1. To achieve visual impact the designer must refer to a list of important guidelines called Design Elements and Design Principles

2. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Balance Symmetrical balance generally lends itself to more formal, orderly layouts. They often convey a sense of tranquillity or familiarity or elegance or serious contemplation. Why use it ? Symmetrical balance - is easiest to see in perfectly centered compositions or those with mirror images. In a design with only two elements they would be almost identical or have nearly the same visual mass. When a design can be centred or evenly divided both vertically and horizontally it has the most complete symmetry possible. Lines of Symmetry

3. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Balance – cont. Why use it ? Asymmetrical layouts are generally more dynamic and by intentionally ignoring balance the designer can create tension, express movement, or convey a mood such as anger, excitement, joy, or casual amusement. Asymmetrical Balance is typically off-center or created with an odd or mismatched number of disparate elements. However, you can still have an interesting design without perfect symmetry. Some examples of poster using Asymmetrical Balance

4. Design Elements CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Shapes are often used but can be used in many different ways. Shapes can be: Geometric shapes – triangles, squares, circles. Natural shapes – leaves, flower petals. Abstract shapes – a blend of geometric and natural shapes. Used to: Highlight Information Organize or Separate Information Make the Design More Interesting Shape What Certain Shapes Mean Circles Symbolize infinity, security and completeness. Squares and Rectangles Symbolize honesty, stability, equality and comfort. Triangles Symbolize action or conflict. Can you understand why these shapes have been chosen ? Carefully examine posters magazines and flyers to identify shapes.

5. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Alignment. Why use it ? Alignment: In Order to Create Visual Unity The principle of alignment states that the designer should use alignment of elements such as text and images as a tool to create visual unity or organization. Designers recommend that each element placed should have at least some alignment with another element on the page. Lack of Unity; Poor Alignment Visual Unity Through Alignment Basic forms of alignment look for the imaginary line. Good example of Alignment between text and image. (Look for the imaginary lines) Poor example of Alignment between text and image. Good alignment is invisible. Most readers won't consciously notice that everything is lined up neatly but they will feel it when things are out of alignment. CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL

6. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL White space is the absence of text and graphics. It breaks up text and graphics. It provides visual breathing room for the eye. Add white space to make a page less cramped, confusing or overwhelming. The space created is not always ‘white’. This space maybe a colour or texture but either way it is space within a design that does not include screen elements. The most obvious benefit of whitespace is that it increases legibility Believe it or not whitespace between paragraphs and around blocks of text actually helps people understand what they are reading better. Without it, your page would look cluttered and messy, readers wouldn’t be able to tell what words relate to the images, and it would be hard to read (so you probably wouldn’t be read). Why use it ? White Space. Cluttered Little or no white space. Good use of white space. – Magazine Good use of white space. – Poster Design

7. Design Elements CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Colour. Although colour can make a layout more dynamic, it is important to consider why you want to use colour and what you would like the colour to achieve. Think about what colours are most appropriate to your message and your audience. To use colour in your piece: 1. Make important text a different colour than the rest of the copy. 2. Use a bright colour to tell the reader where to look first. 3. Use bright colours together to help create a feeling of excitement. 4. Repeat a colour from an image and use it with corresponding type or as a background to help unify the layout. 5. Colour code a document (such as a training manual) with large amounts of text to help organize the piece. 6. Use an appropriate colour to help differentiate parts of a chart or graph. 7. Use colours such as pastels to create a soothing mood, or more bright colours to create excitement.

8. Design Elements CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Lines Lines can be used in a variety of ways in a layout: They help to organize information; They can direct your readers' eye as to the organization of the layout; They can create a mood; And, they can give rhythm and movement. For example, lines can organize information on your page. A line can define the boundaries of your page. Vertical or horizontal lines can also be used to direct your readers from one piece of information to another. To create a mood, use a wavey line to give the piece a feeling of movement. Lines in your piece can: Convey a mood or an emotion. Organize the design. Establish columns of text. Create a texture. Create movement. Define shape. Call attention to a word. Connect pieces of information in your layout. Frame an image or a word. Lines Can Provide Texture Define shape Organize the design. Establish columns of text.

9. Design Element CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Value Value can be used to describe objects, shapes, and space. Value is closely related to colour, but it’s more general. It’s how light or dark a specific design is. Again, this relates directly to the mood a piece gives. Darker designs convey a different feeling than lighter designs, even with all other design elements being equal. This is one reason you’ll often see designers releasing both light and dark versions of their themes. Value expresses the theme or mood of a graphic presentation. Give the illusion of volume and depth by adding shading to an area. Can you identify where Value has been used in these posters ? Value can also be used to increase contrast and create movement.

10. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Contrast Contrast plays a crucial part in the organisation of information on a page. It will guide the reader to where they should look first or to the most important element. For it to work successfully though, it must be strong and obvious. It needs to make an impact. When choosing the combination of contrasting elements, be sure that it best represents the mood or idea that you are trying to communicate. Can you identify the contrast in these posters ?

11. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Dominance These are the three rules of order to dominance in a layout: 1. The main graphic or image should dominate the layout. 2. The title, heading or product should be next. 3. Less important items should be grouped and positioned effectively to support this order. Dominance in a design is about making the most important element of a publication stand out from the rest. It helps your audience to get the core point of your design at a glance. So, you spend less time orienting their thought process to your message It also helps to anchor your audience attention to your design. So, you can navigate them through the rest of the points with ease Dominance is created by contrasting size, positioning, colour, style, or shape. The focal point should dominate the design with scale and contrast without sacrificing the unity of the whole

12. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Emphasis Something that is singled out or made more prominent has emphasis. An element of a design that dominates or becomes the centre of interest has emphasis. Emphasis suggests some things must be subordinate. If we emphasize everything, nothing is emphasized. What catches your eye and makes you look at these ad’s’? That is, what is emphasized? In the image above the word “Integrity” has the greatest Emphasis simply because it is the largest of all the words. Look for a clear focal point, the most emphasized element, and accents, elements of lesser importance than the focal point.

13. Design Principles CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Unity Unity can be achieved through the use of similar shapes. Unity can be achieved through the use of a common pattern. Unity can be achieved through the use of a common background. Unity helps organize a visual image, facilitating interpretation and understanding. Can you spot Unity in choice of colour, the use of strong shapes and how the background relates to the text. Unity can also be used to great effect inside the magazine to link articles and pages together.

14. Design Principles Rhythm Rhythm is the repetition of visual movement of the elements-colours, shapes, lines, values, forms, spaces, and textures. Variety is essential to keep rhythms exciting and active, and to avoid monotony. Designers use rhythm to create movement in a composition by positioning elements so that the eye is led to move from one to another. Rhythm keeps the viewer actively engaged in a visual composition. Can you identify where the Rhythm has been applied to these poster and pages? CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL

15. Design Element CALDERGLEN HIGH SCHOOL Texture For instance, anything that is not a flat, solid colour has visual texture. Designers often use visual texture in order to add emphasis to their graphics that, in turn, are used in things like posters, brochures, book covers, or flyers, to name only a few. Everything around us has a texture. Sometimes we can simulate those textures with paper, but more often the textures we create in our designs are visual rather than tactile. However, those visual textures can be just as provocative or full of meaning as actual textures we can touch. There are four basic ways to incorporate visual texture. 1. Objects within a photograph 2. Images created with photo-editing software 3.Digitized images of actual textures(from scans, digital photos) 4. Symbolic textures created with lines or shapes