Principles Of Design

William Hunter, Period 2

BALANCE

The equal distribution of visual

weight in a design. In this ex-
ample, the text boxes are sym-
metrical and in a checkerboard
pattern, distributing light and
dark regions across the page,
so your eyes aren’t drawn to
one area of the page.
 ti y
x i m
o
r,

r
he
hot
ac

P
e
m
fro
t her
ar
orf
er
clos
t
s ge
je ct
b
Aso
ge. .
a pa age
on ep
c ts ss th
obje cro
e en ted a
e tw rea
c e b is c
istan otion
e d of m
Th se
s en
a
Alignment
The positioning of text or
graphics, whether in
alignment with the page or
with other graphics. Things
that break the alignment are
easy to notice. This box is
out of alignment.
 or a
in a
ON

otion,
ainta
I

om
TI

of m
ET

s, t
P

nse
ern
R E

a se
att
p

ate
or
es

cre
apsh
d

s to
t e
ea

pe
r e p

ha
e of

on.
rs
s
edu

ila
ntin u

titi
o
im
The c

e
ea
ts

rep
p
re

fy
t o

pli
u
yo

em
ws
o

ex
ll
oa
les
n als irc c
p etitio ng
e i
unifold l ook. R ea
t
r ep
t he
ere,
s s.H
c e
p ro
t o
brain
he
asy for t
h at is e
design t
CONTRAST
Contrast is when an object stands out from others due to its
color or value. In this example, the text box stands out from
the gradient because it’s so dark.
 Whitespace

Whitespace is the space on the page that isn’t taken up by anything else. This stops you from giving the
reader too much unnecessary info. The whitespace on this page is an example of whitespace.
 Bleed

Bleed is when an object goes off of the side of the page, past the
margins. This means there is no chance of there being a white
border after the page is trimmed down past the margins. This zebra
exemplifies bleed, because it’s bleeding off of the page.
 When the elements on a page naturally
Focal

Point
converge at a center point. Your eyes go here
automatically. The rule of thirds means that
good pictures will have focal points along
the intersection of lines following the rule of
thirds. In this example, the lines leading to the
box in the center make it easy to focus on the
text, and that’s why you notice the text before
the title.
Symmetry

When objects on a page are symmetrical. In this example, the
two boxes are symmetrical. This means they are the same on both
sides.
Asymmetry

When objects on the page are not

symmetrical, with different
distributions of visual weight. The
boxes on this page are
asymmetrical.
PROPORTION
WHEN DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF A DESIGN HAVE DIFFERENT RELATIVE SIZES.
Serif
A group of fonts that have small lines on the
edges of letters. For example, Minion Pro, the font
you are reading right now, has serifs.
Sans-Serif
A group of fonts that have small lines on
the edges of letters. For example, Arial, the
font you are reading right now, has serifs.
 Non-Bleed

When an object meets up with the margins, but doesn’t bleed

up against them. In this example, the zebra touches the margins but
doesn’t go over them.
Rule of Thirds
In photography, our eyes naturally go to the intersections of
lines drawn across the pictures at thirds. For example, the zebra’s
eye is near one of the intersections here because it’s the focus of
the picture.