[Music] have you ever wondered what makes a good design what's the difference between something that makes you go wow and one that makes you go yeah well to answer that question we'll take you through the seven principles that underpin design [Music] these principles are important because they not only form a framework of how great design is made but also how it's understood by you the audience so let's begin the first principle of design is emphasis emphasis is all about what sticks out what draws the audience in and holds their attention controlling emphasis also means controlling hierarchy as not every element in your design can take center stage think about what you want the audience to notice first and what order you want the information in the design to be consumed the next principle is balance and alignment balance and alignment are pretty much what they sound like they're how you space and place the different elements in your design so they develop a structure and feel organized and connected different elements have different weights a massive circle in a primary color is going to carry more weight than a small dot in a soft pastel the third principle of design is contrast contrast is the technique of juxtaposing the elements in your design to make them stand out contrast is also important for accessibility as contrast creates clarity within a design and clarity helps with communication and navigation now we move on to repetition repetition repetition rep you get the idea repetition often gets a bad rep but in design it's what creates your brand identity a single shape in isolation could be mistaken for a logo but that same shape in a set of three now you're looking at a theme and that which is repeated is remembered being consistent with your color palettes and brand voice across multiple designs is another form of repetition that a designer must consider the fifth principle of design is proportion proportion refers to the size and weight of the elements in your design compared to each other it's the natural next step after considering emphasis balance and contrast as a general rule similar elements should have similar proportions to create a cohesive look moving on our sixth principle of design is movement movement doesn't mean motion exactly but how our eyes travel across a design movement gives your design a narrative arc a logical start and end point colour can also subtly direct the eye likewise curved or flowing shapes finally the last principle of design that takes up all the space and time we have left is white space white space is the so-called empty bits of your design adjusting the white space helps fine-tune the balance and emphasis in your design many people's natural impulse is to fill every space with something but utilizing the negative accentuates all the other principles remember once you're done adding ask yourself what can i take away these principles are the foundation of what makes good design but they're definitely not rules that need to be followed absolutely once you understand how the principles work and the effects they create they can be bent or broken to great effect [Music] [Music] you