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0:00 / 19:36•Watch full video

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After a few years in the graphic design business, you realize how important it is to get the basics right. Like using proper font and color combinations, implementing visual hierarchy, using grids, alignment, white space, and so on.

The team at Visme, an online tool for creating infographics and presentations, has come up with an excellent visual list of 19 graphic design rules that differentiate the pros from the amateurs. Check them out below.

1. Using words instead of visuals

2. Poor readability

3. Too many fonts

4. Bad kerning

5. Poor color combinations

6. Lack of white space

7. Placing elements arbitrarily

8. Lack of contrast

9. Improper scaling

10. Ignoring visual hierarchy rules

11. Illegible text

12. Improper font combinations

13. Inadequate space between lines

14. Using low-res images

15. Striving for complete symmetry

16. Lack of effective communication

17. Using cliches

18. Ignoring the medium

19. Inconsistency

Watch the video version

Share this post with a designer friend and voice your views in the comments below. All images © Visme.

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19 Graphic Design Mistakes That Novice Designers Make

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After a few years in the graphic design business, you realize how important it is to get the basics right. Like using proper font and color combinations, implementing visual hierarchy, using grids, alignment, white space, and so on.

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Visuals are everywhere. Since the last decade, the art of visual communication has boomed by leaps and bounds and is, to the date, on a marked rise. Today, one cannot imagine the internet without all the GIFs, infographics, and memes floating it.

With visual data on the rise and most of us being immensely fond of it, everyone now seems to be creating their own versions of it. Turns out, it has brought out the designer in all of us! So, in case you, too, are a part-time designer with little know how of the golden principles of visual hierarchy, below is an infographic that would work as a layperson's handbook of visual communication.

1. Colors - Play Them Cool!

Get familiar with the color wheel. Understand analogous, complementary and contrasting color schemes to practice them in communication design.

2. Typography - Know What's Your Type!

Do you know GHOTMS? Don't mix different font moods. Get familiar with Typography terms and font families. And ideally, use no more than two fonts.

3. Shapes - They Shape Your Design, Get It?

Different shapes convey different moods such as circle strikes positivity and emotions, square depicts stability and balance and triangle gives a sense of direction.

4. Hierarchy - Every Element Has A Place!

Hierarchy is the key to great design. Grasp visual triangle, golden ratio, movement, focal point and rules/random alignments to make your communication clearer.

5. Lines - Lines Can Speak Your Moods...

Lines set the mood. There are horizontal/vertical lines, diagonal lines, crimped lines, rhythmic lines, divergent lines, transitional lines and more.

6. Iconography - What Works Best Where?

There are all sorts of icons from vector to raster, animated and illustrations. Learn to use icons to complement the visual communication and add spark to the message.

7. Contrast - Leave No Grey Areas!

Contrast comes in various forms. For example: Contrast of size, the contrast of weight, the contrast of direction, the contrast of form, the contrast of structure and contrast of texture, etc.

8. Order - Keep Things Aligned!

Keeping things in order is utmost important in design. Without order, the design is chaos. Use grids to keep elements aligned. Get to know different types of the grid to design better.

9. Weight - Size Gets You Attention!

From ultra-thin to black bold, weight can be used to put emphasis to a part of the message. Scaling weights to meet the need of design helps make the content more legible and simple-to-read.

10. Space - Where Less Is More!

Always, less is more about space. Use space generously to ensure clearer communication and give your visuals a room to breathe.

It outlines the various aspects of visual communication and sums them all up to perform as a complete guide to the art of designing, be it generating a creative logo design or developing a user-friendly website interface. he layout of the infographic lists typography, color, shapes, hierarchy, lines, iconography, contrast, order, weight, and space as the 10 commandments, and gives out the different applications of these w.r.t. design and visual presentation.

Let us know how you like it!

PS: Also snoop into our prequels to this infographic, "The 10 Commandments of Typography", "The 10 Commandments of Color Theory" and "The 10 Commandments of Logo Design".

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Commandments of Visual Communication | DesignMantic: The Design Shop

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Visuals are everywhere. Since the last decade, the art of visual communication has boomed by leaps and bounds and is, to the date, on a marked rise. Today, one cannot imagine the internet without all the GIFs, infographics, and memes floating it.

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Visuals are everywhere and the commandments of visual communication serve as the complete guide to the art of designing. Visual hierarchy on the other hand, adds beauty and order to your design. It offers to your eyes visual assistance, suggesting to them, what information to linger on to, as your vision glides through it. It lays down a path for the data to flow in, to get absorbed into the brain smoothly. It guides the human eye from one element of the data to the next, like an invisible pointer moving through the data, to keep the reader free of any visual fatigue. Adding hierarchy to your design will not let your readers get intimidated by all the noise and clutter of the data.

Below, we have outlined, the "15 Golden Principles of Visual Hierarchy" in order to dish out for you the various ways in which one can implement visual hierarchy in one's data and reduce the noise. These are equally applicable to graphic design as well as in the construction of a web design, while some principles like the Golden Ratio and Visual Triangle, offer immense help when learning how to create a memorable logo design.

Focal Point: Need to lay maximum strength on a particular aspect? Go focal.

Movement: With this one, make your audience move with the flow.

Golden Ratio: Need to add beauty to your work? Go Golden.

Balance: Play safe with balance. A little balance never made anyone cringe.

Repetition: With repetition, make sure no one misses your callouts ever again

Whitespace: Add sophistication with whitespace where less is more.

Visual Triangle: Works best for limited data. Makes sure no one misses a point.

Texture: Add texture to refract negative space.

Types: Say it loud and clear with a typeface. Leave no one in doubt.

Random: At times, an absolute lack of symmetry makes an impact.

Rules: Deal with the clutter, stick to some rules.

Alignment: Alignment clears up the mess. Never makes anything appear cluttered.

Lines: Go linear when you need to make a point straight! Savvy?

Contrast: Contrast shouts for attention. Use it wisely!

Rule of Thirds: Need to lay equal stress on each element? Go with the rule of thirds.

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15 Principles of Visual Hierarchy | DesignMantic: The Design Shop

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Visuals are everywhere and the commandments of visual communication serve as the complete guide to the art of designing. Visual hierarchy on the other hand, adds beauty and order to your design. It offers to your eyes visual assistance, suggesting to them, what information to linger on to, as your vision glides through it.

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Visual hierarchy is the arrangement and presentation of design elements in order of their importance. It influences the order in which the human eye perceives the information that is being displayed. A simple example would be a business card - the name of the organisation is usually the most prominent element, followed by the name of the card holder, job title, and contact details.

In a world where the average human attention span is 8 seconds, proper visual hierarchy is crucial for the success of any design. The team at Visme, an online tool for creating infographics and presentations, has come up with a handy infographic that lists 12 golden rules to help you create aesthetically pleasing designs with effective visual hierarchy. Check it out below.

Share this post with a designer friend and voice your views in the comments below.

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12 Visual Hierarchy Principles Every Designer Should Know

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Visual hierarchy is the arrangement and presentation of design elements in order of their importance. It influences the order in which the human eye perceives the information that is being displayed. A simple example would be a business card - the name of the organisation is usually the most prominent element, followed by the name of the card holder, job title, and contact details.

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Ink & Paper - Last Letterpress and Paper Company in Los Angeles

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Have you even looked at a seemingly simple design and thought: I could totally do that.

But later, when you sit down to actually give it a whirl, you don't know why your attempt doesn't measure up to the professional version. What gives?

It turns out professional graphic designers have a few tricks up their sleeves to make their work look, well, professional. Even with all the amazing free tools available for wannabe graphic designers these days, amateurs usually don't have the foundational know-how necessary to create consistently polished-looking designs.

To help you out, we've put together a list of seven basic graphic design elements. It's not a graphic design degree by any means, but having a foundational understanding of these seven basic elements can boost your content creation skills and improve your ability to communicate your design preferences if you ever decide to hire a professional.

We deep-dive into the seven elements below, covering what they are, why you should care, and how to use them to create more professional looking designs -- even if you're operating on a zero-dollar budget.

7 Basic Elements of Graphic Design

1) Color

Sir Isaac Newton is As the widely credited with creating the very first color wheel back in 1706. story goes, Newton took the spectrum of colors produced when light passes through a prism (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) and arranged them in a segmented circle. When the circle was spun rapidly on a rotating disk, the colors blurred together, appearing completely white to the human eye.

Below, you can get an idea of how Newton's color wheel likely appeared. This 1708 version was illustrated by the French painter, Claude Boutet, and makes reference to Newton's color theory research.

Newton's visual categorization system for color was adopted and expanded upon by scientists, artists, and philosophers over the years, eventually resulting in the modern color wheel we all know today.

The modern color wheel consists of three primary colors -- red, yellow, and blue -- which can theoretically be mixed in varying ratios to produce secondary and intermediate colors. Although modern research tells us that color theory is actually a little more complicated than that, the color wheel is still a valuable tool for graphic designers looking for aesthetically pleasing color combinations.

When selecting hues for a project, consider colors that appear directly opposite or beside each other on the color wheel -- these tend to produce the most consistently pleasing combinations. You could also consider using a free online color scheming tool, like ColorSchemer, to do the work for you.

Color in Action:

This example from ∆ Studio-JQ ∆ is a great example of complimentary colors in action. Violet and yellow, which appear directly opposite on the modern color wheel, produce a bold, visually appealing effect when paired together.

2) Line

Lines are more than just dividers -- the right lines can convey movement and emotion, tying together your composition and making it looked polished and professional.

Rikard Rodin, a graphic designer and blogger with over 15 years of design experience, explains that lines can form the underlying architecture of your project. Defining the line of movement in your composition before you get started can help you construct a design that achieves the desired mood.

"You can use mood lines in virtually every element of your design," Rodin writes on his blog. "Or you can contrast different mood lines in different parts of your design to create a more layered design. Take, for example, the 'STABLE' mood line. You can use this in creating your layout. You can use it in your photography. And you can use it in your font selection."

Mood lines don't have to be visible in your final composition -- they can simply act as a guide to provide structure and direction as you work. Of course, line can also be visibly incorporated into your final design as well.

Line in Action:

Designer Alexander Koltsov and the folks at Shuka Design created this stunning visual identity for the 2016 World Chess Championship in New York. The team used purposeful but asymmetrical swirls of overlapping lines to represent "the thought process of a chess player."

3) Scale

The scale of different elements in a design will have a big impact on how your audience views and makes sense of your composition. Playing with the relative size of different components in your design allows you to set a focal point, highlight areas of importance, and ultimately guide viewers' eyes through the piece.

Scale isn't quite the same thing as size (though many people tend to incorrectly use them interchangeably when discussing design, i.e., "Make the logo bigger!"). Size refers to an absolute measurement (e.g., the sheet of paper 8'' by 11'') while scale refers to the direct relationship between elements in a design (e.g., the circle is twice as big as the square).

You can use scale to create a visual hierarchy for your design. When an element is displayed at a relatively larger scale than the other elements in a composition, our eyes are naturally drawn to it.

Scale in Action:

To create a sense of drama and importance, New York-based graphic designer Aurelio Sánchez Escudero uses a high-contrast scale between elements in these promotional materials for San Francisco's Social Innovation Week.

4) Shape

Shapes: they're not just for preschoolers! A shape can be loosely explained as anything defined by boundaries. There are two categories of shapes to consider:

Geometric shapes, which are defined by perfect, uniform proportions (such as a circle, square, triangle), and organic shapes, which have less well-defined edges, free-flowing proportions, and essentially no rules (such as wiggly, blob-like things that don't fit into any real category).

Imgae via: Creative Market
When working on a design, consider both the shapes you're deliberately incorporating (the positive shapes), and the shapes naturally formed around those shapes (the negative shapes).

Image credit: The International Business Times

Perhaps the most famous example illustrating the distinction of positive and negative shapes is Rubin's vase. Developed in 1915 Danishpsychologist Edgar Rubin, this now-ubiquitous optical illusion shows two completely different images when the negative shapes are viewed vs. when the positive shapes are viewed.

Learn more about how our brains view shapes and make sense of design in the video below:

Shape in Action:

The humble circle has always been a popular, trusty way to display information in a clean, unified composition. Sydney-based Made Somewhere developed this simple, modern logo for Hidden Gems of Sydney, a blog focused on highlighting local attractions in the area.

5) Alignment

Think of alignment like an invisible axis that runs between elements, connecting them visually either by their edges or centers (see the image below).

Alignment most frequently comes up in design discussions about text and typography, but it's equally important to consider the alignment of non-text elements when building a balanced, orderly composition.

The example above illustrates uniform edge and center alignment -- but that doesn't mean all the elements in your composition always have to follow a single pattern of alignment. In the image below, you can see the elements are aligned by their edges, but not united by a single axis.

Alignment in Action:

Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers designed this minimal book cover for Chasing the Sky, a book that honors the careers of influential female architects. The title typography is aligned around a geometric shape.

6) Contrast

Contrast refers to the juxtaposition of elements that strongly differ (big vs. small, light vs. dark, etc.) to create visual interest or draw attention to particular elements.

Without contrast, our designs aren't just lackluster and boring to look at, they're also difficult to understand. A lack of contrast is often what separates mediocre design work from designs that look professional, polished, and clear.

Take the images below for example -- in the picture on the left, there isn't adequate contrast between the background photo of the man working at a desk and the white text. It's not so easy on the eyes, and the message is difficult to comprehend. In the image on the right, the background has been darkened to create more contrast, making the text way easier to read.

Contrast in Action:

The team at Barcelona-based toormix expertly plays with varying contrasts in this poster design for Barcelona Design Week 2016.

7) Space

Space is exactly what it sounds like: the empty areas between elements in your design. When it comes to creating professional-looking designs on your own, sometimes what you don't include is just as important as what you do.

When working on a design, consider not only the elements you're including (such as images and text) but how they're arranged and grouped in the composition. It can be tempting to fill every inch of your digital canvas with something, but try to give your elements some room to breathe.

In the example below, you can see how changing the space and grouping of the elements creates a completely different feeling in the composition. On the left, the uniform space between the elements creates a sense of order and security. On the right, the varying spaces between the elements conveys a sense of disorder and confusion.

Space in Action:

In this poster from designer Jonathan Lawrence, the text "March Madness" is displayed with unconventional spacing, adding some unexpected visual interest to an otherwise minimal design.
How do you make your designs look professional on a limited budget? Let us know in the comments.

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The 7 Elements of Graphic Design, and How to Apply Them This Year

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Have you even looked at a seemingly simple design and thought: I could totally do that. But later, when you sit down to actually give it a whirl, you don't know why your attempt doesn't measure up to the professional version. What gives?

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The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an effective and attractive composition. The fundamental principles of design are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space.

Design differs from art in that it has to have a purpose. Visually, this functionality is interpreted by making sure an image has a center of attention, a point of focus. Maybe you're thinking, 'But wait! I thought design was all about creativity?' If you're an entrepreneur or designer who's just starting out, you might be tempted to go wild and combine the first five typefaces and colors that catch your eye, believing you're creating something fresh and new. You will probably find yourself with a design that is muddled, unfinished, or well, just plain ugly.

Graphic design, like any discipline, adheres to strict rules that work beneath the surface to make the work stable and balanced. If the design is missing that balance, it will be weak and ineffective.

Learn more about the 7 basic principles of design by watching the video below or reading the rest of the article. Either way, knowing these principles and how to use them will make your next project stand out.

1. Emphasis
-

The first of the 7 design principles is emphasis, referring to the focal point of a design and the order of importance of each element within a design. Say you're creating a poster for a concert. You should ask yourself: what is the first piece of information my audience needs to know? Is it the band? Or the concert venue? What about the day and the cost of attending?

Make a mental outline. Let your brain organize the information and then lay out your design in a way that communicates that order. If the band's name is the most essential information, place it in the center or make it the biggest element on the poster. Or you could put it in the strongest, boldest type. Learn about color theory and use strong color combinations to make the band name pop.

Like writing without an outline or building without a blueprint, if you start your composition without a clear idea of what you're trying to communicate, your design will not succeed.

2. Balance and alignment
-

Never forget that every element you place on a page has a weight. The weight can come from color, size, or texture. Just like you wouldn't put all your furniture in one corner of a room, you can't crowd all your heavy elements in one area of your composition. Without balance, your audience will feel as if their eye is sliding off the page.

Symmetrical design creates balance through equally weighted elements aligned on either side of a center line. On the other hand, asymmetrical design uses opposite weights (like contrasting one large element with several smaller elements) to create a composition that is not even, but still has equilibrium.
Have a question?Ask our team.
Symmetrical designs are always pleasing, if not occasionally boring. Asymmetrical designs are bolder and can bring real visual interest and movement (more on that later!) to your composition.

3. Contrast
-

Contrast is what people mean when they say a design "pops." It comes away from the page and sticks in your memory. Contrast creates space and difference between elements in your design. Your background needs to be significantly different from the color of your elements so they work harmoniously together and are readable.

If you plan to work with type, understanding contrast is incredibly essential because it means the weight and size of your type are balanced. How will your audience know what is most important if everything is in bold?

As you seek out examples of really strong, effective design, you'll notice most designs only feature one or two typefaces. That's because contrast can be effectively achieved with two strong fonts (or even one strong typeface in different weights). As you add fonts, you dilute and confuse the purpose of your design.

4. Repetition
-

If you limit yourself to two strong typefaces or three strong colors, you'll soon find you'll have to repeat some things. That's ok! It's often said that repetition unifies and strengthens a design. If only one thing on your band poster is in blue italic sans-serif, it can read like an error. If three things are in blue italic sans-serif, you've created a motif and are back in control of your design.

Repetition can be important beyond one printed product. Current packaging design is heavily embracing beautiful illustrated patterns. Anyone thinking about a startup knows one of the first things you need is a strong logo to feature on your website, business cards, social media and more. Brand identity? Another term for repetition.

5. Proportion
-

Proportion is the visual size and weight of elements in a composition and how they relate to each other. It often helps to approach your design in sections, instead of as a whole.

Grouping related items can give them importance at a smaller size-think of a box at the bottom of your poster for ticket information or a sidebar on a website for a search bar. Proportion can be achieved only if all elements of your design are well-sized and thoughtfully placed. Once you master alignment, balance, and contrast, proportion should emerge organically.

6. Movement
-

Going back to our concert poster. If you decided the band was the most important piece of information on the page and the venue was the second, how would you communicate that with your audience?

Movement is controlling the elements in a composition so that the eye is led to move from one to the next and the information is properly communicated to your audience. Movement creates the story or the narrative of your work: a band is playing, it's at this location, it's at this time, here's how you get tickets. The elements above-especially balance, alignment, and contrast-will work towards that goal, but without proper movement, your design will be DOA.

If you look at your design and feel your eye get "stuck" anywhere on it-an element is too big, too bold, slightly off-center, not a complimentary color-go back and adjust until everything is in harmony.

7. White space
-

Poster design for pmoretti

All of the other principles of design deal with what you add to your design. White space (or negative space) is the only one that specifically deals with what you don't add. White space is exactly that-the empty page around the elements in your composition. For beginning designers it can be a perilous zone. Often simply giving a composition more room to breathe can upgrade it from mediocre to successful.

White space isn't sitting there doing nothing-it's creating hierarchy and organization. Our brains naturally associate ample white space around an element with importance and luxury. It's telling our eyes that objects in one region are grouped separately from objects elsewhere.

Even more exciting, it can communicate an entirely different image or idea from your main design that will reward your audience for engaging with it. The logo above uses active negative space to communicate multiple ideas in one fun, creative design.

How to use the principles of design
-

A design doesn't have to strictly follow these rules to be "good." Some absolutely mind-blowing designs ignore one or more of the principles of design in order to create an eye-catching and effective work.

The Bed Moved by Rebecca Schiff. Designed by Janet Hansen for Knopf

Consider the cover of "The Bed Moved" by Rebecca Schiff, designed by Janet Hansen. This was one of the most lauded book covers of 2016.

But did you immediately read the first line as "Theeb?" Did your eye jump to the bottom line where the M from "Moved" is isolated on a different line than the rest of the word? The design is clearly breaking the two rules of movement and alignment. But! Because of the designer's confident use of a bold contrasting color scheme and a repetitive structure, your eye is easily guided to the title and author of the book.

The important information is communicated. That jarring moment of slight confusion is what makes this design so revolutionary and rewarding.

The elements of a design should be viewed as moving parts that combine to tell a story. As you approach your design project you must first familiarize yourself with these principles of design. Only then will you be able to break these graphic design rules to create your own signature style.

This article was originally published in 2019. It has been updated with new examples and information.

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The 7 Principles of Design and How to Use Them - 99designs

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The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an effective and attractive composition. The fundamental principles of design are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space. Design differs from art in that it has to have a purpose.

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Wonderful Uzbekistan: Photos Dimitar Karanikolov

Dimitar Karanikolov is a UK-based architect and photographer with a passion for travel. These stunning images were captured during his trip to Uzbekistan where he documented some of the country's rich culture and history.

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Daily design inspiration for creatives | Inspiration Grid

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The Best Creative Assets for your St. Patrick's Day Designs Dimitar Karanikolov is a UK-based architect and photographer with a passion for travel. These stunning images were captured during his trip to Uzbekistan where he documented some of the country's rich culture and history. Type anything and hit enter to find some inspiration.

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Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.

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abdz - Have you given up on being inspired?

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abdz. is a collective of individual writers sharing articles about design, photography, and UX as well as tutorials for Photoshop and other tools

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Unlimited Stock Photos, Vectors, & Graphics - Storyblocks

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Unbeatable Savings Our subscription model gives you way more content for your money. We offer a flexible plan for every budget. Royalty-Free All of our royalty free audio content can be used multiple times for commercial and personal projects. Fresh Content We're always adding new content based on what you're searching for.

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Dribbble - Discover the World's Top Designers & Creative Professionals

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Find Top Designers & Creative Professionals on Dribbble. We are where designers gain inspiration, feedback, community, and jobs. Your best resource to discover and connect with designers worldwide.

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Designspiration - Design Inspiration | Inspirational Art, Photography & Typography Images

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Create an account or log in to Designspiration - An image & color search engine for creating mood boards and finding art, design, logos, photography, app & ui inspiration.

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Newspaper Web Printing Process

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Behind-the-scenes into how The Globe and Mail newspaper gets made

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‘Simplicity’ Design principle of Graphic Design Ep15/45 [Beginners guide to Graphic Design]

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‘Repetition’ Design principle of Graphic Design Ep14/45 [Beginners guide to Graphic Design]

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‘Proximity’ Design principle of Graphic Design Ep13/45 [Beginners guide to Graphic Design]