Principles of Design in Depth

Placement of carefully arranged lines, objects and space adds clarity to the content, while unexpected placement can also add flare. Our field of vision tends to naturally gravitate towards the “thirds” of a design. If you measure a sheet of paper or screen into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, you’ll find the four intersecting “hot spots.” Call attention to a visual element in your design by placing it on one of these spots.

Flow is a smooth visual movement through the piece; the components capturing the viewer’s attention as the visual river forms a progressive connection between each one.

A Visual Bridge can add to the cohesiveness of a design by pulling together elements that would otherwise seem separated; such as blocks of text separated from the photograph or blocks of individual color. You can achieve visual flow in your design by overlapping elements, echoing color, incorporating borders, arrows or linework.

Gestalt Principles of Perception

Figure and Ground. The terms figure and ground explain how we use elements of the scene which are similar in appearance and shape and group them together as a whole. Similar elements (figure) are contrasted with dissimilar elements (ground) to give the impression of a whole.
Similarity. The principle of similarity states that things which share visual characteristics such as shape, size, color, texture, value or orientation will be seen as belonging together.
Proximity. The principle of proximity states that things which are closer together will be seen as belonging together.
Continuity. The principle of continuity predicts the preference for continuous figures.
Closure. The principle of closure applies when we tend to see complete figures even when part of the information is missing. As we look at the dotted circles, we see a larger circle. Our minds react to patterns that are familiar, even though we often receive incomplete information.
Symmetry. The principle of symmetry describes the instance where the whole of a figure is perceived rather than the individual parts which make up the figure.

Grouping of elements in a design can make the design seem organized and less confusing. Designers can take a design with many elements and group headlines, logo, subheadings, text and images so that it appears that they form 3 or so distinct areas.