The Six Design Principles

What is scheme?

A planned combination of events, such as a combination of font styles and sizes.

What is repetition/consistency in a publication?

All the headings are keyed in 14 pt. Arial font and the body is keyed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font or all the text is in the same font type/style.

What are the six design principles?

Balance, Proximity/Unity, Alignment, Repetition/Consistency, Contrast, and White Space.

What are three examples of contrast?

Black font on a light pink colored page, White font on black paper, and light gray on dark blue.

What is white space?

Blank or negative space on a page. It does not have to be white.

What are examples of alignment?

Centered, or on the left or right of a page.

What is repetition/consistency?

Consistent pattern of font, color schemes, and graphic types.

What is Proximity/Unity?

Distance between elements on a page or used to demonstrate a relationship or lack of relationship between elements.

What is balance?

Graphics don't overpower text, or page is not heavy on one side or the other.

What is white space for?

It is used to give the reader's eyes a break and to focus the reader's attention on important details.

What is alignment?

Justification of elements or where they are on a page.

What is an example of a poor use of white space?

Putting text boxes in the margin of a publication.

What is contrast?

The use of size and color to emphasize the most important elements on a page.

What do the graphics have to do?

They have to all relate to the topic of the publication.