QUESTION WEEK 7
Online Discussion : Elements and Principals
​
The Basics of Typography: The Elements
​
1. Line
The line is usually present in every design, even if it is a solid border of 1px or a dotted one of 5px. Every website has lines, but the minimalistic style which became more popular in the past couple of years tries to erase the lines from the layouts, or at least to decrease the use of them.
The lines can be long, red, straight, thin, blue, dashed, short, black or curved, they are all into the same category. They are most of the time used for delimitation between different sections of a design, or are used to direct a viewer’s vision in a specific direction.
​
2. Shape
The shape, or the form, is the second most used element of a web design. They are actually lines combined in different shapes. The forms are still popular and this is because if there is something that needs to stand out, forms are one of the ways to do it.
There can be circles, squares, rectangles, triangles or any other abstract shape; most of the designs include at least one of these. Minimalistic designs use it a lot, because they are often based on illustrations and drawings.
​
3. Texture
The textures were not very popular a couple of years ago, but they tend to become more and more used. They replaced (or compete with, if we can call it a competition) the single-colored backgrounds.
Textures can look similar to solid background colors, but if they are analyzed closer, small but effective differences can be noticed.
​
4. Color
The color may even be the most important element of a design, because it offers the most powerful visual impact at a single glance. Color is obvious and does not need basic graphic skills to be noticed.
While lines and shapes mean the same thing as in the reality, only at a little more profound level, the color means exactly the same thing as in the nature. Color creates emotions – red is passionate, blue is calm, green is natural. Colors have a clear effect on your mind
​
5. Space
The space and how it is used is crucially important in design. Lately the “white space” (also called negative space) became used widely because it allows the human eye to read easier.
For whoever is not familiar with the term “white space”, it does not mean precisely space filled with white, but every area of the design which is only filled with the background color. You can see several examples below to better understand the concept.
If there is a lot of negative space in your web design, it offers light and an open feeling. The lack of white space will turn your design into an old-fashioned, cluttered one. The space has also a lot to do with how the design is perceived by the human eye.
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
The Basics of Typography: The Principles
1. Balance
Balance is how the elements of a design are distributed throughout a layout. If the balance is good, then stability is assured, although lately many designers go for unbalanced designs because they are dynamic and offer a totally different perspective.
The personal pages are the most suitable for slightly off-balanced layouts, and you will see some examples soon.
To be able to notice what kind of balance a website has, you need to know the three types of balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical and radial. The first one takes place when both sides of a design are the same in shape, lines, texture and so on.
​
2. Dominance and Priority
These two principles are together because they are strongly linked. They both have a lot to do with the user experience because a lack of priority and element dominance can be confusing.
The dominance level is the one which prioritizes the importance of different elements, such as menu, logo, content or footer. Sure, this is also done by playing with the font and size, but let’s go a bit deeper and see what dominance and priority mean.
There are three main levels of priority. We have the headline or call to action, which comes as a primary element; then we have the secondary elements like images needed to make a point or, most of the time, the navigation.
​
3. Proportion
Proportion is important and represents the scale of elements compared to each other. They have a strong effect on the user and are also linked with the previous principle. It is no surprise that larger elements have a stronger impact on the user than the small ones. Dominance, priority and proportion work together to assure the user sees the information properly on a website.
​
4. Contrast
This is another important principle not only of design, but also of photography and any other visual art. Having enough contrast between elements makes sure that some of them stand out more than others. If designers wish to blend elements together, they do it by having minimal contrast between them. If the contrast is high, the elements are distinct from each other.
​
5. Rhythm
This might be a new one for you. The rhythm of the page is the principle that makes the human eye move from one element to another. It ensures the flow of the eye and in which order users should see the elements.
Now this is a difficult one to make, because everybody has their own way of looking at a website and making all of them do it the same way might be too overwhelming.
There are two types of rhythms: the fluid and the progressive.
​
https://1stwebdesigner.com/graphic-design-basics-elements/
​
​
