither can exist without the other so both are equally
important. As you are familiar with the elements we discussed in lesson 1, can you recall what they are? Remember we had
7 elements we referred to…they are space, line, shape, size, texture, value and colour. We will also focus on how to
successfully apply these elements.

The principles of design consist of focal point, contrast, balance, movement, pattern, unity and the very important theory
of gestalt. Now, what happens if we do not successfully apply our elements and principles of design? We will have a failed
building project. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how well you know any of the design programs. If you do know
have a strong foundation (elements and principles of design), your designs will not be effective and won’t convey the
correct message and that’s exactly why this lesson is so important!

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Elements of design
Lesson two is about the elements and principles of design and how to apply them. Starting with the elements of design,
which you are familiar with by now as I introduced them to you in lesson 1. Note that the elements might differ from
source, and you might get more or less elements, but at the end of the day, they all come down to the same foundation.

Figure 1: The elements of design

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1. Space
We will discuss all our elements and principles in more detail starting with our very first element, space. As implied,
space is the area we use to design, it is resembled by the empty areas on your design, which we refer to as white or
negative space. Note that we refer to it as white space, since it resembles the white of a page. I however prefer the
term negative space as it is not always white.

The elements that actually fill your page like images and text are referred to as positive space. The closer elements like
images and text are to each other on a design, the more difficult it is for your viewer to make sense of. Space also
helps to guide your viewer and will make a piece more legible and comfortable to read. Space is essential for legibility
as well as aesthetics. It thus allows your design to breathe and provides your viewer with a visual rest.

2. Line
We can refer to line as the primal element since all other elements consist out of some sort of line (except for space, of
course). A line can be straight, curved, or broken up, thick or thin, vertical, horizontal or diagonal. As mentioned, lines
are the basic forms of all designs, but combining them creates a sophisticated design and the illusion of an image.

We can even go as far and say that line can also be implied, meaning that we do not necessarily need a physical line to
be present but consider that we type on an imaginative line to make sure that all type lines up horizontally. Even
shape, which is our next element is in fact line in a closed form! The type of lines used will even evoke different
emotions and convey different meanings.

Think about strong diagonal lines. What comes to mind? I bet you it is definitely not a sense of calmness but rather a
sense of urgency and excitement. Diagonal lines are dynamic and will be mostly used to convey motion, agility and
strength.

A thin, horizontal line will convey a sense of elegance and sophistication. It will probably be used with a more formal
approach. Consider where you have witnessed thin horizontal lines and the reason why they were used.

The same can be said about thin vertical lines, but unlike horizontal lines that resembles calmness, vertical lines
would much rather convey a message of success and excellence.

By simply adjusting the space and thickness of your lines, you will be able to convey yet another type of emotion.
Thick vertical lines can convey a sense of growth and stability, just like a pillar. Even using a specific colour will also
change the meaning of your line.

3. Form
As mentioned, shape can be defined as a closed form of line. Shape can also be referred to as form. We have three
kinds of shapes, organic, inorganic and abstract.

Organic shapes, like the name implies are natural and usually found in nature. They convey a sense of spontaneity
and are pleasing.

Inorganic shapes are geometric in form and usually man-made and can resemble squares, triangles and circles. These
shapes convey more order add structure.

Abstract shapes are simplified forms of a real object, like the sign to indicate a male or female restroom.

Thinking about the stick-figured icons find at public restrooms; they do not resemble a human perfectly but it conveys
the message perfectly – this is a great example of abstract shapes.

A circle, which is an inorganic shape resembles eternity, grace, is more feminine and also resembles a sense of power
and protection.

A rectangle or square conveys a message of stability, honesty, and order.

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Think about text columns that is an implied rectangle and the order they bring to a design. A rectangle or square is
also more masculine than a circle.

A triangle on the other hand can have different meanings depending on the direction it points. A triangle can even be
an arrow and create a sense of direction.

If a triangle however points downwards, it creates a sense of tension, alertness and aggression.

4. Size
The next element is size, also known as scale or mass. Size is relative with regards to other elements and the proximity
of those elements. It is important in that it draws attention to larger elements on a page and thus plays a significant
role when it comes to creating emphasis as well as hierarchy. It also aids in making less important elements on a page
to not be emphasised.

5. Texture
Texture does not need to be physical or tactile but can be implied or visual too. We are able to create implied texture
in 2Dimensions by making use of the design elements.

Texture is created by simply repeating shapes or lines in a continuous manner to form a texture.

Depending on the project at hand, texture can be used in different ways. For example, when creating a logo however,
keep texture to a minimum as it makes your logo difficult to view and resize.

It actually helps to keep things relative by creating a sense of depth and making items seem more 3 dimensional.
Textures can create a more three-dimensional appearance on this two-dimensional surface and also acts as a
secondary element giving support to the main image, reinforcing the visual concept.

6. Value
Value, refers to tones of light and dark and also plays an important role in the element of colour. The tones in between
light and dark can be referred to as shades of grey or greyscale.

In the same way as when making use of colour, we make use of value to place emphasis on certain aspects of our
design. If you are making use of value and there is no colour present in your artwork, it is important to have a lot of
contrast between these shades of grey in order to create emphasis – the use of only one colour with a different values,
is known as a monochromatic colour scheme.

A handy tip I would like to share with you is that when you are designing something, try and visualise what it would
look like in greyscale. It you can’t see a lot of contrast when it is done in greyscale or if the items you wanted to have
emphasised does not stand out anymore, reconsider your use of colours, especially when it comes to logo design.

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This logo seem very sophisticated, modern and classy but when converted to greyscale, you can immediately see there is
almost no value difference between the navy background and bronze logo.

Image 1: Low contrast logo concept converted to greyscale (value)

However, simply changing the background gives the logo more contrast and thus when converted to greyscale, the value
quality is preserved.

Image 2: High contrast logo concept converted to greyscale (value)

We are drawn to high contrast and would much rather prefer a design with a lot of contrast and thus, understanding value
is very important.

7. Colour
Colour is one of the design elements that is so vast we will actually spend quite some time on it. It is probably one of the
most powerful elements a designer can make use of to convey a message, thus understanding it is crucial.

It not only involves the visual aspect but also a psychological aspect. When it comes to colour, the actual tone and value
can also change the mood, and colour can also mean different things in different cultures. It is a topic that needs to be
researched intensely before just combining a variety of colours, especially when it comes to designing something for a
culture you are not too familiar with.

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Good design should work in the absence of colour and should enhance the features of the design. It should not simply be
used as the design itself. Again, as with value, desaturate your design and if it doesn’t work, you should reconsider your
use of colour.

Did you know fun fact:

As with most cultures, the colour white is a symbol of purity, innocence, goodness and light. It normally has a
positive connotation.

But did you know that white resembles mourning in the Chinese culture? It is associated with death and can be seen
quite a lot at Chinese funerals.

Colour also aids in creating contrast and certain colours can complement each other very well, whilst others don’t
look good together at all. If it exhausts you and you really need to focus to read or view the image, don’t do it!

Figure 2: Good contrast vs bad contrast

Colour has the ability to group and organise elements together, it creates impact and also evokes emotion. But in order to
achieve all these, you will need to understand colour theory. We will have a look at the colour wheel and how to combine
colours using this feature. Colour has the ability to group and organise elements together, it creates impact and also
evokes emotion. But in order to achieve all these, you will need to understand colour theory. We will have a look at the
colour wheel and how to combine colours using this feature.

The colour wheel can be broken into 12 colours that consist of the primary colours which are red, yellow and blue; the
secondary colours: green, purple and orange as well as the tertiary colours: blue-green, blue-purple, red-purple, red-

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orange, yellow-orange and yellow-green.

Figure 3: The colour wheel

These colours can be combined in numerous ways which we like to refer to as colour schemes.

These include: complementary colours which are colours opposite each other on the colour wheel; tetradic or rectangular
colour scheme which uses two pairs of complementary colours; analogous colours which are colours next to each other on
the colour wheel - please be careful with combining too many colours when it comes to this colour scheme. We have the
triadic colour scheme which uses three colours spaced evenly around the colour wheel; there is the square colour scheme
which uses four colours evenly spaced around the colour wheel and then last but not least, the split complementary
colour scheme which, similar to the complementary colour scheme, uses colours opposite each other on the colour wheel
but instead of two colours will split the one colour and use two adjacent colours from this split colour.

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Figure 4: Colour schemes

Splitting the colour wheel in half between yellow and purple will actually divide the colours between warm and cool. Have
you noticed that when combining colour schemes that most of them include both warm and cool colours? When making
use of a colour scheme it is important to have one dominant colour and one submissive colour. If you are not sure how to
determine this, note that warmer colours tend to be more dominant.

Figure 5: Warm & cool colours

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Moving on to the colour properties, we have hue, saturation and value. Hue can be defined as the type of colour you are
choosing, in other words, a synonym for hue can also be the word “colour”. Saturation refers to the intensity of a
hue/colour and value refers to the lightness or darkness of a colour.

Figure 6: Hue, saturation and value

Understanding the colour properties allows you to be even more creative when it comes to designing. Remember when
we mentioned that the warmer colours on the colour wheel are more dominant? Now, imagine that you would much
rather want the cool colour to be dominant? You guessed it, you would simply apply colour properties to downscale the
warm colour. An example would be to bring down the saturation of a warm colour to make it more subtle. We will actually
look at practical examples a bit later in this lesson.

How are the elements applied?

I would like to show you an example of how colour have been successfully applied to a composition. This example boasts
with a tetradic colour scheme of red, orange, blue and green.

Image 3: Bonsai tree photo manipulation artwork - colour scheme

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Let’s look carefully… We’ll start with the easiest first. Green is very obvious in the grass as well as blue in the night sky.

But where do I get orange and red from? Remember the colour properties we just spoke about? Orange is visible in the big
trees outlining the smaller bonsai tree in the centre. The value of orange have been increased by simply adding black to
form an almost black/orange. But where do I get the red from? Again, looking at the bonsai tree in the centre, the value
has decreased, meaning that white has been added to the red. What happens to red if you add white? Yes, it changes to
pink. You will also notice that the cooler colours in this example is dominant creating a nice balance. After explaining the
use of colour on this image, can you see what I mean?

Principles of design
Having discussed the elements of design, we will now look at how to apply them – we refer to this as the principles of
design. The principles of design consist of focal point or emphasis; contrast; balance; movement; rhythm or pattern and
unity and also the theory of Gestalt.

Figure 7: The principles of design

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1. Focal point
The first principle we are looking at is focal point or emphasis. The focal point is the most important visual on your
artboard - it is the visual that draws your attention first.

But how can we make this visual stand out? By simply applying the elements of design effectively! Think specifically in
terms of using colour, size and value to place emphasis on your most important element. A rule when it comes to focal
points is to only have one per page. You can’t have two focal points competing for attention. If you have either no
focal point or more than one, it will not be a focal point anymore.

Which part on this poster do you consider as the focal point and why?

Image 4: Pizza shop pamphlet - focal point

You most probably saw the pizza first. The reason being that the texture is quite different from the rest of the advert. Also,
the use of colour as well as it’s size in relation to the other elements makes the pizza stand out too. The pizza is the only
element that deviates from the colour scheme and style.

Did you also realise that there is only one focal point? We do have a secondary focal point which, in my opinion is the Pizza
shop sign but it does not compete with the actual pizza.

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2. Contrast
Contrast can be applied in almost any way. Simply using the elements of design in opposing ways will add contrast.
Texture vs smooth; small vs large; dark vs light; positive space vs negative space. Even combining different patterns or
textures can also create contrast. The options are literally unlimited.

Contrast allows us to emphasise key elements and without it, your design will look uninteresting. We can even go as
far and say that if there is no contrast, chances are that you do not have a focal point.

Image 5: Silhouette of man’s face – Contrast

3. Balance
Balance can be achieved in two ways, symmetrical balance and asymmetrical balance as long as each side carries
equal weight. As the name implies, symmetrical balance is when the two opposing sides are reflections of one
another. Asymmetrical balance on the other hand is when the two opposing sides are unequal but still form a balance
- this is usually visually more pleasing.

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Image 6: Symmetrical balance

Image 6 is an example of symmetrical balance. If we had to divide this composition vertically, both these halves
would be mirrored versions of each other.

Image 7: Asymmetrical balance

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Image 7 is an example of asymmetrical balance. By dividing this composition either vertically, horizontally or
diagonally, none of the sides would mirror each other however they still form a balance due to the abstract repetition
of elements.

4. Movement
Movement refers to the principle that good design controls the eye’s flow through a composition. This means that the
most important element should lead to the second most important and so on. Movement also however needs to be
balanced. Too much movement will exhaust your viewer so learn to use it sparingly.

Interestingly, due to the fact that we read from top to bottom and left to right, we tend to view items as such. You will
notice a lot of designs will have big bold headings at the top and the least important elements will be at the bottom
due to the way we read and view things.

It is not a good idea to have your most important element at the top, your second most important element way at the
bottom and then the rest of the information scattered throughout your composition. This causes too much
movement and your viewers won’t know where to look.

Image 8: Movement

Image 8 is a great example of how movement have been applied by not only making use of the composition but also
by making use of elements like arrows. This composition is thus viewed from top to bottom by the help of the arrows.

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5. Pattern
Pattern is also known as rhythm. A continuous pattern can also create movement - this is linked to repetition that
eventually forms a unity the whole design fits into; it brings the whole design together. Think of it as following a
theme by combining the elements and principles. The repetition of certain elements will form a rhythm or pattern.
Pattern can have two meanings, whereas the first is simply the repetition of elements. As seen in image 9, the use of
dialogue bubbles creates a pattern that has been applied to all the pages of this brochure along with the use of
repetitive colours and textures.

Image 9: Pattern by using dialogue bubbles & colour

Image 10’s example of pattern is linked to the standardisation of elements in a consistent manner. Think about the
use of a website. You know that the menu bar is at the top of the website since this has become a standard feature
for websites. This is thus linked to the user-friendliness of the design.

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Image 10: Pattern by using the standardisation of elements in a consistent manner

6. Unity
Unity also known as harmony, refers to all elements and principles on the composition working together and
communicating with one voice. It relates to the consistency of the design and making sure all the elements relate with
one another. Unity helps to create order and hence this is why the theory of Gestalt links well with unity. At the end of
the day, if all your elements and principles do not form a unity, you will need to reconsider your design approach.

Unity can also be applied to various designs or compositions within a project. I like to refer to unity as the theme of
the project. Think about a corporate identity and the same elements that are applied to the letterhead, email
signature as well as business card.

What do you think about the unity in this example? Does it work for you?

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Image 11: Design containing no unity

Absolutely nothing in this design is unified. Firstly, you have a diagonal gradient, with a repetition of black dots then
some striped gradient lights. This is an excellent example of how not to use the elements of design in conjunction
with one another. Every single element on this design screams for attention and there is no theme or unity that flows.

7. Gestalt
Our brains will form a pattern in what might seem as visual chaos and this is where the four laws of Gestalt guide us,
specifically in graphic design. These four laws consist of proximity, similarity, continuity and closure. The Gestalt
principle is based on the theory that the brain automatically arranges and simplifies objects to make things easier to
understand.

7.1 Proximity

Proximity relates to the distance between elements or objects. The closer objects are to one another in relation
to other objects, the more they seem to be related or unified.

Having a group of circles, we can all agree that it seems as though they belong together. But if we move 3 of the
circles to the right, it seems as though we have two groups of circles. We still have the same circles but due to the
distance between them, they seem to not belong together any longer.

Figure 8 & 9: Proximity put into practice

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Proximity relates to the distance between elements or objects. The closer objects are to one another in relation to other
objects, the more they seem to be related or unified.

Having a group of circles, we can all agree that it seems as though they belong together. But if we move 3 of the circles to
the right, it seems as though we have two groups of circles. We still have the same circles but due to the distance between
them, they seem to not belong together any longer.

Figure 10: Proximity put into practice

Looking closely examine the icons in figure 10. I’m sure you can identify some of the shapes. You’ve probably identified a
bee, we have a beetroot in the form of a heart, a fish, a dove and so on. But my question is actually where have you seen
these icons before?

Still don’t know (if you did, good on you!) but most of us will only realise when I change the proximity of these symbols.

Figure 11: Proximity put into practice - combining the icons in figure 10 to form the Unilever logo

Have any of you ever seen this logo? Yes, this is the Unilever logo and we can all clearly identify that it forms the letter U by
simply changing the proximity of each icon.

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7.2 Similarity

Another way our minds group things together is based on similarity. If design elements or objects are similar in
size, shape or even colour, our minds perceive it as being unified.

Figure 12: Similarity - the orange circles seem to be unified and the blue squares forms another unity. However, both these
circles and elements are the same distance but due to their differences, they seem ununified

7.3 Continuity

Continuity links to the principle of movement we spoke about earlier. Our minds will follow a line instead of
breaking it up. Think about a cross: we don’t see it as four separate lines but instead we view it as one vertical line
overlapping one horizontal line.

The same principle can be applied to the official Olympic games logo.

If someone asked you to describe the Olympic logo, how would you describe it? Five multi coloured circles joined
together.

Well, this is exactly what the principle of continuity is about. We don’t view different circles being cut up but
rather five circles joined.

Figure 13: The Olympics logo applying the Gestalt principles of continuity

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7.4 Closure

Our minds will fill in gaps and see illusions that actually does not physically exist. This is known as the Gestalt
principle of closure. Closure is a very clever way of creating logo concepts nowadays and it makes use of clever
ways in combining positive and negative space.

You might think you are seeing a triangle but in fact, you are simply viewing three evenly spaced sliced circles.

Figure 14: Three sliced circles forming the illusion of a triangle - Closure

Another great example of the Gestalt principle, closure at play is the FedEx logo.

Figure 15: The illusion of an arrow between the e and x of the FedEx logo - Closure

Can you identify how closure plays a role here? I want you to look carefully at the letters and think specifically
with regards to the negative space. Can you see it. Let me know by typing what you see in Morpheus’ text box.

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Figure 16: The illusion of a bear in the mountain silhouette of the Toblerone logo - Closure

Let’s look at another example. Everybody is probably familiar with the Toblerone chocolate logo, but have you
ever witnessed the Gestalt principle of closure in this logo? One you see it, you will never unsee it!

8. Bonus principle: Hierarchy

As the word hierarchy implies, it is related to the order of elements. The term visual is obviously related to the
actual elements on a composition, the things we perceive or view. To put it into simpler terms, simply ask
yourself what the most important element that needs to be seen first on this composition is. Then, what is the 2nd
most important element and so on. Identifying the importance of elements will aid you in determining how to
effectively apply the elements and principles of design. Make sure that your most important element is the main
focal point on your composition - ALWAYS. No exceptions. Kindly note that hierarchy is MOSTLY applied using
typography and we refer to this as type hierarchy but other elements can also form part of hierarchy.

Your eyes will automatically try to identify elements in the top left and then move down and exit in the bottom
right since this is the way we read.

Image 12: Visual hierarchy put into practice

Let’s look at how visual hierarchy have been applied. Again, considering that we read from left to right, and top to bottom,
the first word or element we see in image 12 is “replace”. Not only is it at the top, but it is also way bigger than all the other
type elements. The next element to catch your eye was probably the light bulb and then the wording underneath replace.
Lastly, you will notice the smaller wording at the bottom of the page, where your eyes exists the page.

The aim of your elements and principles at the end is to make sure that the most important element (in other words your

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focal point) is seen first and this is exactly what visual hierarchy is about. If you’re not sure what the most important
elements are, it is normally the heading and also perhaps a related image that might be second in line.

The Design cycle

Before we finish off, I want to briefly introduce the design cycle to you. We will look into more detail about this process in
lesson 3 and then also get to work in Illustrator! The design cycle or pipeline basically entails a list of steps to get a design
from concept to present phase.

These steps include briefing, research & brainstorming, thumbnails, production and present.

1. Briefing
Briefing entails the process of meeting up with your client and obtaining all the necessary information needed to
complete the design project. You can use a client brief, which is similar to interview questions to determine your
client’s wants and needs.

2. Research & brainstorming

The research & brainstorming phase is where you will need to get as much information about the company, its
competitors as well as relevant design inspiration that will guide you in the creation of your artwork.

3. Thumbnailing
Thumbnailing entail the process of using reference images and coming up with your very own unique concept. This is
when the design process start but there are the rough drawings before you move onto the computer.

4. Production
Step four is the production phase on where you actually create the artwork on your computer making use of the
programs you will learn in this course

5. Present

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And the last step, present, is when you provide the client with your finalised design and they either approve or ask for
changes.

I would like to leave you with an exercise that we will make use of in our next lesson. This exercise should not take you
more than 5 minutes. Let’s pretend that you have a friend, his name is Fred and he wants to open a coffee shop. Fred
obviously does not have the capital to pay for a professional designer with years’ of experience and asked you to help him
out. In return, he will give you a voucher to spend at his coffee shop as soon as it opens. You agree to this because you
simply love coffee and at least you will be “famous” because your designs will be displayed for everyone to see! To top it
off, you get exposure as well - this might even open doors for your design career!

What is the first thing that you think Fred will need?... Yes, a logo. Fred has not come up with a name yet, and simply
would like you to provide him with logo ideas first.

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Image 13: Fred’s coffee shop needs a logo

You can actually think of a couple of ideas and simply want to start creating! I would like you to write down words, draw
concepts and identify colours that come to mind when you think about a logo for Fred’s coffee shop. Please don’t be
pedantic about your drawings or creative ability - this is not what the exercise is about. We simply want to generate ideas
now. Please keep these ideas as we will use them for our next lesson.

Recap of lesson 2

To summarise lesson 2, we examined the various elements of design which include space, line, shape (or form), size (or
scale), colour, texture and value. Then we discussed the principles of design: focal point or emphasis; contrast; balance;
movement; rhythm or pattern and unity. We saw how the 4 laws of Gestalt; proximity, similarity, continuity and closure
creates unity in design. Visual hierarchy is what all your elements and principles should create when applied successfully.

Well done on completing your second lesson of module 1! You can any feedback to [email protected]

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Bibliography
Carolynne. 2015, The Graphic Design Process in 5 Steps. Viewed 24 October 2019.

Hagen, R. & Golombisky, K. 2017, White space is not your enemy: a beginner’s guide to communicating visually through
graphic, web & multimedia design, 3rd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

Lewis, S. 2015, Design Process: Tips for an Expert Graphic Designer. Viewed 24 October 2019.

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