Tag: design principles

Space: Design Principle No. 7

Aside from when they’re sitting on Santa’s lap, people usually give each other a certain amount of personal space. But personal space doesn’t just exist for people. It’s necessary in design too. In web design, space refers to the area surrounding the elements that allows a design to … Read On ›

Rhythm: Design Principle No. 6

Can you hear the sleigh bells jingling? The holiday songs you hear on the radio have rhythm—and so should your website. In web design, rhythm suggests implied motion and moves the eye of the viewer throughout the design. In my series, Applying the 7 Principles of Design to … Read On ›

Pattern: Design Principle No. 5

Look at your outfit. Chances are you’re wearing some sort of pattern right now. Am I right? In web design, pattern creates consistency through the repetition of certain elements. Today I’m continuing the series, Applying the 7 Principles of Design to WordPress, by sharing some examples of WordPress … Read On ›

Unity: Design Principle No. 4

If you’ve ever been in a two-person kayak for the first time, you might know what happens when people aren’t quite working together in unity. (A lot of paddling and very little progress.) In web design, unity is uber-important too. It creates a harmonious effect in which all … Read On ›

Balance: Design Principle No. 3

If you’re bike riding, it’s balance that keeps you upright (and keeps you moving forward instead of going nowhere)! In web design, balance is the distribution of visual weight in a design to provide stability and structure. Balance can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. See what I mean in today’s … Read On ›

Emphasis: Design Principle No. 2

What’s most important in your design? Where should a viewer look? Emphasis is how you say, “Look here!” In design, emphasis creates a focal point and brings attention to what is most important. And today to continue my series, Applying the 7 Principles of Design to WordPress, I’m … Read On ›

Contrast: Design Principle No. 1

If everything looked the same—nothing would stand out. That’s the point of contrast. In web design, contrast creates variety between elements and adds visual interest. In the first post in my series, Applying the 7 Principles of Design to WordPress, I’m sharing some websites that I think are using … Read On ›

Good design isn’t an accident…

What is good design? The term is thrown around like a frisbee, but to me, good design means creating visual interest to engage the viewer, and, most importantly, effectively communicating the message. Even though beautifully-designed websites can be so different from one another, there are common threads between them that make … Read On ›