Effective design depends on the six basic principles of design. These six principles are balance, proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, and white space. The application of these principles determines how attractive your design will be but may vary from one document to another. For instance, brochure printing has to take into account the fold, while posters only have a single page layout.

Balance is achieved through symmetrical, radial, or crystallographic arrangement of the design elements so that no one section is heavier than the other. Sometimes elements may be intentionally off balance to create a certain mood. The various types of balance are:

• Symmetrical Balance - a central axis dividing the composition in the middle, horizontally or vertically, with the same design on both sides, a mirror reflection.
• Radial Balance - a central focal point in a generally square compositional format. Ex.: targets, and traffic signs (yield, stop).
• Crystallographic Balance - all over balance, within a grid-like composition, certain variation is introduced to direct the eye throughout the design, with many focal points. Ex.: quilt design or a game of checkers in the middle of the game.

Proximity or closeness is used in design to create a bond between people and the design elements on a brochure printing or other material’s page. Proximity of the design elements suggests a relationship or lack thereof between seemingly unrelated parts.

Alignment is the placement of text and graphics so they line up on the page. It is one of the most important principles in creating attractive, easy to read pages for materials such as brochure printing. Use alignment to: create order, organize page elements, group items, create visual connections. There are several types of alignment: horizontal, vertical, edge, center, and visual. Lack of alignment creates a sloppy, unorganized look. Ironically, mixing too many types of alignments can have the same effect. For simple arrangements, use the alignment options of your software. For more complicated layouts, use guidelines and grids to aid in the precise placement of elements.

Repetition of design elements and consistent repetition of type and graphics styles within a document provides readers with a map to help them navigate through your designs and layouts. A grid, used consistently on all pages of a multi-page document, makes it simple to provide a consistent look that readers learn to expect. Applying repetition with the help of a grid speeds layout by helping to eliminate the guesswork of where to place elements from one page to the next.

Contrast occurs when two elements are different. The greater the difference, the greater the contrast. When working with contrast, make sure the difference is obvious. Four common methods of creating contrast are by using differences in size, value, color, and type. Contrast helps direct the reader’s eye by emphasizing what is important and adds interest to the page.

White space is the absence of text and graphics used to break up the elements of your brochure printing or other design. It is another way to add contrast and also helps keep your page from becoming cramped and confusing. Ways to add white space: increase paragraph spacing, increase space between columns of text, put space at the end of lines of text, put more space around the outer edges of the page, leave more room around graphics, increase space around headlines, increase space between lines of type and individual characters.

The next time you design your poster or brochure printing layout, try following these principles of design. You just might see an incredible change in results!