Comments on: The Lost Principles of Design

By: Paris Vega

Paris Vega — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:44:22 +0000

Good stuff. Reminds me to get back to the basics. I’m probably going to explore the principles of design in a blog post as well.

By: 7Maximes-News For Designers & Web Developers

7Maximes-News For Designers & Web Developers — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 02:51:55 +0000

[...] The Lost Principles of Design Covers a number of basic graphic design principles, including balance, contrast, emphasis and subordination, directional forces, proportion, scale, repetition and rhythm, and unity, all with illustrations. [...]

By: 45+ Free Lessons In Graphic Design Theory

45+ Free Lessons In Graphic Design Theory — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 10:00:15 +0000

By: jasneet

jasneet — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:12:21 +0000

would like to know more.good work

By: Rafael Diefenderfer

Rafael Diefenderfer — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:20:09 +0000

Hey, Excellent post and thank you for the Designing tips!

By: Does your content strategy have principles? | Richtext

Does your content strategy have principles? | Richtext — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:38:20 +0000

[...] early lessons clued me into the basic principles of design. Then, as my career took me into web content, I began hearing about design principles from the UX [...]

By: Principles of design | Web Design | Graphic Design | Website Design

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:46:49 +0000

[...] The Lost Principles of Design The Lost Principles of Design In the instant age that design has evolved into recently many of us often stray away from the basics. If you had a professor in college who taught you the fundamentals of design these may be engrained into your head. For the self-taught, you may have a book on your desk with these very principles. However, the more and more people that flood the internet for design content need to learn the basics before trying to make a stellar gradient in Photoshop. While this is cool and amazing right now, there will come a point where this style is strayed away from and a new style is made. In history, this lesson has repeated itself with movements like the Bauhaus and Swiss Modernism and will soon come label our current trends as part of history. The fundamentals of design will however, never change. They are the glue that holds the industry together and we need to learn & take them to heart. Balance Arranging parts to achieve a state of equilibrium between forces of influences. Examples: Symmetrical, Asymmetrical, Radial Contrast Interaction of contradictory elements. Expresses the duality seen in opposites. Examples: Large & Small, rough & smooth, thick & thin, light & dark, organic & geometric Emphasis & Subordination Establishing centers of interest which focus the viewer’s attention. If all the elements are given relatively equal weight, there will be no emphasis. Directional Forces Both implied and actual, they help guide the eye and mind movement of the viewer. They can also bind the work into a single entity. Proportion The size relationship of parts to the entire work, and each to the other. Very often associated with figural art. Scale The real apparent size of an object seen in relation to other objects, people, its environment, or the proportions of the picture plane. Repetition & Rhythm The recurrence of a design element coupled with a certain order to the repetition. Provides continuity, flow, direction forces etc. Unity within Variety The force operating within a work of art which can give it the appearance of oneness or resolution. The consistency of the concept. When a a variety of these are combined a design becomes very successful and hard to ignore. It is something that commands attention, guides your eye through and keeps you visually entertained. Combining these together is referred to as Gestalt – a configuration, pattern, or organized field having specific properties that cannot be derived from the summation of its component parts; a unified whole. [...]

By: materialdesigner’s graphic/design list

materialdesigner’s graphic/design list — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 14:41:05 +0000

[...] http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/the-lost-principles-of-design/ [...]

By: Alessandro

Alessandro — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 21:03:44 +0000

More than design principle, this looks like general composition principle. There are more: e.g. directional lines, clarity of shapes, identity of forms, overlapping and cropping, space division, global shape proportions…
The above terms refer to figurative art. I am not sure what the article refer is for objects (design) or images (graphic design).

By: Web Design Foundations

Web Design Foundations — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:55:00 +0000

[...] Design Theory Principles of Design The Lost Principles of Design Principles of Good Web Design Design Principles 50 Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory Teach [...]

By: What I’ve Found… Lately « Left Justified

What I’ve Found… Lately « Left Justified — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:00:48 +0000

[...] The Lost Principles of Design [...]

By: Alejandro

Alejandro — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:29:56 +0000

Great reminder! Long time since the last time I revisited this concept. Just one I feel like adding to the list: ANOMALY.

By: Anelia

Anelia — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Great article!(as always) I am happy to see it presented like this – and of course these principles are REALLY important. Whenever I loose myself over a project I go back to my manuals and start thinking of a way to represent the idea I am working on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but anyway I help myself to clear the cloud around the idea. And … doing, doing, doing makes you take all of your thoughts out and get to the right decision.
:) Take care!

By: donaville

donaville — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 19:44:42 +0000

great read, chad. i’ve always operated on the principles of CRAP, which are found in your article: contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity :) love the bit about directional forces – SO useful and awesome when done in photography.

By: chris

chris — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:14:52 +0000

great article… thanks…