“When principles of design replicate principles of thought, the act of arranging information becomes an act of insight.” ~Edward R. Tufte
Design is a delicate balance between theory and aesthetic sensibilities. The more you practice the theory behind the elements and principles of design, the more it will become second nature to apply proper design principles to your own work. Your knowledge of how to create, fix, or critique a design will drastically improve.
Gestalt and the Principles of Graphic Design
“The sum of the whole is greater than its parts” is the idea behind Gestalt theory. It is important to understand each element and principle separately, but even more important is how each element and principle of design work together to create a cohesive overall design.
You will employ the Elements and Principles of Design as well as Color Theory in all projects from this point forward. You will be graded not only on how well you implement the elements and principles in your design, but on how well you explain your use of them in each design.
Resources
Elements of Graphic Design Review | Elements and Principles of Graphic Design Basics | The Principles of Design | The Elements of Design | Classic Color Schemes | 60-30-10, or How Many Colors? | Color Theory Introduction | Colour Lovers
Typographic Poster Design
You will be designing several different posters with a typographic focus. The first required poster design will be a Classic Typeface poster. Further details on the project can be found on the poster design project page.
Robin Williams, author of the excellent Non-Designers Design Book, first promoted the concept of CARP vs CRAP. Basically, the principals of design can be condensed down to contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity. If you follow CARP, your designs won’t look like . . . well you get the idea.
So, what is CARP and how can you follow it to improve your designs. First, download the following documents. You don’t have to read every word, but look at the examples and the explanations and then read the chapter summaries. Right-click to save documents: Contrast | Alignment | Repetition | Proximity | Review.
Since we are working on logo design, lets look at Dissecting a Logo and how some of the elements above are used to design an effective logo.