Package Design

Hand Lettering Project

Principles of Design Notes

Principles of Design

“People ignore design that ignores people.” –Frank Chimero

What is Design?

Design elements are the basic units of a visual image.

The principles of design govern the relationships of the elements used and organize the composition as a whole.

All imagery -- art, design and photography alike – are comprised of elements that can be broken down and analyzed. This goes for web design as well.

Design Elements:

Space:

Space can exist in two or three dimensions. Also refers to positive or negative space. Promotes the illusion of depth with foreground, mid or background elements.

Line:

Lines can be used to guide the viewers eyes or provide a sense of movement or motion.

Color:

Color can evoke moods or to draw the eye to a certain area. It can be used to mute or hide images, convey a sense of place or time.

Shape:

Shapes can be either geometric or organic. Some shapes can convey emotion or represent well known images.

Texture:

Texture is perceived surface quality and can be implied or tactile, meaning an actual physical texture.

Value:

Value helps convey an illusion of depth and gives objects shading. Value is the difference between light and dark areas.

Design Principles:

Unity:

A technique that can create a sense of order, with a consistency of size and shape. Proximity can create a sense of or lack of unity.

Repetition:

         Repetition is used all the time. Repetition is used all the time.

Harmony:

When things look like they are in their place. When objects or shapes look like they belong. A rhythm to the piece.

Proximity:

Incredibly powerful. Refers to the physical placement of elements within the piece. Proper alignment and hierarchy promotes legibility and logic within the piece.

Proportion:

         The relationship between objects, relative to size and scale.

Functionality:

The most important element of design. The piece must both look good and covey a message. A balance must be found between form and function in order to have a great piece.

Typography Notes

Typography

typography |tīˈpägrəfē|

noun

the style and appearance of printed matter.

• the art or procedure of arranging type or processing data and printing from it.

 “Fonts are the clothing that our ideas wear.”

Legibility

When deciding a font, legibility is key. Serif vs Sans Serif. A serif is the little foot at the end of a letter. Serif fonts feature these and sans serif fonts do not. Serif fonts are easier to read at small sizes and sans serif fonts are more recognizable at a large size.

Too many fonts spoil the design.

Also, don’t use fonts that are too similar and indistinguishable from each other. Fonts should contrast each other and add emphasis.

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE NOT AS EASY TO READ AS using lowercase font.

Serif fonts without all caps are much easier to read for body text.

Alignment

Type can be justified left,

Justified middle,

Or justified right.

The rag is the uneven edge of the body type, the less variation there is in the rag, the better. Don’t have lonely words or big chunks missing.

To add emphasis, you can use italics or bold fonts. Underlines can be used too but they generally look unprofessional. Color and text size can also add emphasis. As a last resort, changing the style of the type can work.

Arbitrarily distorting fonts compromises their integrity. When scaling, make sure to use the shit key to keep fonts consistent.


Balance

Is a font heavy or light?

A document needs to have balanced font, this may not require symmetry, but it needs to have a good feel and weight to the correct fonts.

Type Face Portrait

Sugar Skull

Color Wheel Project