As part of the design process you shouldn’t forget accessibility when you judge how best to approach visual design regarding color, contrast, etc. So, those carefully chosen plain words should appear in well-placed sections which users can easily digest. Likewise, visual design should be a factor in how you apply copywriting. For instance, users will appreciate effective chunking and whitespace regardless of what you want to show them. However, some principles of visual design are universal. Brand style guides typically define standards about color use, typography, etc. A visual designer wants to meet users’ expectations so they win and keep their trust, and impress them with a unique brand presence. You do this to give users the context they need. Three examples of the effects of following (or not following) best practice visual design principles.Ĭareful Visual Design + Good Usability = Successful DesignĪs a visual designer, you should strive to create content that is consistent and predictably organized, but at the same time impressively distinct. Scale – use this to emphasize elements to establish importance or depth.ĭominance – use an object’s size, color, etc. to show importance.īalance – use this to distribute elements evenly.Ĭontrast – use differences in color, etc. Gestalt– use these principles of how people perceive objects to guide how users interpret your design. Unity – use this to establish harmony between page elements, so they appear to belong together and users aren’t distracted by chaotic (e.g., misaligned) layouts. Texture – use this to define an object’s surface. Value – use this to set the relationship between lightness and darkness, typically through a light source to create shadows and highlights.Ĭolor – use this to set the theme/tone and attract attention.

Volume – use this to show the rich fullness of all three dimensions of elements on two-dimensional screens. Negative space/whitespace – use the blank area around a “positive” shape to create a figure/ground effect or calm the design overall. Shapes – use lines, different colors, etc.

Lines (straight/curved/geometric/organic) – use these to create divisions, textures and shapes. These are some of the most common-and fundamental- elements and principles of visual design: For example, you use chunking to help users understand and remember information more easily. A major factor in visual design is that you work to accommodate user limitations such as cognitive load. How you apply visual design will depend on your product, its organization/industry and its users (including their culture). Therefore, a visual design should draw their attention to the important aspects and strike the balance between a fresh, powerful design and something they expect to see. If your users have to stop and think about your design, they won’t trust it-or you. So, you must always show them the right things in the right way. The smallest and subtlest details will affect what users think and how they feel. For instance, designers compose and arrange website content around each page’s purpose and are careful to ensure that content gives off the right visual cues. Actually, you use visual design to create and organize elements to A) lead the user’s eye to an item’s functionality, and B) make the aesthetics consistent. Many people mistake it to mean that designers include attractive elements just to maximize an item’s appeal. So, visual design is a vital part of your work as a designer. If they don’t like what you show them in those critical moments, they will leave. This fact reflects the visceral level of emotional design-in other words, the user’s first impression of or gut reaction to a design. Users’ first impressions typically form in 50 milliseconds. Jesse James Garrett, UX Designer & Co-founder of Adaptive Path Visual Design is Aesthetic, Strategic Design “Problems with visual design can turn users off so quickly that they never discover all the smart choices you made with navigation or interaction design.” See why Visual Design is about more than product prettiness.

Elements of design