Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  The Principles of Design (13 Jun 2005) There are many basic concepts that underly the field of design. They are often categorized differently depending on philosophy or teaching methodology. The first thing we need to do is organize them, so that we have a framework for this discussion. We can group all of the basic tenets of design into two categories: principles and elements. For this article, the principles of design are the overarching truths of the profession. They represent the basic assumptions of the world that guide the design practice, and affect the arrangement of objects within a composition. By comparison, the elements of design are the components of design themselves, the objects to be arranged. Let’s begin by focusing on the principles of design, the axioms of our profession. Specifically, we will be looking at the following principles: Balance Rhythm Proportion Dominance Unity. Article URL: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/ Read 310 more articles from Digital Web sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Turning knowledge into power  Universal Principles of Design: 100 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach Through Design by Jill Butler, Kritina Holden, Will Lidwell  Buy from Amazon .com | .uk | .ca | .fr | .de |     This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy