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I try to take time out of my busy life to read some books every now and then. A book that I have referenced on occasion is “The Non-Designer’s Design Book” by Robin Williams. A simple yet important topic that she covers is the four basic design principles that you should keep in mind when designing. Many designers out there are probably somewhat aware of these principles but it is always nice to have a reminder to keep in mind while designing. The author of the book I read had mentioned that by being able to name these principles you will hold the key to power over them. The funny acronym that was created to help people remember these principles is C.R.A.P, the odd thing about this acronym is, if you use these principles your design will be quite the opposite. Probably won’t forget that now, will you?

First principle is Contrast; the idea behind contrast is to avoid elements that are similar on the page, the “rule” to remember is that it must be strong. If the elements (type, color, size, shape, space, line, thickness, etc) are not the same, the key is to make them very different. If you have two elements that are sort of different but not completely then you have created conflict, not contrast. For example, something like 14-point type contrasted with 12-point type is too close in size. A cool color with a warm color or a smooth texture with a rough texture is contrasting. Contrast can be considered the most important visual attraction on a page; it is the most effective way to add visual interest to your design. The keyword for contrast is “opposite”. Opposites could be some of the following examples: big text with small text, black text with white text, a hairline rule with a strong rule and a small graphic with a large graphic.

Second principle is Repetition; repeating visual elements of the design throughout the piece, anything that the reader will visually recognize, for example, it may be a bold font, a color, a certain bullet, line thickness, texture, spatial relationships, etc. This helps to give your design a cohesive look and feel, which probably makes it more likely to be viewed. The keyword for repetition is “consistency”. Consistency allows your design to appear like everything is meant to be there in perfect harmony without contradiction.

Third principle is Alignment; nothing should be placed on the page randomly, avoiding the issue of creating a design that has weak alignments. Every element on the page should have some sort of visual connection with another element on the page, being conscious of your design and not just throwing things onto the page wherever there is room. This helps to create a clean and fresh look to your design. The keyword in utilizing alignment is “unity”. Unity makes all the elements appear to be connected making a visual tie between all the elements.

Fourth principle is Proximity; items that relate to each other should be grouped closer together, often when beginners’ design, you see items placed all over the page, trying to fill up corners and take up the entire page to avoid that empty space feel. When these items that relate to each other are in close proximity to each other, they then become one visual unit rather than multiple units, it helps viewers to focus on the units that correlate with each other and gives the page a sense of organization and alleviates that feel of chaos and clutter. The keyword in utilizing proximity is “organize”. Organization will help to make your design more appealing and therefore people are more likely to remember it.

Knowing how to manage these four design principles will give you a sense of visual awareness and you will be creating dynamic, interesting, organized pages you can be proud to call your own.

Donelle Anderson is an accomplished web designer and has years of experience in managing, maintaining and developing web sites. She exhibits her organizational and creative abilities as the founder of Sandpiper Creation, a San Diego based web design and hosting company.