Digital Photography and Imaging / Week 6

October 27, 2024

Digital Photography and Imaging / Week 6

Week 6

Lecture 6 : POSTER DESIGN

The principles of design are the rules a designer must follow to create an effective and attractive composition.

The fundamental principles of design are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space.

The 7 principles of poster design

1) Emphasis

example for principle of design emphasis: poster with violin guitar on stage

2. Balance and Alignment

3. Contrast

Contrast creates space and difference between elements in your design. Your background needs to be significantly different from the color of your elements so they work harmoniously together and are readable.

example for principle of design contrast: black panther cat design

4. Repetition

If you limit yourself to two strong typefaces or three strong colors, you’ll soon find you’ll have to repeat some things. That’s ok! It’s often said that repetition unifies and strengthens a design.

If only one thing on your band poster is in blue italic sans-serif, it can read like an error. If three things are in blue italic sans-serif, you’ve created a motif and are back in control of your design.

example for principle of design repetition: vertical numbers and text design

5. Proportion

Proportion is the visual size and weight of elements in a composition and how they relate to each other. It often helps to approach your design in sections, instead of as a whole.

example for principle of design proportion: vintage designed poker run poster

6. Movement

Movement is controlling the elements in a composition so that the eye is led to move from one to the next and the information is properly communicated to your audience.

7. White space

White space (or negative space) is the only one that specifically deals with what you don’t add. White space is exactly that—the empty page around the elements in your composition.

For beginning designers it can be a perilous zone. Often simply giving a composition more room to breathe can upgrade it from mediocre to successful.