Design Principles / Task 1: Exploration

February 01, 2026

Design Principles / Task 1: Exploration

3/2/2026 - 24/2/2026 (Week 1 - 4)

Rachel Ng Jie Ting / 0378902

Bachelors of design (Honours) in creative media

Design Principles / Task 1: Exploration

Table of content

Lectures

Lecture 1: Elements and Principles of design, Gestalt Theory and Contrast

Instructions

Task 1: Exploration (20%)

Part A: Describe Design Principles

Part B: Selected Design and Visual Analysis

Feedback

Reflections

Lectures

Lecture 1: Elements and Principles of design, Gestalt Theory and Contrast

Visual communication is about utilising design to convey purposeful messages to a target audience. As such, the design must be well thought-out and executed. To achieve effective communication through design, it is important to learn about and apply the elements and principles of design.

Element of Design

Think of these as your raw ingredients. Every design, no matter how complex, is built from these basic units:

1. Point

Fig 1.1 - Element of Design: Point

The most basic element. A point has no dimension, but it marks a position in space.

Function: It acts as a focal point or a "seed" from which other elements grow.

Impact: A single point can create a sense of isolation, while a series of points can create a line or texture.

2. Line

Fig 1.2 - Element of Design: Line

A line is essentially a point in motion. It connects two points or defines the edge of a shape.

Lines can be active or static, aggressive or passive, sensual or mechanical.

Lines can indicate directions, define boundaries of shapes and spaces, imply volumes or solid masses, and suggest motion or emotion.

Lines can also be grouped to depict qualities of light and shadow and to form patterns and textures.

3, Shape (2d)

Fig 1.3 - Element of Design: Shape

When a line closes on itself, it creates a shape. Shapes are two-dimensional, possessing only length and width.

Geometric: Circles, squares, and triangles (mathematical and orderly).

Organic: Free-form, natural shapes like leaves or clouds (unpredictable and fluid).

4. Form (3d)

Fig 1.4 - Element of Design: Form, Sculptures

Whereas a two-dimensional area is referred to as a shape, a three dimensional area is called a form.

When form encloses space, the space is called volume.

Form is often a major element in sculpture and architecture.

Fig 1.5 - Element of Design: Form, Digital art

With two-dimensional media, such as painting, illustration or drawing, form must be implied.

5. Texture

Fig 1.6 - Element of Design: Texture

Texture refers to the physical or visual "feel" of a design.

Tactile Texture: Something you can actually feel (like an embossed business card).

Visual Texture: The appearance of a texture (e.g., a digital background that looks like crumpled paper or rough wood).

6. Space

Fig 1.7 - Element of Design: Space

Space is the "ground" in which the elements live.

Positive Space: The actual objects or text (the subject).

Negative Space (White Space): The empty areas around and between subjects. It is essential for preventing clutter and giving the viewer's eyes a place to rest.

7. Colour

Fig 1.8 - Element of Design: Colour

Colour is how our eyes process light wavelengths reflected off surfaces or transmitted through mediums.

Every colour is defined by Hue, Value, and Intensity.

Hue: The actual name of the colour (e.g., Red, Blue, Green).

Value: How light or dark a colour is.

Tint: Colour + White

Tone: Colour + Grey

Shade: Colour + Black

Fig 1.9 - Tint, Tone, and Shade

Intensity (Saturation/Chroma): The purity or brightness of a colour.

Pure hues are the most intense.

Adding other pigments (black, white, or grey) makes a colour "duller.

Fig 1.10 - Intensity (Saturation/Chroma)

Colour groupings that provide distinct colour harmonies are called colour schemes.

Monochromatic: Different values and intensities of one single colour (e.g., light blue, navy blue, and sky blue).

Analogous: Colours that sit next to each other on the colour wheel (e.g., Red, Red-Orange, and Orange).

Complementary: Two colours located directly opposite each other on the colour wheel (e.g., Blue and Orange) used for high contrast.

Fig 1.11 - Colour groupings wheel

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Principle of Design

Principles of design can be thought of as what we do to the elements of design. If the elements are the ingredients, the principles are the recipe for a good work of design.

1. Emphasis

Fig 2.1 - Principle of Design: Emphasis

Emphasis is created by visually reinforcing something we want the viewer to pay attention to. This is often used to train the viewer’s eyes on the center of interest, or a focal point – the area of interest the viewer’s eye naturally, instinctively skips to.

Some of the strategies employed to create degrees of importance are contrast of values, use of colour, placement, variation, alignment, isolation, convergence, anomaly, proximity, size, and contrast.

2. Balance

Fig 2.2 - Principle of Design: Balance

Balance is the distribution of interest or visual weight in a work. A balanced work will have all the elements arranged such that the work will have a sense of visual equilibrium or stability.

Balance can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial. Objects, values, colors, textures, shapes, etc. can be used in creating balance in a composition.

3. Contrast

Fig 2.3 - Principle of Design: Contrast

Contrast is the juxtaposition of opposing elements (opposite colours, value light / dark, direction horizontal / vertical).

The greater the contrast, the more something will stand out and call attention to itself.

4. Repetition

Fig 2.4 - Principle of Design: Repetition

Repetition of elements in regular or cyclic fashion creates interest. Repetition strengthens a design by tying together individual elements and bringing a sense of consistency.

It can create rhythm (regular, alternating, flowing, random, progressive) and patterns. Variation introduced to repetition increases the level of interest.

5. Movement

Fig 2.5 - Principle of Design: Movement

Movement is a visual flow through the composition. In some works, movement is implied by the use of static elements to suggest motion and direct a viewer’s eye along a path through the work.

In a still image, aspects such as lines, diagonals, unbalanced elements, placement, and orientation can play the role of active elements.

In others, movement can be real, giving some elements the ability to be moved or move on their own.

6. Harmony

Fig 2.6 - Principle of Design: Harmony

Harmony brings together a composition with similar, related elements (adjacent colors, similar shapes, etc.).

Harmonious elements have a logical relationship, connection, alignment, or progression. They work together and complement each other.

7. Unity

Fig 2.7 - Principle of Design: Unity

Unity is created by using harmonious similarity and repetition, continuance, proximity, and alignment. It is the visual linking of various elements of the work.

This allows the disparate elements and principles to create a unified whole that can be greater than the sum of its parts.

8. Gestalt Theory

The human brain is wired to see patterns, logic, structure.

“Gestalt” refers to “shape” or “form” in German.

Fig 2.8 - Gestalt Theory

Gestalt principles or laws are rules that describe how the human eye perceives visual elements.

These principles aim to show how complex scenes can be reduced to more simple shapes.

They also aim to explain how the eyes perceive the shapes as a single, united form rather than the separate simpler elements involved.

The Core Principles (Gestalt Laws)

Similarity - We group elements together if they look similar (e.g., same color or shape).

Proximity - Elements close to each other are perceived as a single group.

Continuity - The eye is compelled to move through one object and continue to another (following a line or curve).

Closure - The brain automatically fills in gaps to create a complete image (like seeing a circle even if a segment is missing).

Figure/Ground - We subconsciously separate an object (the figure) from its surrounding area (the ground).

Symmetry and Order - Elements that are symmetrical to each other tend to be perceived as a unified group.

Instructions

Module Information Booklet

Task 1: Exploration (20%)

We are tasked to:

1. Recap on what we need to do for Task 1 (what I'm doing here right now)

2. Describe the design principles given and select an image to go with the principle (No no using same image from lecture slides), remember to credit the image source.

Gestalt theory
Contrast
Emphasis
Balance
Repetition
Movement
Harmony & Unity
Symbol
Word and Image

3. Choose 1 design work that we like, upload the design (JPEG file, min. A4 size, 300dpi).

Beneath the design, include the credit line of the design (title of design, designer’s name; year, size, medium used to create the design and the source).

Write and explain in about 150-200 words, why we chose that design. Then list the design principles observed in that design

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Part A: Describe Design Principles

1. Gestalt theory

The human brain tends to automatically organizes visual data into a "unified whole" rather than seeing it as disconnected parts.

The Core Principles of Gestalt theory include:

Similarity - Element that look similar are tend to be grouped together.

Proximity - Elements that are close to each other tend to be grouped together.

Continuity - Our eyes likes to follow lines or curves, used to direct the viewer eyes.

Closure - Our brain can fill in the blanks to create and see a whole image.

Figure/Ground - Our brain subconsciously separate an object from its surrounding area.

Symmetry and Order - We like looking at symmetry and balanced things

Fig 3.1 - "Peter and the Wolf" - poster design by Phoebe Morris

Source: Link to image source

This poster design showcases an example of Gestalt theory: Figure/Ground. On the poster, there is a wolf. Looking closer, a second image of a boy that is framed by body and tail of the wolf appears.

This design creates a double image that showcases the main characters of the story (Peter and The Wolf).

2. Contrast

Using opposites (Example: light vs. dark or big vs. small) to create visual excitement and make things pop.

Fig 3.2 - "And the True Heroes Are Always Behind the Scenes" - Lycaon's Agent Story

Source: Link to image source

The blue background contrasts with the sharp red, gold and black clothes on the main character to make the main character stand out.

3, Emphasis

The strategy of making one part of the artwork the main focus point. It tells the viewers what is most important to look at first in the artwork.

Fig 3.3 - "Time Woven Into Gold" - Aglaea's Light Cone

Source: Link to image source

Direct Source: Direct link to image source

The lady in the center in emphasized by the objects framing the artwork, the character being in the center of the image, the gold thread leading to her, and the use of bright gold and white colours while the background and supporting elements are dull colours like brownish black.

These design choices grabs the viewers attention and makes them focus on her immediately.

4. Balance

Balance refers to how visual elements are arranged so that their visual weight is evenly spread throughout a design.

Balance can be symmetrical, asymmetrical, or radial.