The Four Design Principles

I absolutely adore SPRING and the wonderful things it has to offer: new life, new beginnings, fresh fragrances, beautiful weather, etc. With SPRING comes the knowledge of new information that was always there, but we would have never known about their existence unless the situation or event presented itself. With that being said; I’ve seen brochures, flyers, newsletters, and billboards everyday for as long as I can remember, but never paid attention to their designs. Just like SPRING each design has unique elements that can make things appear either strikingly amazing, or bitterly dull. It is up to the gardener to keep their plants growing like it is up to a designer to keep their targeted audience engaged.

According to Robin Williams, the author of “The Non-Designer’s Design Book,” there are four principles of design that should be embellished into every design. In order to remember the designs you can use the acronym of C.R.A.P. (contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity). I believe that every element of these design principles are vital when creating flyers, newsletters, brochures, billboards, etc. All four principles can help any and everyone design pieces that will be more informational as well as engaging for their readers. Below you will find a brief definition of each design principle.

The principle of contrast is what makes the pictures and words stand out on the page grabbing your reader’s attention. If the reader is actively engaged you are guaranteed to keep them looking forward to what you have to offer.

The repetition principle is also important because the designer is being consistent and repeats some aspect of design throughout the entire piece. There’s nothing worse than an inconsistent design with clutter. It’s not only unprofessional, but also prone to be discarded.

Using the alignment principle is what keeps the design organized and unified. According to Williams, nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Everything must correlate and be reader friendly.

Proximity is helps to organize information, reduces clutter, and gives the reader a clear structure. All items relating to each other should be placed close together.

The principles listed above are very beneficial for both teachers and students. Teachers can use them when creating flyers and newsletters to go home as well as enhancing their classroom website. If the teacher is trained and has knowledge on each principle they can incorporate design into their curriculum. Using all four principles in any piece will also keep parents from discarding the information and active readers.

Students can use the design principles for writing assignments that focus on creativity. For example, in high school there are many clubs that are developed and managed by students. When learners want to get information out to their peers about events, fundraisers, daily news, etc. they can use each of the principles in their design to keep their targeted audience attentive. All in all if the principles are not applied correctly one may not be able to deliver what we all are looking for.