Basic Principles of Graphic Layout

In the visual age of the Internet it’s relatively easy to create your own graphic designs, but they don’t have to look homemade.Whether you’re designing a logo, an event announcement, a social network banner, a letterhead, or an email newsletter; you absolutely need to know five basic principles of graphic design.

Proximity  

Proximity means grouping elements together so that you guide the viewer/reader to different parts of the message. Notice below in the template on the left, taken from Apple’s Pages, related elements are grouped together, as opposed to the linear arrangement of amateur designs as shown on the right.

Alignment

Another important design principle is aligning elements in a visual and readable arrangement. Most amateur designers start off by aligning everything in the center of the page, but that’s not the only way. Again with the “scattered” looking design, we can see the alignment of elements that helps keep the design balanced. The top group of text is left-aligned, and three larger text elements are vertically aligned.

Repetition

Like the use of repetitious hooks in a song, repeating elements in a graphic design can be visually appealing. Repetition puts emphasis on particular elements of a design, and it draws the reader’s attention to those elements.

Contrast

Contrast between design elements can make a presentation stand out and get noticed. Take for example this original template from the personal graphic design site, Canva.com. The elements of the design are grouped together, with strong alignment and repetition of  of the arrows and bullet points. But for some purposes, the original design could be a little flat.

White Space

Depending on the presentation, the use of white space can be very powerful in design. It’s useful when you want to make a direct message, to stand out above the clutter found in many graphic designs. In this Canva business card template, the empty space helps bring clarity to the message.

Difference Between Piktochart, Photoscape and Photo Bucket

Piktochart - is a web-based infographic application which allows users without intensive experience as graphic designers to easily create professional-grade infographics using themed templates

Photoscape -  is a graphics editing program, developed by MOOII Tech, Korea. The basic concept of PhotoScape is 'easy and fun', allowing users to easily edit photographs taken from their digital cameras or even mobile phones.

Photobucket - is an American image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community dedicated to preserving and sharing the entire photo and video lifecycle