20 Rules - WordPress.com

{20 Rules}Adapted from Design Elements: A Graphic Style

Manual. 2007 by Timothy Samara

for good design

DESN 190 Introduction to Digital Imagemaking | 20 Rules of Good Design | Lecturer: Kate Francis

Rule no. 1{Have a concept}It doesn�t matter how amazing things look, if there is no message, no idea, no narrative, then itʼs not good design.

Make sure the selected images and type styles support each other stylistically, AS WELL AS reinforcing the intended mood and message.

*In this product packaging design, zippered plastic bags with evidence stickers become the packaging for a series of detective novels. The books themselves become like artifacts of crime, supporting the concept behind the books.

Book Packaging. Designer: Thomas Csano


Rule no. 2{Communicate- don’t decorate}Form carries meaning, no matter how subtle or abstract. Similar to Rule No 1, this rule is about supporting the concept.

Form that�s not right for your particular message will communicate messages that you don�t intend- including that you don�t know how to choose forms that are meaningful to your audience and that you don�t care what�s meaningful for them.

Brochure. Designer: And Partners


Rule no. 2{Communicate- don’t decorate}It�s fine to experiment with shapes, details and cool effects in image making software.

But if you simply scatter these all over your composition without considering what they mean, how they support or take away from your message, then you are just creating a mass of jumbled junk that is not good design.

Less is more!

Poster, Studio: Tenazas Design 1999


rule no. 3{be consistent}Speak with one visual voice.

This is where you need to think about how all the parts of your composition relate to each other.

Good design uses a singular visual language or internal logic to address all parts of the design, so that they reinforce, restate and reference each other, not only in shape or weight, but conceptually as well.

If one element seems out of place or appears disconnected from the others, then the overall message is weakened.

Website. Designer: Research Studios


rule no. 3{be consistent}You can achieve this by a applying a consistent theme or use of colour, shape, angle, form relationships, typography, placement etc

Remove any elements that appear out of place or that do not support the message that you are communicating.

Be decisive, be consistent!

CD Packaging. Designer: Lehni - Trüb


Rule no. 4{Use 2 typeface families maximum}OK maybe 3....

Choose your typefaces for specific purposes.Make decisions about the typefaces you select, how they will be applied, and for what purpose.

*In this brochure for an orchestra, bold abstract organic marks are balanced by quiet typography. Sans-serif body text and notation provide ease of reading while the stately serif titles add warmth and contrast and visually complements the imagery.

Brochure. Designer: Voice


Rule no. 4{Use 2 typeface families maximum}A single type family with a variety of weights and italics should be enough on its own, adding a second can be nice for texture, but donʼt overdo it.

Think about what you are trying to communicate and how your choice in typeface can reinforce that.

A change in typeface usually signals a change in meaning or function.

Too many typefaces are distracting and can confuse the viewer.

Would a serif or sans-serif be best ?

Perhaps a script or display font?

Or a single typeface family?

hoefler text

helvetica

Shelley LT

Sönderfistad

Mrs Eaves


Rule no. 5{create a clear visual hierarchy}A good design should focus the viewer on one important element first, and then lead them through the rest.

Once you capture the viewer with a big shape, interesting image, loud colour or a dramatic type treatment, you can then lead them through the rest of the information in a logical progression.

*The dramatic title treatment on this theatre poster is likely to draw the viewers attention from thirty strides away, and in a sequence if decreasing contrast, weight, and size, it leads us through the rest of the information. Poster. Designer: Rudi Meyer


{create a clear visual hierarchy}You�re designing something to grab the audiences attention, to get them the information they need, and to help them remember it afterward.

If there�s no clear focus to start with, you�ve already lost the battle.

Poster, Studio: Frost Design


Rule No. 6{Pick colours on purpose}Don�t just grab some colours out of the air.Think about what colours might mean to the audience, and select colours that will enhance your message.

Colour effects visual hierarchy, the legibility of type, and how the viewer makes connections between different elements.

Poster. Designer: Stereotype Design


Rule No. 7{less is more}If you can do it with less, then do it!

Generally, the more stuff that is jammed into a space, the harder it is for the viewer to see what they are supposed to be seeing.

If the idea is clear without adding more, then don�t; if the idea isn�t there and it�s not visually interesting, adding to it probably won�t help.

If you�re not sure about something in your composition, take it away, and you might see that it�s better without it.

Uncomplicate things, be clear and simple.Brochure. Designer: LSD


rule no. 8{Negative space is powerful}Space calls attention to content, separates it from unrelated content, and gives the eye a place to rest.

It is just as important to compose negative space as it is to arrange the forms within it.

When you don�t deal with negative space at all, your composition can feel dead and disconnected. Poster. Designer: Loewy


rule no. 8{Negative space is powerful}

A lack of white space can be oppressive, it overwhelms and confuses the viewer.

It makes the point of interest harder to locate and visual hierarchy difficult to recognise.

Create negative space- don�t just fill it up!

Poster, Studio: Cally Keo


Rule no. 9{treat type as image}Type is a visual element - it is made up of lines and dots and shapes and textures.

The type treatment in a composition should be considered as important as the images used.

Brochure. Designer: Cobra


Rule no. 9{treat type as image}The type treatment used needs to visually relate and work compositionally with everything else on the page.

*In this poster by David Carson, extreme negative tracking leads to letter overlap in the header, while the copy text uses a combination of tracking sizes.

The adjustments made within the text reflect the weight of the form in the background.

Poster, Designer: David Carson, 1995


Rule No. 10{Type should be friendly}Typography can be expressive.

BUT it should still transmit information- be it in the meanings of the words or in the suggestiveness of the letterforms themselves.

Make it readable and/or meaningful.

*This typographic composition alludes to reflections in water through the use of mirroring and changes in value.

This also helps to create a sense of depth and perspective.

Poster, Designer: Phillipe Apeloig 2003


rule no. 11{be universal}It�s not all about you!

Usually a large audience, not a few people who are “in the know”, has to know what you mean with the shapes, colours and images you choose.

Graphic design comes with an agenda- sometimes small, such as getting people to come to a film festival, or sometimes very big, such as helping people to know what to do in an emergency.

When you forget or choose to ignore this agenda you jeopardize the clarity of your message.

Brochure. Designer: Adams Morioka 1998


Rule no. 12{Squish & separate}Create contrasts in density and rhythm by pulling some elements closer together, and by pushing other elements further apart.

Give the spaces between things life by making some things tighter and some looser.

*Every space in this poster has a different size, every element has a unique relation-ship with every other. Some elements are dense and linear while others are open and round. Angles are contrasted with curves, large shapes are contrasted with small.

Poster. Designer: Frost Design 2006


rule no. 13{distribute light & dark}Images that are considered “good” tend to exhibit a great deal of tone or value change; from very dark through a range of midtones to very light.

However, these areas of light and dark should be in concentrated areas rather than an even spread.

Create contrast and emphasis through the concentrated use of dramatic light and dark elements. Counter these with subtler transitions between related values.

Poster. Designer: Paone Design Associates 2005


Rule no. 14{Be decisive}Do it on purpose or don�t do it at all.

Place elements with confidence, and make clear decisions about size, arrangement, placement and so on.

Decisiveness makes a viewer more likely to believe that the message means what it says; whereas an unresolved or weak composition leaves the viewer lost and confused.

*Every element in this simple composition has been clearly and confidently resolved. The text hierarchy is obvious through use of type size and style, and the image is grounded through its link with the title text and the border. Poster. Designer: Stress Design 2005


Rule no. 15{measure with your eyes}Remember, design is visual.

The eyes are funny things, they are often fooled by visual stimuli— the notorious optical illusion.

For example, if you have a square form and a circular form with the same mathematical height, the circle will appear smaller to the eye.


Rule no. 15{measure with your eyes}Controlling optical illusions is necessary when measured elements don�t appear the way you intended them, due to this trick of the eye.

If you align two elements by measuring, and they don�t appear lined up, adjust them visually.

In the end, it doesn�t matter whether they really line up or not, the viewer will perceive that they do. align


Rule No.16{don’t scavenge}Create your own images!

Make what you need, and make it the best your can - or pay someone else to do it for you.

Try not to rely on what already exists. Don�t use images straight from stock photography and the internet.

*All it takes to make an image new and original is some meaningful manipulation.Whatever the source of this portrait, it�s been given a new, specific life through colour change and texture.

Poster. Designer: Mutabor 2005


Rule No.16{don’t scavenge}Sometimes the best designs come from creative and meaningful solutions to this problem, such as a couple of dots and lines or a personalized scribble.

Personalized solutions are more likely to support your message and not be muddied by other meanings.

*In this example a combination of uncomplicated abstract shapes and lines and a blur filter create a strikingly original and conceptually appropriate image.

Poster. Designer: Clemens Théobert Schedler 2005


Rule no. 17{ignore fashion}Seriously.

If you design a project and style it around its meaning rather than the audiences current stylistic expectations, your design will mean more to the audience, and is less likely to blend in and be quickly forgotten.

*Defying all nearly all trends currently in vogue, this poster is neither photographic or illustrative, itʼs not flashy or glamorous or technically complex, and it doesnʼt look digital.

It conveys energy and movement, is attention grabbing and is optically very powerful. Poster. Designer: Apeloig Design 2006


Rule no. 18{create energy}Give it life! Static equals dull.

Create the illusion of depth and movement in your composition, your viewers are more likely to hang around and get the message.

*In this example the gridded cluster of dots create the illusion of spatial depth while interacting with the larger text to create an outward movement.


Rule no. 19{Don’t repeat history}The design of the past has its place, it can be inspiring and useful in understanding how communication and aesthetics have changed, and how design thinking and practise has evolved.

Learn from work of others- but do your own work.

*This design for a reissued version of a significant art movement text represents the energy and irreverence of the style without mimicking it.

Book Cover. Designer: Marek Okon


Rule no. 20{symmetry is the ultimate evil}Symmetrical visual arrangements are generally static and offer little sense of movement or direction.

Symmetrical arrangement also make integrating non-symmetrical elements awkward, and limits the designers flexibility.

* Although the black figure essentially is centred in the format, it participates in an asymmetrical arrangement of forms — both positive and negative — that moves diagonally from top left to bottom right.

Poster, Studio: Dochdesign


Rule no.�21{rules can be broken, but never ignored}These rules are guidelines, and by no means should be taken as law.

Rules come with exceptions and can be broken at any time, but not without consequence.

Check out page 248 in Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual by Timothy Samara for a guide to the exceptions.

Consider these rules a starting point- a list of issues to consider while you work.

Type Poster. Designer: Misprinted Type


{go forth & create!}


BibliographyThis lecture was compiled using material from the following source:_________________________Samara, Timothy. Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual. Rockport, 2007

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