Graphic design composition

GRAPHIC DESIGN-COMPOSITION
RULES
Source: https://designschool.canva.com
And google.com

In visual art, you might hear this referred to as “form.”
In graphic design, it’s often called layout
Find Your Focus

Composition is the arrangement of design elements
that form a whole image.

A successful composition attracts the viewer and
guides their eye across the design.

Composition
is made up of
a number of
different
visual design
elements,
including
balance,
proximity,
alignment,
repetition,
contrast and
white space.

Just like we were all told in school, having focus is a
very important thing.
Find Your Focus

A key element to any good composition is a strong focal point,
as it helps your viewers’ eyes naturally settle on the important
pieces of your design first.
Find Your Focus

When choosing your focal point, keep in mind that the main
goal of any design is communication.
Find Your Focus

Find Your Focus
Whether you’re communicating an idea,
some information,

Find Your Focus
or simply a feeling or emotion,

Find Your Focus
your design is telling a specific story,

Find Your Focus
so be sure to choose a focal point that helps this story
get told in the strongest, most effective way.

Direct
the Eye
With
Leading Lines
RULE 2

A common use of
leading lines that you
might be pretty
familiar with is within
flowcharts.
Flowcharts use lines
to direct your eye
from one point to the
next in an obvious
way. Check out this
save the date card
by Paper and
Parcel that uses
flowchart leading
lines to present the
information in a fun,
unique way.

Leading
lines can
also guide
you to
various
tiers or
points of
information

As discussed, you want the eye to first land on the main focal point, but
then where does it go?

By positioning and adjusting your leading lines you can not only direct the eye to the focal point
of your design but also throughout the rest of your design.

Direct
the Eye
With
Leading
Lines
Direct
the Eye

An example of this is
seen in this poster
from 1 Trick Pony that
uses the line along
the man’s left arm to
draw the eye to and
from the logo and
then down the rest of
the image. In this way,
the shapes of the
image have been used
to direct the eye.

scale and visual hierarchy are some of those creative fundamentals that
can really make or break your designs, so it’s important to have a good
hold on them to maintain a successful composition.

In a very brief
explanation,
hierarchy is the
arrangement
and design of
elements in
order to visually
signal
importance.

So, you might
make a more
important
element bigger
and bolder than a
less important
element which
might be smaller
and fainter.

For example, this poster design
by Jessica Svendsen uses a
scaled-up image as the largest
element, which helps it attract
the most attention and focus.
The title is the boldest, largest
piece of type as it is the most
important piece of written
information for this specific
communication, and the body
copy is much smaller. So, scale
has been used to signal the
focal point, and to maintain
typographical hierarchy.

So, you might make a more important element bigger and bolder than a less important element
which might be smaller and fainter.

For example, this poster
design by Scott
Hansen uses a scaled-
down, small silhouette of
two people to help
communicate the massive
scene in front of them.
This instantly gives
viewers a sense of the
grandeur and size of the
scene.

Balance
Out
Your
Elements
RULE 4

Balance is a
pretty
important thing
in many
regards, and
your designs
are absolutely
no exception.

Balance is a
pretty
important
thing in many
regards, and
your designs
are absolutely
no exception.

Here’s an example of
symmetrical balance.
This wedding
invitation design
by Jennifer Wick uses
a symmetrical
composition by
reflecting the
positioning of type
and graphic
elements. By using
symmetry, this
design is made
elegant, clean, and
beautifully balanced.

In the design, the
three central circles
are the largest
elements in the
design, but they are
balanced out both by
the type, the fine line
graphics, and the
small, heavily
textured circle in the
bottom corner.

Use Elements
That
Complement
Each
Other
RULE 5

you’ve heard of
complementary colors,
but what about
complementary design
elements?

One key element to a
successful and effective
composition is taking the
time to carefully and
purposefully select each
element of your design
so that each part
complements the whole

A common error in
compositions is using
images that don’t
complement each other.

So, when using more than
one image in your
composition, try to make
sure that they all look
effective and cohesive when
grouped together.

This is an easy way to ensure your photographs look cohesive as they were likely all
under the same art direction and photographic style. Check out this magazine spread
by Jekyll & Hyde and Elena Bonanomi that does just this to create a beautiful layout.

Color your photos
similarly. With the
prevalence of filters and
image adjusting tools, you
are able to color and
adjust your photos to
have more cohesive and
complementary palettes.
Check out this poster
design by A is a
Name that runs a
monochromatic filter
over each photograph to
tie each image together in
a more natural way.

For example, this poster
by Adam Hill is for an event
“celebrating the inextricable
link between tattoos and
good old fashioned rock ‘n
roll.” and the use of
traditional vintage-inspired
imagery is complemented by
a bold cursive title and bold
slab serif body copy. A clean,
thin, and minimal sans-serif
typeface wouldn’t fit the
rougher, rock and roll vibe
the imagery and concept
have developed.

Boost
(or Reduce)
Your
Contrast
RULE 6

Contrast is an incredibly useful tool for both highlighting and hiding certain elements of your
design.

By upping the contrast or using a high contrast feature color, you can help an element stand out
and draw attention.

Likewise, by lowering the
contrast, you can make an
element fade into the
background.

This poster by Melanie
Scott Vincent uses a
yellow paperclip on a
yellow background,
creating a low contrast
difference between the
object and backdrop.
While this is usually a
thing to avoid, in this case
it reinforces the event
name ‘ignored everyday’.

RULE 7
Repeat
Elements
Of
Your
Design

Repeat after
me:
“Repetition
makes for
successful
compositions.”

To maintain
consistency and a
logical layout, try
to take specific
elements from
one section of
your design and
apply it to other
sections.

Repetition is also a key factor when
it comes to designing single page
compositions. By repeating graphic
elements you can keep your design
strong and cohesive just like this
event poster by Jessica Hische is.
This poster repeats certain type
stylizations, graphics, and line
weights throughout to maintain a
cohesive and effective design. If it
were to suddenly use a thick, bold,
pink line-based graphic somewhere
in the middle, the cohesion would
be lost. So, by keeping the font
palette and color palette small and
the graphic styles simple and alike,
the design is kept beautiful and
strong.

RULE 8
Don’t Forget
the White
Space

The easiest way to
offend white space is to
refer to it as ‘empty
space’.

Emptiness implies that
it should be full of
something, that it’s not
doing its job, but this
is not quite the case.

White space when used
strategically can help
boost your design’s
clarity and overall look
by balancing out the more
complicated and busy parts
of your composition with
space that helps your
design to breathe.

Scale down your graphic
elements. By scaling down
your imagery, type,
graphics etc. you can
create some luxurious white
space around your focal
points while staying within
the frame of your original
graphic. For example, check
out this recipe card design
by Serafini Creative that
scales down the central
design to create a
beautiful frame of white
space around the design.

RULE 10
Divide
Your
Design
Into
Thirds

The rule of thirds is a simple
technique where designers divide
their designs up into three rows
and three columns, and at the
points where the vertical and
horizontal lines meet is where
your focal points should be.

Graphic design composition

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