Design Principles

Every field of design has principles that it uses to guide its work.

After points and lines, designs are made up of forms. Forms have the following properties:

1. vertices
2. shape/form: geometric/organic, curvilinear/rectilinear, regular/irregular, concave/convex
3. size: large/small, thick/thin
4. line: line weight
5. volume: flat/volumetric
6. color: monochromatic, two-tone, harmonic, dissonant, riotous, other palettes
7. value
8. texture
9. orientation
10. style

The following principles of visual design are gathered from a variety of sources.

1. structure: geometric/organic
2. alignment
3. repetition
4. pattern
5. contrast
6. similarity
7. variety
8. unity
9. harmony/disharmony
10. consistency
11. anomaly
12. proportion
13. scale
14. movement
15. rhythm
16. continuation
17. transformation (including addition and subtraction)
18. closure
19. gradation
20. radiation
21. hierarchy/subordination
22. emphasis/concentration/focus
23. dominance
24. balance
25. negative space
26. proximity: overlap/padding
27. grouping/chunking/clustering
28. figure/ground
29. perspective
30. simplicity/complexity
31. synthesis

Miles A. Kimball groups the design principles into the following categories:

• Likeness principles help create coherence over a whole design: alignment, consistency, symmetry, harmony, unity, simplicity
• Difference principles help mark the distinction between design elements: gradation, color, radiation, contrast, variety, rhythm, repetition
• Composition principles help organize designs to influence our viewpoint: framing, structure, focal point, perspective, movement
• Architecture principles focus on visual organization and hierarchy: context, emphasis, subordination, hierarchy, dominance
• Gestalt principles govern perception of two-dimensional design objects: proximity, gestalt, closure, continuation, similarity, attraction
• Grouping principles organize individual design objects into larger groups and patterns: chunking, grouping, comparison, pattern
• Space principles guide the design of the two-dimensional field: scale, proportion, space, figure/ground, balance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_design_elements_and_principles

https://paperform.co/blog/principles-of-design/

https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/principles_design.pdf

Kimball, M. A. (2013). Visual design principles: An empirical study of design lore. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 43(1), 3-41.

Wong, W. (1972). Principles of two-dimensional design. John Wiley & Sons.

Wong, W. (1993). Principles of form and design. John Wiley & Sons.