İİTTÜÜ--SUNY SUNY 20042004--2005 2005 FallFall

Lecture 6: Design Principles

Assoc. Assoc. Prof.DrProf.Dr. . CengizhanCengizhan İİpbpbüükerker

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GraphicGraphicCommunicationsCommunications

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Design Principles Overview•Figure/Ground

•Alignment

•• Symmetry

•• Balance

•Gestalt

•Closure

•Continuance

•Similarity

•Proximity

•Grid Design

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Figure | Ground

§§Positive Space

The one or more shapes we pay attention to

Remembered better

Negative Space

The field which the figures rest on or in front of

Not often remembered

Can be used for effect; Something floating in empty space stands out more.

Negative space keeps a design clear and focused.

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Strong Figure/Ground

Kandinsky, Upward 1929 A Korean War Photograph, Christ 1951

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Ambiguous Figure/Ground

M.C. Escher, Sun and Moon 1948

The Rubin Vase Illusion

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The Zen of Figure/GroundThe essence of the bowl is the part which is missing

The negative space surrounds and describes the positive space.

The positive space divides and defines the negative space.

Neither figure nor ground can exist without the other.

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AlignmentAlignment gives the viewer visual clues that items that are not the same kind of information are part of the same message

Elements can align along either their edges or centers.

Nothing should be placed arbitrarily.

Every element should have a visual connection to related elements in the design.

In some cases, a grid can be used to strengthen visual bonds between elements.

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AlignmentConsider these two posters:

Alignment Realty

123 Main St.

Open HouseNovember 14-16

Alignment Realty is…QualityLoyalty

Integrity

Free Pizza!Come in out of the cold to help us celebrate our 100th anniversary

serving the community by buying some expensive new homes.

Alignment Realty

123 Main St.

Open HouseNovember 14-16

Alignment Realty is…QualityLoyaltyIntegrity

Free Pizza!Come in out of the cold to help us celebrate our 100th anniversary serving the community by buying some expensive new homes.

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SymmetrySymmetry involves mirroring an image over one or more axes.

Formal Symmetry is a mirroring over a single, vertical axis.

• Does not call attention to any particular part of the design.

• Can look very solid and stable.

• Can look very uninteresting and dull.

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SymmetryNear Symmetry mirrors an image across one axis, but changes one of the images slightly.

Inverted Symmetry mirrors an image over an axis and then inverts it.

• Can be unsettling.

• Creates visual interest.• Maintains stability.

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Thinking About Balance

This see-saw is balanced.

This one is balanced, too. So is this one.

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Balance : Visual Weight

Elements that contrast with its surroundings have more visual weight.

Visual weight is an aspect of the visual impression of objects, which influences that object’s ability to grab, and hold, the viewer’s attention.

SizeValue Color

Shape Texture

Subject Matter

IsolationContrast

The visual weight of an element is affected by:

Isolated elements have more visual weight.

Large elements have more visual weight.Darker elements have more visual weight.Elements with saturated colors have more visual weight.Complex shapes have more visual weight.Distinctly textured elements have more visual weight.Recognizable subject matter has more visual weight than abstract elements

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Balance : Two Directions

Compositions should be balanced —though not necessarily symmetrical — along both horizontal and vertical axes.

Err on the side of a visually heavy bottom, which is perceived as stable.

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Balance : Examples

Mehemed Fehmy Agha 1935Whole Earth Catalog 1971

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Gestalt

• German word meaning “form” or “configuration”

• A form of psychology interested in the organization of human cognitive processes and patterns in human behavior.

• Gestalt theories of human perception can help designers– Give evidence of how the eye organizes visual

information.– Control and balance unity and variety in a composition.– Guide a viewer’s eye through a composition.

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Gestalt Theory of Visual Perception

• The parts of a visual image may be considered, analyzed, and evaluated as distinct components.

• The whole of a visual image is different from and greater than the sum of its parts.

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Gestalt:Examples

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Good Form• A person will naturally organize sensory input into the

simplest possible form– Simple– Symmetrical– Predictable

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Closure

Closed shaped are more visually stable than unclosed shapes.

If enough significant information is available, the mind will close gaps and complete unfinished forms.

We tend to view this figure as three black circles covered by a white triangle, rather than three partial black circles.

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Closure: Example

Scott Bauer

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ContinuanceOnce a viewer starts to look in a particular direction, his eyes will continue in that direction until they are diverted by something significant

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Viewers’s eye

• How can we lead the viewer’s eye?– Lines and arrows– Eye direction– Objects in the scene– Perspective– Motion

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Continuance: Example

Mervyn Kurlansky/Polaroid Europe, 600 Plus Film Poster

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SimilarityElements that look alike will be linked mentally by a viewer.

Elements grouped by similarity need not even be that similar…only in relation to the other elements on the page.

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RepetitionRepetition of design elements is one way to use similarity to your advantage in organizing information, especially when working across documents.

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Similarity: Examples

Lorraine Louie,Vintage Contemporaries series

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Similarity:Examples

Giorgio Pesce, IAS Magazine Covers 2000

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ProximityWhen two objects are placed near to each other, they are viewed as related.

However, if other objects have a closer proximity, that same space can separate them.

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Proximity: ExamplesConsider these two business cards:

Rocky Sharp

123 Main St. Wherever, UR 01234

(432)555-1234

Rocky Sharp

123 Main St.Wherever, UR 01234(432)555-1234

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Grids• A grid is an geometric structure applied to a page

– May be implicit or explicit

• Modules are the individual units of the grid– Design elements are placed within one or more modules

Lynch and Horton, Web Style Guide

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Why use grids?• Grids allow for easy reading of complex data

• Grids provide consistency to collections of documents

• Grids bring order to large collections of visual material

• Grids focus the reader on content, not presentation

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Using grids• Analyze the requirements of your

design– Form factor– Content

• Plan a grid– Remember: it doesn’t have to be

regularly spaced!

• Add content to the grid– Place text and images

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Grids: Example

Lynch and Horton, Web Style Guide

ReferencesReferences

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http://courses.umass.edu/cs391f/lecture.htmlhttp://courses.umass.edu/cs391f/lecture.html

Lecture Slides of the course CMPSCI 391F FUNDAMENTALS OF GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONBy By Brandon Goldsworthy & Tony Sindelar Brandon Goldsworthy & Tony Sindelar

Caitlin Bailey & Michael Pillsbury Caitlin Bailey & Michael Pillsbury University of MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts

Gregg Berryman, Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Communication, Crisp Publications, 1990ISBN: 1560520442