Applying Design Princples to Graphic Design

Steps for Establishing Visual
Hierarchy & Evaluating Designs

1. What is your primary message?
2. Which element best communicates the primary message?
3. Is there a secondary message?
4. Which element best communicates this secondary message?
5. Is there a tertiary message?
6. Which element best communicates this tertiary message?
7. Which element is most interesting?
8. Which visual element is the most likely to attract or spark the reader’s attention?
9. Is there a piece of information, which, if unemphasized or unclear, could undermine the usefulness of your message? For instance, if you are designing a charity poster for a play, the location of the play is absolutely critical information; without this information, you may send people roaming in the streets searching for the theater.
10. What, if any information, can you afford to delete from your page? Simpler is often better: simple designs make it easier for you to establish a clear visual hierarchy. Jut because a design is simple doesn’t mean it can’t also be sophisticated.

Emphasis Techniques

1. Making it the biggest
2. Making it the boldest
3. Making it the brightest
4. Clustering text to suggest visual weight.
5. Setting type in bold or italic or both
6. Adding a special visual effect to the element; for example, adding texture to it.
7. Placing the element within a shape that is different from the other graphics of text on the page.
8. Adding a border to the shape around the element
9. If an image, silhouetting it
10. Changing its color so it is different from other visual elements
11. Using contrasting colors in it
12. Surrounding the element with lots of white space
13. Adding a drop shadow
14. Tilting it an angle when other elements are horizontal
15. Making it full intensity when everything around it is faded
16. Making it bright if everything else if dull, or vise versa
17. Making it sharp if everything else is out of focus, and vise versa
18. Position the item so all of the other elements lead to or point towards it
19. Position the item in the optical center of your page

Contrast Techniques

1. Placing very small elements on the page with very large elements, such as small type with large type or small images with large images.
2. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS next to all lowercase letters; elaborate decorative type next to plain sans serif type
3. Thick type or lines with thin type or lines
4. Warm colors with cool colors
5. Vertical columns of text broken by intruding strong horizontal elements (headlines, subheads, or even a solid line)
6. Back type and light gray type

Balance Techniques

1. Use black shapes, solid backgrounds, or rectangles with white reversed out.
2. Try thick rule lines in gray, thin rule lines in black or vice versa. Contrast thick rule lines with thin.
3. Use gradations from white to black in rule lines, in type, in shapes, in the background.
4. Try photographs and illustrations with a wide range of gray tones.
5. Use plenty of white space.

Alignment Techniques

Aligning text with edge of images | Aligning body text with headlines.

 Basic Text Alignments

1. Flush Left | 2. Flush Right | 3. Centered | Justified

 

Advanced Text Alignments

1.Runaround | 2. Asymmetric | 3.Concrete

Flow

1. Align columns of text with columns.
2. Position elements so that they lead the viewer into the design, opposed to off
   the edge of the page.
3. Place headlines near articles.
4. Choose an easy-to-read serif typeface such as Times Roman or Garamond and us
   it consistently through an article.
5. If articles flow onto other pages, keep type sizes, color, and column widths
   consistent.
6. Use columns that are neither too wide nor too narrow
7. Avoid extra wide leading
8. Keep listed items together
9. Cluster text
10. Place quotes on the page with the text it reinforces, instead of several pages
    over.
11. Keep captions with pictures and statistics with charts.
12. Place linked columns of text next to each other, instead of intermixing the
    columns of text from two or more different articles.