Samba Diop Technology Tools for Learning - IDT 7060

1. PROJECT III:
PRINCIPLES OF
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Samba Diop
IDT 7060
Spring 2016

2. Similarity

3. Closure

4. Figure-Ground

5. Symmetry

6. Alignment

7. Repetition

8. Rule ofThirds

9. Golden Rectangle

10. Contrast

11. Chunking

12. Balance

13. Proximity

14. ■ Action—what you do with tools; actions include contrast (as in
contrasting colors), alignment of type and visuals, repetition, and
proximity.
■ Alignment—lining up visual elements along an edge or imaginary
path.
■ Asymmetry – a form that does not have balanced proportions.
■ Balance – an even and aesthetically pleasing distribution of
elements
■ Chunk—a unit of information
■ Chunking—the action of grouping information
■ Closure – the mind's tendency to seek completion
■ Contiguity—the mind's tendency to seek a direction to follow and
continue to follow based on directional cues.
■ Contrast—making the components of a visual image—for example,
shape and color—different
■ Cues – visual signals that capture and direct attention
■ FIGURE-GROUND—the perception principle that describes the
mind's tendency to seek figure and ground distinctions.The figure is
typically the information that visual designers want to stand out,
and the ground is the information they want to recede or support
the figure.
■ Gestalt—a principle of perception stating that the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts. Effective instructional visuals depend on
creating gestalt, a total learning or performance environment (the
whole) based upon the successful design and integration of all visual
and instructional elements (the parts).
■ Golden Rectangle--Any rectangle with sides that have a ratio of 5 to
8.This ratio is believed to produce a balanced and pleasing (golden)
image or to evoke from the viewer a sense of harmony.
■ Hierarchy--A perception principle that deals with communicating
the relative importance of elements in a display.
■ Layers—different levels of information used for visually stratifying
information
■ Planes—imaginary or visible lines that form horizontally, vertically,
or diagonally.
■ Proximity—the mind's tendency to group elements based on their
closeness to each other
■ Repetition—reusing elements or using similar elements
■ Rule ofThirds—a technique that distributes the elements of a
display along the intersection of imaginary lines that divide an
image into thirds.
■ Similarity—the mind's tendency to group items based on likeness;
the action of repetition facilitates this grouping.
■ Symmetry—Beauty of form arising from balanced proportions
■ White Space—a graphic element that can be thought of as the plain
background of an image. Even though it is called "white" space, it
can be whatever color the background is.
Graphic Design Concepts Defined

15. References
■ Applying the Golden Ratio in Modern Designs. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/golden-ratio-in-moden-designs/
■ Design Principles: Compositional Balance, Symmetry And Asymmetry. (2015). Retrieved April 02, 2016,
from https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/06/design-principles-compositional-balance-
symmetry-asymmetry/
■ Graphic Design Principles #1: Balance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://www.jesscreatives.com/blog/balance
■ Lohr, L. (2008). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
■ Jake's Graphic design blog. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://jakesgraphicblogs.blogspot.com/2014/04/gestalt-and-graphic-design.html
■ The 5 Basic Principles Of Design - Maddison Designs. (2009). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://maddisondesigns.com/2009/03/the-5-basic-principles-of-design/
■ The designer's guide to Gestalt Theory. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design/gestalt-theory-10134960
■ Visual Design Theory & the Web. (n.d.). Retrieved April 02, 2016, from
http://desource.uvu.edu/dgm/2740/IN/steinja/lessons/03/l03_03.html