Theory of Design

01
Introduction

Concept of Design
Design and Art
Basic Principles of Perception
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Concept of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Types of Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Perception of space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Profession of Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Pros and Cons of the Profession . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Personal and Professional Features of Designer . . 15
Designer and his Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Design and Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Category of Beauty in Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Usability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Principles of good design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Basic Principles of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Color perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Shape perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
38
Perception of motion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Perceptual Constancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Illusion of perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Stereotypes of Perception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Self-Evaluation Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Attention!
In this electronic lesson the best features of Ado- IN THIS LESSON THE INTERACTIVE
be PDF format are used, which allowed to create pictures are used
Every time you see an illustration with a switch
interactive removable illustrations and put audio to the right of it, you can use this switch to view
and video files into the lesson pages. different images or different variants of them.
Many third-party applications, which are used
to view the files of PDF format, including viewers,
which were built into the operating systems, as
well as viewers on mobile devices, may not be able
to display this content.
If you have any problems with viewing the
lesson, and if some of its elements do not work or
displayed properly, you can download and install
the latest version of Adobe Reader here and use it
to view the electronic lessons.
Introduction
«I want to be a designer!» it’s most likely that this
idea has led you to the threshold of STEP Com-
puter Academy.
If this is true, ask yourself, «Why?» or «For
what?» As a rule, the answers come to three short,
but accurate options:
1. It’s interesting
2. It’s fashionable
3. It’s profitable
All options are likely correct than incorrect.
Even though it takes some time to make it profit-
able and also it may not happen, and the fashion
in the area of professions varies slightly less than
in clothing, there is no doubt that the work of a
designer is interesting.
So far, there are a lot of different areas of de-
sign, which you have to learn yet. Any one of di-
rections is fascinating in their own way and each
of them requires specific knowledge.
After study you are likely to choose one work-
ing direction or several adjacent directions of your
professional activity. Also you will deepen your
knowledge and improve skills in a narrow field of
chosen profession. However, nothing will prevent
you from being a universal specialist (except for
your own laziness and extinct enthusiasm).
Regardless of whether you dream to become
an interior designer, want to design graphics for
computer games or to be engaged in web design,
and no matter what will be your job and where
will you work at the end of your study, you are
still going to do the design in some of its mani-
festations.

Introduction
Introduction
Theory of Design
 A course «Theory of Design» that you are go-
ing to learn now is dedicated to basic design prin-
ciples and laws, which will be applicable in any
area and any design-related profession. It is de-
sirable to learn and start application of these laws
and principles as early as possible. That’s why this
course is at the very beginning of study, as soon
as you have received minimum necessary skills of
work in graphic editors, and already know how to
create a design, but you may not yet fully realize
what is worthy to create and why.
In the first lesson of the «Design Theory»
course we will try to have a good look at such
questions as what «a design» is and where it came
from; definitely touch on the topic of different
design areas; briefly describe specific features of
working in each of them and start a discussion of
what is «right» and «wrong» in design, prelimi-
nary taking a look at the laws and characteristics
of visual perception.

Introduction
Introduction
Theory of Design
 The beautiful is as useful as the use-
ful. Perhaps, even more useful.
Victor Hugo

Concept of Design
Today the word «design» is insanely popular and is In 1964 this definition was announced at the
used in many different phrases, which are applied international seminar on design education in Bru-
to a variety of objects of real and virtual worlds. ges and it is often found in various literary sources.
Interior design, book design, logo design, hairstyle
and nail design, etc. There is even such a concept There are shorter definitions:
as a human design*. Despite the difference in appli- Design is an engineering of an aesthetically
cations, design has only one essence. By tradition, organized form of practically useful objects.
we give a boring formal definition:
Or even simpler:
Design is a creative activity, the aim of which Design is a creation of something beautiful
is to determine the formal features of the indus- and useful at the same time.
trial products. Also these features include the
external product features, but mainly structur-
al and functional relationships, which convert
product into a single unit, both from the con-
sumer’s and manufacturer’s points of view.
* Who does not believe — check here: http://design-cheloveka.com/. Although they
are certainly some scammers. :)

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
 And vice versa:
Design is a creation of useful that is beauti-
ful at the same time.
In order to completely depart away from
boring book terms let’s make a quotation of Paul
Rand, who was a famous graphic designer:
«Design is an introduction of values and
meanings, enlightenment, simplification, clar-
ification, conversion, refinement, exaggeration,
convincement and, perhaps, even fun».
It is difficult not to agree, especially with the
last statement.
However, the «fun» comes only within certain
limits, as the design is never developed without a
reason. Its essence is not a process, but a well-de-
fined result. In other words, a developer should
clearly understand what and for whom is he/she
doing that. That is why let us remember two more
concepts without which design is not the design:
OBJECTS and SUBJECTS of the design.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Design object is what is projected.
Design subject is the one for whom it is pro-
jected.
Anything can be a design object (an iron, a
car, a book, an advertising leaflet), including any
graphic element of the virtual world (a button,
an icon, a banner), as well as the text informa-
tion. There were such cases when the design object
could be a building, a neighborhood or even a
city. So an object can be arbitrarily large or small;
it may be undivided and may consist of wealth of
details, whereas each of them is a design object.
Subject of design is almost always a man.
Everything that is produced and manufactured
directly or indirectly serves a human only, even if
Paul Rand — is one of the most famous graphic designers of the XX
century.
Initially he became famous in the 30s, when he began to create covers
for then-popular magazines. At first, he worked for free.
Since the 1950s he started to cooperate with large companies. He is
the author of logos for such companies as ABC, IBM, UPS and other
well-known brands.
In 1986, Steve Jobs addressed Rand with a request of creation of a
logo for his company named NeXT. Steve came up with an offer to
develop several options and show him. The designer’s reaction was
the following «No. I solve your problem and you pay me for it. If you
need options, than you should refer to another person».
Steve Jobs paid Random 100 000 dollars for the NEXT Logo creation, and it should be mentioned that it
was not too complicated apparently and «did not impress» many people. However, Jobs was absolutely
pleased with the result and called Rand as «the greatest living designer».
Rand wrote several books on design relevant to the present day.
it comes, for example, on the animal feed. Faunal
forms are full design subjects in very rare cases,
although it happens, for example, in Europe now
they are being built special bridges and tunnels for
migrating or just restless animals, on which they
can safely cross the highway. But ... even in this
case we can see a self-regard of the one, because
little animals can cause accidents running out
onto the road.
While developing the design of objects, filling
them with beauty and meaning, one does a great
favor oneself. If you try to answer the question
whether it is possible to do without a design today,
you will certainly come to the conclusion that a
one never did without it. From the dawn of time
he/she strived to organize an environment around
him/her in such a way that it would be convenient
and pleasing the eye, surrounded oneself with
objects, which were useful in everyday life, and
tried to give them an aesthetic form. Today al-
ready broad concept of design is filled with new
areas and directions, globalized and popularized.
Harmony and rationalism, which are typical for
wildlife, are being introduced in all spheres of life
of a modern man.
And that is great.

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Types of Design
Multifacetedness of the design concept creates precise areas (a design of fashion, furniture, sites,
a complex structure of different and sometimes and so on). You have to complement each direc-
very closely interrelated areas. In this lesson we tion with these areas independently, and to discuss
will not discuss such fashionable areas as a design this with your teacher.
of processes and a sound design (and a number of
directions, which you have possibly never heard).
We will focus our attention on the areas, which
are related to visual design. Let‘s present them in
the form of a scheme (see illustration on the next
page).
As you can see, some of the design areas are
closely interconnected and we can hardly separate
them. For example, both an advertising design and
a virtual environment design involve the use of
graphics, anyway. In a sense, all the design areas
have relevance to each other, but in order to get
better oriented, we will keep this scheme in mind.
Any of the stated directions includes a number of

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
 LANDSCAPE DESIGN

EXTERIOR BUILDING
DESIGN

WEB DESIGN
INTERIOR DESIGN

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN INTERFACE DESIGN

PHYTODESIGN

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN DESIGN OF MOBILE APPLICATIONS

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT
DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
DESIGN OF COMPUTER GAME INTERFACE
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

ILLUSTRATION CREATION DEVELOPMENT OF CHARACTERS

GRAPHIC DESIGN
INFORMATION (COMMUNICATION) DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF LOCATIONS

INFOGRAPHICS MOTION DESIGN

TYPO-GRAPHICS DESIGN OF FONTS

IDENTITY

OUTDOOR ADVERTISING DESIGN

DESIGN OF POLYGRAPHIC PRODUCTION

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design

Profession of Designer
For the very beginning it is important to realize
that a diploma of an art school and Photoshop
knowledge is not a reason to identify oneself as a
designer. Designer is a «one-person band». De-
pending on the working area he/she needs not
only the artistic skills and an ability to distinguish
a harmony from a chaos, but also a hefty baggage
of knowledge from different areas, which are re-
mote from the art.
A lack of such knowledge can lead to very un-
pleasant consequences. And if the effects are only
limited to the loss of profit in web design (that is
also very serious), the lack of knowledge can lead
to much more serious problems in the interior
design engineering. You may have heard a story
about how strongly did a young girl, who was a
designer, recommend to cut a huge hole through
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
«Kitty, I have wanted to ask you as
the artist of the artist: you know
how to draw?»
Ostap Bender
Movie «The Twelve Chairs»
the loadbearing wall of the building, in order to
place an aquarium in it?
Although a designer is usually a part of a
whole group of builders that includes specialists
from different areas, knowledge of the develop-
ment subject will keep out of the further errors at
the draft stage.
It should be understood that design is a com-
plex concept. It can be called qualitative only if
there is a convenience and an ease of use in ad-
dition to a beautiful picture. Absence of even one
of these components is unacceptable. If you drew
an unusually beautiful sketch of the main page,
where it was quite difficult to find the navigation
controls because of the abundance of flourishes,
you could certainly frame your picture and hung
it on the wall; your masterpiece was hardly useful
for the network. Therefore, an external beauty is
not a sign of a good design yet, but a good design to provide you with important drawing skills, at
never gets along without beauty. least to the extent that is required for a designer,
Very often, those who are taking the first steps not for an artist.
in design have the following question: whether a But you should not forget that an ability to
designer is to be able to draw? And, of course, this draw does not make you a designer and you have
question is important for those, who do not know a lot to learn before identifying yourself in such a
how to draw. And if in the field of graphic design way.
an answer for this question should clearly be «yes,
he/she is to be able to draw», for a web designer, for
example, this skill is more likely to be a bonus. An-
yway, the ability to hold a pencil in your hand will
not harm. In many cases, it will be necessary to
be able to convey a true perspective and distribute
the effects of light and shade in a proper manner.
No one will require you to be a proficient in
academic drawing, but you might be asked to out-
line a site sketch or an icon for it on paper, and a
crooked drawing may adversely affect a respect to
you as a professional.
Sketching is an important step in the design
engineering, and it finishes much faster, if you can
draw by hand. For this reason employers state an
ability of a designer to draw by hand among other
requirements for candidates to a designer position,
and for this exact reason at STEP Computer Acad-
emy you study the course of Drawing that aims

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Pros and Cons of
the Profession
At the moment you are at the beginning of an ex-
citing way, and you have time to think how good
it is for you in order to avoid a situation when one
morning you came on the uncomfortable idea that
things are all wrong. So let’s talk about pros and
cons of the designer’s occupation in advance.
Let’s start with the pros:
• Creative self-expression. Of course, it is quite
limited by various requirements and trends,
but it is still necessary.
• Huge variety of directions and specializa-
tions; plus you have an opportunity to realize
your potential in several or in all design areas
in case of high efficiency and unquenchable
enthusiasm.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
• Interesting job. Participation in various pro-
jects, which may relate to completely different
areas and tasks, will not certainly let you get
bored and suffer from the monotony of work.
• Ability to work remotely aremotely at flexible
hours. You can work at home, at night, having
your pajamas on, without need to leave your
bed.
Let’s look at the cons:
• Possible crisis of the creative expression. As
a result you do not want to and cannot do
something. You need a source of inspiration,
without which you may simply left without
an order.
 • A designer is often required to be able to do
everything at once. And if you are not able to
do that, then sorry.
• Continuous learning and increase of knowl-
edge. Computer graphics and design are con-
stantly evolving, and it is necessary to moni-
tor both the new trends in style and the new
features of the computer programs and tech-
nologies. Different non-conventional and in-
teresting projects often require to «delve» into
a core of problem and to acquire knowledge,
without which you will not solve the problem
efficiently.
• Irregular working hours. It operates in both
directions. Sometimes you will freely dispose
your time and work in comfortable hours;
but in other cases you will have to work day
and night, seven days a week in order to meet
deadlines of the project.

We can certainly think of an additional couple

of pros and cons, but, most likely, you have cap-
tured the essence.

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design

Personal and Professional
Features of Designer
A qualitative design may be created by high-qual-
ity designers only. Therefore, you should periodi-
cally check yourself for all of the following charac-
teristics, and if someone of the positive qualities is
missing, you should start working on it diligently.
Thus, let’s name the following personal fea-
tures:
1. Assiduity. . Let’s start by saying that the com-
puter graphics, without which the designer
cannot do, requires a lot of patience and hard
work at the stage of its investigation. You al-
ready know this firsthand.
2. Diligence. It is necessary to be comfortable
with endless reworks and «modifications» of
one and the same layout, and requests «to play
fonts» and «to apply creativity». And do not
be surprised by and certainly indignant at
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
— Will you join my staff?
— What is the job?
— A creator.
— Does it mean a maker?
— We do not need any makers. We
need a creator, Vava, a creator.
B. Pelevin «The P Generation»
the fact that in a result the very first «hasty»
version will be adopted.
3. Pedantry. A good design differs with carefully
worked-out details.
4. Communication skills. . Very often, you have
to prove or explain something to someone,
so it is just necessary to know how to find
right arguments and present them properly.
This may also include the ability to listen and
hear a customer, because for a designer it is
important to understand the real needs of the
customer, be able to separate them from the
verbal «garbage», go into the problem and find
its optimal solution.
 5. The ability to be comfortable with the crit- 3. An impressive background not only in your
icism and adequate in general. An artist is specialization, but also in related areas of de-
allowed to behave bizarrely, but a designer, sign, an interest in the design and art histo-
especially a beginner, cannot afford oneself ry. And it also would not hurt to understand
that luxury. marketing, economics and psychology.
6. Responsibility. Well, it’s just in case, so that 4. A strong interest in profession, causing a
it won’t be forgotten. strong desire to ride a ground-swell, track
trends and explore new technologies.
Let us turn to professional qualities:
It is important to have all the above mentioned
1. Creativity. There is such a ridiculously fash- features, as the profession specificity does not al-
ionable word combination as «a creative idea» low you to work «half-heartedly». In the world of
and a feature that is derived from it and is design everything changes very quickly and that
called «creativity». It means an ability to in- is why we must be flexible and capable to change
vent something new that can cause a surprise together with it timely.
or even a sense of delight.
2. Impeccable command of instrument. This
refers not only to the excellent knowledge of
the computer graphics programs that allows
us to achieve the results in the fastest and the
most optimal way; it is equally important to
know how to use the tools and technologies,
and for this you need to understand the design
principles and modern trends, and to develop
a subtle sense of style and aesthetics.

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Designer and his Clients
Having looked at the matter what a design is and
who a designer is, it is possible to talk about such
an important point, as the relationship between
the customer and the designer, because the result
will be mutually beneficial only if the relationship
between these two will be mutually friendly.
The customer should completely trust in the
designer as a professional, and the designer should
be deferential to the extravagant requests and
crazy ideas, which the customer has already, and
which would be implemented by him/her «if only
he/she knew Photoshop».
Difficulties in this kind of relationships usual-
ly arise for one simple reason. Although there is a
standard set of laws and conditions, which govern
the working efficiency, a design product is always
taken very subjectively.
Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Unfortunately, the most of customers believe
that a designer is only a «tool» by means of which
he can implement his own artistic ideas. Such cli-
ents little know that you might have studied this
specialty for a long time and understand some-
thing in your work. That is, the client, being a
highly cultured person with a sharp-developed
sense of beauty, might express its dissatisfaction
with what he/she saw in the result, even if the re-
sult was rational from all sides and tolerable from
the design point of view.
For example, he/she may not like that you
have forgotten to introduce «that merry spinning
thing like those have» into a design of website for
his company. And he/she does not care that «a
spinning thing» will be non-operational for a half
of users, and some will simply be annoying with
it, because they did not come to the site to look as
something was spinning somewhere, but for the
very specific information.
For a designer it is important to be able to
combine the right proportions of the customer’s
desires and your professional opinion, based on
the requirements and trends of modern design.
In order to do this you have to find out the client’s
goals and deeply think about the aims of the object
that is being designed.
Usually a customer strives to make money
(less frequently — to make the world better). And
he/she expects that by means of your design he/she
will quickly earn them (or the world will be bet-
ter). The purpose of the development object is to
serve faithfully and loyally to those, who will use
it. Therefore, we must try to convey to the client an
idea that the achievement of his goal is contingent
upon careful attention to the desires of others, not
just his will. Accordingly, a designer oneself has
no right to immerse into an unusually attractive
world of his own imaginations, forgetting all about
everything.

Concept of Design
Introduction
Theory of Design
Design and Art
Whereas art is an extremely wide concept, let’s tion. They can also create their own works of art
decide what exactly we mean by this word in the at off-work time, and in this case they should be
context of our lesson before we start. called artists.
So, we do not consider art as a high degree of All attempts to consolidate these two concepts
skill in any profession. We’ll talk about art as a together break on a number of laws and regula-
process or a result of the inner world expression tions, which were adopted in design. Therefore,
in an artistic image. Now let’s start. the following statement is considered to be correct:
Is the design a field of art? I’d like to answer in everything that constitutes a pure art is not a
the affirmation. The line between art and design design already; everything that constitutes a
is really quite delicate, but, nevertheless, it is very design is not a pure art.
clear and continuous.
A famous designer, artist and architect
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris Le Corbusier
called the art as «an unselfish passion elevating
the soul». Design is also capable to elevate, but if
it is unselfish?
Sometimes designers are inspired by the
works of art before undertaking the order execu-

Design and Art

Introduction
Theory of Design
 Art Design

A way of learning and reflection of the world A way of adaptation to the world around us
around us

The purpose is a self-expression of the artist and Aims to create a utilitarian product
emotions of the contemplator

Inspires Motivates

Transcendent, irrational, not based on experience It is always limited and rational, based on the pre-
vious experience

Portrays the world «as it is» in its imperfection Arranges and organizes chaos
and chaos

Either impressive or not Either works or does not work

Art is self-sufficient It is always a component of a structure

Design and Art

Introduction
Theory of Design
Category of Beauty in Design
We have already mentioned that design can-
not do without beauty.
However, what is the beauty?
We easily attribute this quality to things, the
appearance of which we like, but we are hardly
able to explain why. Are there any global criteria
of beauty, which depend neither on cultural pecu-
liarities, nor on the subjective perception?
Let’s try to reverse. As we know, a direct op-
posite of beauty is a deformation. By decomposi-
tion of the word «deformation» into the structur-
al elements we can conclude that we are talking
about the absence of formation that means the lack
of image. In turn the lack of image indicates the
presence of chaos that, of course, has no form, no
structure, is erratic and has a destructive nature.
So, something creative having a form and an or-
dered structure may be called beautiful.
Design and Art
Introduction
Theory of Design
Art often discloses a monstrosity. In contrast,
design never sets itself such goals, ugly design is
nonsense. Its essence is not in sermon and moral-
izing, it is intended to bring an or-
der into the world around us. There-
fore it is so important for a designer
to learn how to distinguish the true
beauty, relying on the basic laws of
beauty:
• Proportionality.
• Integrity.
• Purity of shape and color.
An example of how art discloses a monstrosity may be a famous
triptych «The Garden of Earthly Delights» of Hieronymus Bosch
(a piece is shown).
 A thing already becomes wonderful only in
the presence of these features. An object that is
considered ideal from the external perception
point of view catches the eye, causing a feeling of
peace and tranquility. But, according to the design
definition, an external beauty is not enough, also
a thing has to be useful, and therefore, functional
and easy to use. That is why now we get out of the
transcendental art and start talking about quite
rational things.
It should not go unmentioned a term «usabili-
ty» that is widely used in modern design. Let’s talk
about it in detail.

Design and Art

Introduction
Theory of Design

Usability
Great capacious concept of «usability» means
neither more nor less than a utility or an ease of
use. As a matter of form let’s give a precise defi-
nition:
Usability is a characteristic of a degree of
subject handiness for its use in a specific context
and an achievement of certain goals with due
efficiency, productivity and satisfaction.
In simple words, this term is intended to char-
acterize how logical and understandable is the
object structure organized; whether it allows to
use this subject with a certain degree of comfort
and does not contradict the main purpose of the
object.
Design and Art
Introduction
Theory of Design
«Objects should not touch, because
they are not alive. You use them,
put them back in place, live among
them: they are useful, nothing
more».
Jean-Paul Sartre
Often the concept of usability is taken as a
synonym for the word «ergonomics». But the dif-
ference is still there: ergonomics defines only a
minimum of the specific physical efforts in use,
but usability indicates the resulting total level of
comfort, including not only physical, but also in-
tellectual aspect.
For example, let’s take such vital subject as a
door. In terms of ergonomics it will be enough to
concern about whether a door is not too hard, a
handle is at the required level, and a lock opens
easily; but in terms of usability a door must not
drive a consumer to a deadlock with an unneces-
sarily extravagant arrangement of elements, and
generally as far correspond to usual belief about
the door as it will allow him/her not to confuse it
with a window.
 But that’s not all! A qualitative design is a A good package affordance of whatsoever is
plain design. This «plainness» is called as «an af- a stippled line with scissors. One is immediately
fordance» in the design environment. borne in how the packaging should be opened.
Once again, a definition: Let’s give another example from the virtual
world. We will not immediately guess the function
Affordance means whether an object has of a plane figure image seeing it on a screen. And
the properties, which indicate the actions can the presence of visual volume of the figure that is
be done with it. expressed by terms of a bevel and a shadow will
give us a clue that this is a button you can click.
Or: It is appropriate to mention such an interest-
ing design technique as «skeuomorph», as it can
Affordance is the presence of visual clues to be considered a particular case of affordance in
the object function. case of application to the design of the virtual
environment.
In simple words, a thing is to invite a per-
son to action with its appearance. As an example
let’s consider such simple object as a cup. If it is
equipped with a special handle, we will certainly
use it, because there’s no need to grab a hot sur-
face. The same situation is observed with a kettle,
a coffee pot, a milk can and other service objects.
That is, quite a long time ago someone came up
with a wonderful affordance that did not come
into disuse up to now.

Teapot and cups are a good example of affordance.

Design and Art
Introduction
Theory of Design
 Skeuomorph is a design element that was was provided by Microsoft. Formal
copied from another object form, but made by and remote from reality design of
means of other materials or methods. Microsoft interfaces was actively
opposed with realism of the design
Lightning devices in the form of candles, a of iOS applications.
glass packaging for honey recalling a barrel, a wax
seal imitation are all the examples of skeuomorph
in the real world. A floor cloth or floor tile with a
pattern imitating the parquet is also its example.
But we can stumble upon this technique more
often in the virtual world. Skeuomorph on the
screen of your monitor is an attempt to get near to
the reality at least externally. It includes the above-
mentioned simulation of a button, all kinds of tex-
tures, icons and animated elements. Probably you
have already remembered «flipping» pages of the
electronic book, which resemble a real prototype.
Apple was accompanied with skeuomorph for a
long time. It became very fashionable with the
advent of Web 2.0. designing technique. Round-
ness and convexity of elements, imitation of glossy
surfaces and different textures became preferred A mobile device interface with numerous examples of
skeuomorph in design
in the area of the interface design.
However, the Web 2.0 style was becoming
outdated and a skeuomorph was replaced with a
flat design. Its relevance in modern virtual world

Design and Art

Introduction
Theory of Design
 Today skeuomorph is not in vogue and some
terribly smart professionals in the area of inter-
faces have taken up the right to consider it a bad
taste. However, we are designers and we will not
flatly refuse this ancient technique, as in case of
proper application it may be useful and beautiful.

An example of a flat design of interfaces

Design and Art

Introduction
Theory of Design
Principles of good design
Nevertheless: how to distinguish a qualitative de-
sign? What features should be inherent in it? Fi-
nally, how will a designer be able to understand
that he/she has achieved a goal? Because a subjec-
tive opinion in the form of «like — do not like» is
still not enough.
The principles of good design, which were for-
mulated in the middle of the XX century by Dieter
Rams, who was a German industrial designer,
would come to the aid. Here they are:
1. A good design is thought out to the last de-
tail. There are no accidents in it. Care and
accuracy in the design process show respect
towards the consumer.
2. A good design is unobtrusive. The designed
product is a certain tool. It is neither decora-
tive object nor work of art. Design should be
Principles of good design
Introduction
Theory of Design
both neutral and restrained, in order to leave
a room for the user’s self-expression.
3. A good design is environmentally friendly.
Design makes an important contribution to
the preservation of the environment. It con-
serves resources and minimizes physical and
visual pollution during operation.
4. A good design is aesthetic. An aesthetic qual-
ity of a product is integral to its usefulness,
because products are used every day and have
an effect on people and their well-being. The
beauty is only in well-executed objects.
5. A good design has as little design as possible.
Less, but better — because it concentrates on
the essential aspects, and the product is not
burdened with non-essential elements. Just
purity and simplicity.

6. A good design makes a product understand-
able. It clarifies the product’s structure. Better
still, it can make the product clearly express its
function by making use of the user’s intuition.
It does not require explanations.
7. A good design is long-lasting. It avoids being
fashionable and therefore never appears anti-
quated. Unlike a fashionable design, it is on
top of its relevancy for many years.
8. A good design is innovative. The possibilities
for progression are still infinite. Technological
development is always offering new opportu-
nities for creation of the original design. But
imaginative design always develops in parallel
with the improving technology.
9. A good design makes a product useful. A
product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy
not only functional, but also psychological and
aesthetic criteria. A good design emphasizes
the usefulness of a product without drawing
attention away from it.
Principles of good design
Introduction
Theory of Design
What do you need to read?
It is a very good question. Thus, the materials on this topic are more than enough. First of all, you
should pay attention to the interesting online resources, where you can find exciting feature stories::
1. http://infogra.ru/ — online magazine about infographics, containing a set of fascinating articles
about all that is related to the graphical method of information submission and design in general.
2. http://www.artlebedev.ru/kovodstvo/sections/ — «Mandership». Artemiy Lebedev, who is the au-
thor of articles, is a very controversial personality that causes unpleasant feelings in many people.
Nevertheless it is worthy of reading, because there are many intelligent things there.
3. http://www.coposic.ru/ — this site is dedicated to the basic principles of composition. There is a
lot of information and it is well structured.
4. http://mironovacolor.org/ — the site contains a brief course of the theory of color that was created
by Mironova Lenina Nikolaevna, who is a professor of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts. You can
read and see a lot of useful information there.
Here are a list of sites, where you can see good examples from different areas of design, as well as
read interesting articles:
1. Design of Printed Products http://www.pressmaket.ru/
2. Industrial Design http://www.industrialdesignserved.com/
3. Infographics http://flowingdata.com/
4. User Interface Design http://patterntap.com/
5. Advertising Design http://adsoftheworld.com/
6. Web Design http://www.siteinspire.com/websites
7. Packaging Design http://www.packagingoftheworld.com/ http://www.packet.by/
8. Book Design http://bookcoverarchive.com/
And, of course, the designer’s reference books:
1. Иоханнес Иттен. «Искусство формы» и «Искусство цвета»
2. L.N. Mironova. «Tsvetovedenie» [Chromatics].
3. O.L. Golubyeva. «Fundamentals of the composition».
These books contain a data base that is necessary for every fledgling designer, striving for the acme
of skill in his field.
 10. A good design is honest. It does not make
a product appear more innovative, useful or
valuable than it really is. It does not attempt
to manipulate the consumer with promises,
which cannot be kept.

These principles work in any design area,

whether it is industry, environment or interfaces
design. They are not a general dogma and there
are those who disagree with them. But let’s con-
fide in a recognized professional and try to follow
the recommended principles at least until you
will have enough experience to develop your own,
more modern and advanced principles and rules.

Principles of good design

Introduction
Theory of Design
Basic Principles of Perception
Well, by now we have managed to find out that
a designer never do something «just for oneself»,
and for this reason he/she has to consider a lot of
factors. Undoubtedly the most important of them
is a human perception.
Perception is a mental process that ensures a
formation of a personal subjective worldview. In
order to reflect a worldview in mind, one should
perceive a physical energy of the outside world
(sound waves, light, etc.), and then convert it into
signals going through the nerves to the brain. This
whole process is called a SENSATION. Sensations
come to one through the organs of vision, hearing,
touch, smell and taste.
Then the process of PERCEPTION begins.
That is, the brain receives data, which then can be
selected, organized and interpreted. The result is
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
the formation of certain knowledge, evolving into
a subjective worldview later.
Through perception we hear not just a certain
confusion of sounds, but we are able to distinguish
the songs of birds or the roar of the vehicle motor
among them. We easily interpret what we have
seen, relating it to our previous experience. In sim-
ple words, meaningless sensations are transformed
into meaningful information by means of going
through the process of perception.
At any given moment a person focuses his/her
mind on a limited number of objects and phenom-
ena. For example, you are not likely to perceive
sounds coming from the next room, when read-
ing this lesson. And what is more, you stopped to
notice your nose sticking up in front of your eyes
long time ago. This suggests that our attention is
elective and can be focused only on a relatively
small number of objects and phenomena at the
same time.
However, the process of perception is contin-
uous and even those objects, which are arbitrarily
or involuntarily excluded by us from the field of
attention, are perceived anyway. Moreover, the
unwittingly perceived information is also able to
influence us.
An important fact is that the vision predom-
inates over other types of perception. That is, if
there is an inconsistency between what is seen
and heard, most likely the preference will be given
to the vision. In other words, the vision is almost
always «captures» other sensory organs.
Being at the cinema, we perceive sounds
striking upon the screen, although we are well
aware that it is not so; in addition, when we see
the amusement lovers on the screen, which are
rushing with great speed, we involuntarily draw
tight. We trust our own eyes much more than the
rest of sensations. Therefore (and for some other
reasons), let’s focus on visual perception, leaving
all other types without attention.
So what does happen when we contemplate
some objects?
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
In order to convert the received information
into the meaningful perception our brain has to
work hard. For a start, it is necessary to select ob-
jects from the environment (it is a room, within
which something is surrounded by a few other ob-
jects), and then distinguish them into a meaning-
ful shape (yeah, it appears that this is a table and
those are the chairs), and finally, identify whether
these objects are moving or not (a table and the
chairs are static), and how far they are (in order to
sit at the table you need to make a couple of steps
forward).
But there is more to come. The information
always goes through a subjective filter. Therefore, a
normal chair may be perceived by your brain as a
potentially dangerous object, if you have managed
to fall from it on more than one occasion.
Now let’s carefully consider such a seemingly
simple object as a table. How was our brain able
to understand that this flat surface, located on the
four oblong things, is the table?
 The fact is that while perceiving sensory sig-
nals, one organizes them into a single form. As a
result, the brain draws a well-rounded image that
is related to the previously seen* upon the subse-
quent perception.
And it is only a part of the story. Of course, a
table has its own shape and color, and also size and
position in space are typical for it. The brain has to
process all this information, despite the fact that
it has already told us a lot of useful data by means
of correct identification of the object. Therefore
visual perception includes the following processes:

1. Color perception.
2. Shape perception.
3. Space perception.
4. Perception of motion.

By means of all these individual perceptions

our brain puts a complete worldview or a holistic
view of an object.
Let us consider each of the perception pro-
cesses.

* In psychology it is called a gestalt; but we will try not to dive so deep and go in for
overcomplicated terms and concepts more rarely

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Color perception
Color perception involves the ability of man to
feel, identify and name colors.
What is a color? Maybe it’s some kind of prop-
erty or feature? Or maybe it is just an illusion or
an impression?
All the options are suitable for a proper an-
swer, but the most accurate will be the following:
Color is a sensation arising in a man when
the light waves of a certain length contact with
the eye’s retina.
That is, such a remarkable feature of object as
a color makes sense only upon availability of the
perception. Existence of the color itself requires
the interaction of three factors: person –object —
light.
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
If there is no light, when an object is not il-
luminated (or it does not emit light itself), you
cannot say that it has some visible color*. Thus,
this may sound strange, but we can say that the
objects, which we are not looking at, are colorless.
Moreover, if the subject is lightened with red
or green light, its visible color will change. White
paper that is lighted with red lamp will seem to be
red or pink for us. So what is its color?
If there is no observer (a man), then it is much
more complicated to define what color should have
an object. After all, different people can perceive
colors differently, even if we do not raise the issues
of the color vision.
* We can only say that if the subject was lightened, it would seem in one way or another
due to its properties, which would force it to reflect the light in a certain way, and
when we saw it, we would say that it had some kind of color.
 The human eye can detect light waves of dif-
ferent lengths in a range from 400 to 760 nm that
is a so-called V I S I B L E S P E C T R U M * . We do not
perceive waves of frequency that goes beyond this
range, and we have no color sensations. There is
no need to get upset, because we are able to dis-
tinguish millions of different colors and it is fair
enough for a designer.
Every man perceives colors individually, but
the most of us have similar color sensations. How-
ever, there are people who cannot differentiate cer-
tain colors or who have completely lost the color
vision. This feature is called color blindness. Most
often it manifests itself in inability to distinguish
red tones, but in rare cases a perception of blue
and green tones may be disturbed too. Due to this
feature some professions may not be available for a
person. As you know, the vision of doctors, pilots,
sailors and drivers, of course, is under careful ex-
amination, as the color perception disorders can
result in bad consequences.
Our color perception is subject to a number of
factors. Sometimes it happens that objects seem to
have the same color under the equal lighting con-
* You should know that from the school courses of physics and biology (anatomy).
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
ditions, but in other circumstances we are already
able to notice the difference. This property of our
vision is called a metamerism.
Also we know the Purkinje effects when in
bright light colors are perceived differently than in
the dusk. In the evening red objects will seem us
darker than the green ones, and in contrast, blue
objects will seem lighter.
Why consideration of color perception fea-
tures is so important for a designer? The fact is that
the color effect always makes its own adjustments.
Although attitude to certain colors is always sub-
jective, there are some common points of view
on how color affects the perception of objects. It
was proved that people perceive the conventional
color weight in almost the same way. Red usually
appears the most heavyweight, white is the light-
est. Therefore a construction with a white colored
base may seem unstable.
 A color considerably affects the perception of
object size. Objects, which are painted in «heavy»
colors, appear smaller to us. Blue, white and red
stripes of the French flag have the same width.
However, their ratio is changed to the proportion
of 33:30:37 on the ships to make them equal from
the distance.
You will learn more about everything that
concerns color from the lesson on coloristics, but
now we should simply note that the choice of color
for your design project is a very important and
crucial stage of its development.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Shape perception
In order to recognize an object, firstly we must
see it as a definite shape and then single it out from
the environment. Mentally we also need to give
this figure a significant shape.
Process of shape perception is described with
the following principles:
1. Principle of figure and background.
Everything that has a meaning for a person is
perceived as a figure against a background. In
addition this background is much less struc-
tured than a meaningful shape.
2. Principle of integrity. The human brain tries
to reduce the fragmentary image to a compact
figure with a clear outline.
3. Principle of the elements grouping. The
brain tends to combine elements according to
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
the signs of proximity, similarity, continuity
and symmetry.
• Proximity: close or adjacent elements are
combined in a single shape
• Similarity: it is easier to combine similar
elements into a single shape
• Continuity: elements will
be organized into a single
shape, if they keep the same
direction
• Symmetry: shape will be
perceived as a «correct» one,
if it has one or more axes of
symmetry.
Thanks to our perception experience even among those chaotic
spots we still guess a figure of Dalmatian.
Reference: http://scorcher.ru/neuro/neuro_sys/illusion2.php
 The result of perception of the object series
should always be the easiest and the most complete
form that realizes the greatest possible number of
the above principles.
Perception of shape is heavily based on our
experience. If we see something for the first time,
a primary image is formed in our mind. In future
this image will be compared with an object. Due
to the brain that is able to store all sorts of things
for future use, we can easily recognize a meaning-
ful shape, even if it does not have a clear outline.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Perception of space
In addition to the colors and shapes, all ma-
terial objects around us have spatial properties.
It is important for us to orient, to determine the
distance to the object that we see before us and its
dimensions. Perception of space is a very complex
process and it involves a lot of systems. In addi-
tion to our eyes it includes hearing and vestibular
apparatus. As a result of their interaction we get
answers to the following questions: what is the
subject direction, what are its dimensions, whether
it is volumetric and at what distance from us is it
located at the moment?
We look at the world with two eyes, which are
located at the distance of about 7 cm from each
other. Each of the eyes sees the surrounding world
from its own angle, and the closer objects are to
us, the more differences are between images. How-
ever, the result is that we perceive only a complete
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
image. The receipt of image from each of the eyes
and subsequent image combination in the brain
cortex is called a binocular or a stereoscopic vision.
Stereoscopic vision allows us to see a volumet-
ric world around us and determine the distance
to objects. Brain converts two-dimensional im-
ages, which are reflected on the eye’s retina, into
three-dimensional ones.
Look at your finger with right and left eyes al-
ternately, placing it right in front of your nose. The
finger will «jump» from side to side, confirming
the abovementioned. If you remote it at the arm’s
length, this effect will be much less. If you look at
the object at the distance of 10 meters and more,
you will notice that the effect disappears complete-
ly. On the basis of the difference between images
of each of the eyes, our brain is able to determine
how close to us the observed object is. The greater
the difference, the closer the object, and if there the exciting events. But the lens does not care. It
is no difference at all, then the object is far away. just will focus in the desired shape, and the brain
In this case a binocular vision will not help in the will soon understand that it is cheated.
volumetric space perception.
A binocular vision principle is taken as a basis Another binocular clue for determination of
on a set of the stereoscopic (3D) movies. Such a the distance is a convergence process.
film is shot with two cameras, the distance be- Convergence is a combination of visual axes
tween which corresponds to the distance between of both eyes at the fixation on close objects.
the human eyes and stereo glasses, which are used This tip is received from the eye muscles. The
later, allow you to enjoy three-dimensional im- brain determines a degree of convergence of visual
age. However, as it turned out, our brain is much axes, and registers a direction of gaze by means of
smarter than some sort of glasses and you cannot the convergence angle identification.
deceive it for a long time. In case of the excessive
view of the stereoscopic movies, a so-called «3D
blindness» occurs and three-dimensional movies
begin to seem flat again. Why does it happen?
The fact is that our eyes have a mechanism of
adaptation to a clear vision of objects, which are
located at different distances. This process is called
an eye accommodation. The adaptation is observed
due to changes in the shape of the lens. And it is
also a hint for spatial perception, because it helps
the brain to determine how far the observed ob-
ject is. So, let’s come back to 3D movies. Staring
at the screen for 2–3 hours you can deceive your
binocular vision, feeling yourself in the heart of

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
 All of the abovementioned cases concern the are located at a great distance. However, this
situations when we see objects, which are close to effect does not work with regard to objects,
us. Once we direct out eyes into a distance, the which are located above the horizon: a bird
binocular clues will not help us anymore, because that is flying above another one seems to be
there is no need in convergence of the visual axes, closer to us.
and at the distance of 10 meters both eyes see the
same image. Therefore, the brain already requires
the monocular tips. These tips are mainly based on
our experience. They include the following:

1. Reference dimension. Between two objects,

which seem the same to us, the farer is the one
with smaller image on the retina.
2. Interposition. If an object slightly overlaps
another object, we perceive it as a closer one.
3. Relative clarity (aerial perspective). Since a
light from distant objects pass through the
thicker atmospheric layers, indistinct objects
seem to be farer than the objects with a clear
outline.
4. Texture gradient. Gradual change of expres-
sive textures is perceived by us as the vague
ones due to the space increase.
5. Relative height. Objects, which are located at
high altitude, are perceived as those, which

Even graphics of old primitive two-dimensional computer games (for example, about Chip and Dale) does not dispense with hints of spatial
perception. Because of interposition we understand, which objects are closer to us in the image and which of them are more distant.
Reference.
Reference: http://ageofgeeks.com/games/nashi-pervye-igry/attachment/old-games/
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
 6. Relative movement. During movement we
feel that the surrounding stationary objects
move with respect to us in the opposite direc-
tion of our movement. This effect is applicable
well in the process of the animation creation.
7. Linear perspective. We see a visible conver-
gence of parallel lines as a hint for distance
determination.
8. Relative brightness. Objects, which are lo-
cated in proximity to us, reflect more light
for our eyes. Therefore, between two identical
objects the one, which is less bright, appears
more distant.

So whether a designer needs to delve into the

ins and outs of perception? Yes, he/she needs. After
all, we have to convey a three-dimensional space
on a plane so often. In order to explain a contem-
plator that the object is far away in the picture, we
use the most of the abovementioned monocular
clues. We depict an object smaller than the close
objects, and a half of it is overlapped by them; we
use linear and aerial perspective, if the perfor-
mance style allows us to do this. In general, now In the graphics of the Excitebike game the monocular cues are also used. Space is organized by means of strips, which lie one above the
other. A zone with fans of motorsport is located at the top, and a track, on which the motorcyclist rides, is at the bottom of the screen
you have as much as 8 methods in your arsenal, so plane, so we immediately understand that viewers are more distant than a man on a motorcycle.
Reference: http://www.gamefabrique.com/screenshots/excitebike/
use them and create deep worlds on flat surfaces.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Perception of motion
Movement is life. And also it is a very im-
portant signal that something has changed in the
environment. Sometimes the movement itself
means much more than the object producing it.
After noticing the movement we are able to react
in time and, for example, to avoid the danger. Or,
alternatively, to seize the luck. Motion is correctly
perceived even by our peripheral vision, and it
is likely to say that this kind of perception was
formed before all others during the process of
evolution.
Perception of motion is a quite complicated
process, because in this case several parameters
should be taken into account. The most important
of them are direction and rate.
We can observe movement, if rate corresponds
to the range of distinctive sensibility to the move-
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
ment. For example, we do not notice the minute
hand movement and are able to fix a result only.
We receive information on the movement by
means of our eyes. Here are its options: either
we fix the eyes and a display of a moving object
changes gradually on the retina, or we look after a
subject and give the brain to understand that there
are some perturbations next to us: be careful! Spe-
cial case is the movement of objects into the depth.
Here our own experience plays an important role,
because since childhood we have learned that the
approaching objects are visually increasing in size,
and those, which are moving away, become vis-
ually less. By the way, the police workers, keep-
ing order on the roads, obtain a great ability to
determine the speed of the approaching vehicles
by practical experience. Although today this is
no longer necessary thanks to special technical tion. Arrow, as a design element, is very function-
devices, which perform that even more precisely. al. It indicates the direction or even trajectory of
Moving objects especially attract our atten- the supposed movement of static elements, and as
tion. Movement is able to distract you from read- you know, this is a half of the way in the percep-
ing an interesting text or from the contemplation tion of motion. Arrow can also give a hint of the
of the beloved work of art at the museum. That is movement character (for example, flexion-exten-
why today such an annoying thing as advertising sion). Of course, we do not see any movement, but
rarely does without it. Animated banner is much set our imagination to work.
more effective than static, because it is almost
tempted to look at.
It is very easy to simulate motion on a display
screen. For this purpose you need to recall some
peculiarities of the motion perception. For exam-
ple, we will create an illusion of object approach by
means of gradual increase of its size. If you want to
illustrate a moving train carriage from the inside,
it suffices to animate a window view.
Your old friend Photoshop uses animation to
create the effect of «marching ants» around the
selection area. We perceive the alternate blinking
of black and white stripes as a movement in space.
But what if you need to convey motion in cas-
es, when it is not possible to use the animated
elements?
Firstly, we must not forget about such an im-
portant element, as an arrow indicating the direc-

Blur effect creates the illusion of movement in the frame.

Reference: http://www.carpark.ru/ru/publications/index.php?&id15=577&from4=48&id4=10830
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
 Secondly, we know well that the objects, which
are moving with great speed, will seem blurred for
us. Therefore, if the wheels of the car look vaguely
on the photo, and roughly speaking, do not look
anyhow, as well as everything and anything, it
becomes clear at once: the car goes fast.
Transfer of motion in comics is of particular
interest. In addition to the eloquent lines, empha-
sizing the movement of arms (or legs, or whatever),
no less eloquent inscriptions «Yank!», «Tug!» and
others help our perception. The effect is enhanced.
Of course, you can think of many other ways
of motion transfer under full static conditions. The
main thing is that it would be clear for everybody.

The cat’s movements are not in doubt, as the trajectory of its subsequent flight.
Reference: http://comixzone.do.am/publ/komiksy/tom_i_dzherri/tom_i_dzherri_piknik/3-1-0-28
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
Perceptual Constancy
So our brain has perceived some shape. The
next step is identification of this shape with the
previously seen image. It would seem an easy mat-
ter. However, we often observe the same object
from different angles and in varying illumination.
For example, a rectangular table top often seems
to be a trapezoid for our eyes by virtue of fore-
shortenings. However, the object is recognized as
a rectangle.
It happens in the same way to the size and
color of objects. A train that comes into sight in
the distance appears us of a child’s toy size, how-
ever, the brain is well aware of the actual size of
the train set and we are not surprised at all, when
a quite large object rolls to the platform. Bright
yellow wall of the room in the twilight seems grey,
but we still perceive it as yellow.

In the picture we see a lot of trapezoidal shapes, but they are perceived as rectangular ones, and the wall containing many shades of
vinous seems to be monochromatic.
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
 It happens due to the constancy (or invaria-
bility) of our perception. Constancy explains some
of the well-known illusions. Let’s talk about them.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Illusion of perception
The whole world was considered an illusion by
the philosophers of the Eleatic school. It might be
that they were right, but let’s imagine that we have
not believed them and assume that there were no
illusions in the world, but they were in our per-
ception. A Latin word «illusion» means delusion
or deception. And imagine that our perception is
so imperfect, that we are exposed to this kind of
fraud and errors quite often. In some cases, what
we perceive does not correspond to what actually
is, and we are deeply mistaken, calling even a light
a dark and a large a little. And this is not about
some abstract philosophical categories, but quite
material things.
Our perception is deceived in determination
of color, shape, size and sometimes takes static
objects for the moving ones.
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
The fact is that the world is so many-sided,
and everything is so changeable in it that our sen-
sory organs do not have enough time to adapt
to some innovations. Moreover, the perception
empowerment is strongly inhibited by the tech-
nological progress that probably makes our life
comfortable and safe. But that is another lesson on
a very different subject, so let’s recognize our own
laziness and imperfection and proceed to consider
illusions themselves.
Illusions of color perception occur due to the
fact that color perception considerably depends on
the background. Even if the same tones are close
to each other, but the color of their background is
not the same, they will seem different. Illusions
can lead us to a false assessment of distances and
sizes of objects that is often caused by operation of
the perspective hints of depth perception. And in
some cases, a combination of specific colors and a
layout of shapes can «revive» the image by means
of the movement illusion creation.
Illusions of perception are a hot topic in many
areas of design. On the one hand they slightly
confuse us, but on the other hand one can benefit
from them, if he/she knows how to do that. For
example, a sophisticated space organization of a
small room will make it visually more spacious.
Well-chosen colors and textures of the suit will
emphasize gracefulness or hide some figure flaws.
Try to come up with a few good examples, which
will certainly please your teacher.

It is hard to believe that the colors of A and B squares are equal, however, they are so.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Stereotypes of Perception
In order to see something, you must believe in form concepts or schemes, which organize and
it at first. Our life experience, views and expecta- explain new information. That is why the picture
tions generously provide us with the stereotypes of dark winding figure can present us a monster,
of perception. People are very reluctant to oppose or a usual log.
their own templates, which impose on the objects
of perception. Here is an interesting example. In
1972, a British newspaper published a photo of the
Loch Ness monster in Scotland. It was stated in
the paper, «the most unusual picture of all, which
had been ever made».
If after reading this information you were cre-
ated such a stereotype as the most readers had, you
could also see a monster in the photo. But if you
come down to the photo with another suggestion,
it is quite possible to recognize a curved tree trunk
in it.
What are our stereotypes made of? First of all
it is our own experience, on the basis of which we

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
 Objects and phenomena, which from an early
age are observed by us from time to time, are im-
printed in our memory and form images. As we
get older the images become more detailed and
supplemented, and the process of perception be-
comes more complicated. As early as in the child-
hood the majority of stereotypes is formed, which
on the one hand often lead us away from the truth,
but on the other hand help us to understand each
other better.
Even though today it is very fashionable to say
that the stereotypes are evil, the idea to go away
from the stereotypes itself is also a stereotype.
And how can you get away from them? A profes-
sion that you become familiar with at the moment
often requires an ability to competently operate
with human perception stereotypes, because it is
the easiest way to convey a right information to
the person.
For example, it is well known that the attitude
to the advertised product is formed through the
trust to the one who advertises it. A toothpaste
advertisement that comes from a man in a white
coat sounds more persuasively, because it is trig-
gered the following stereotype: «Once he is in a
white coat, then he is a doctor, more specifically a
Basic Principles of Perception
Introduction
Theory of Design
dentist. He knows what he says, so we may believe
him».
Stereotypes require us to assume that light
colors are close to white, they are positive, dark
colors are negative, in contrast. Therefore, pub-
lic service advertising that, for example, warns
about danger of drugs, is often presented on a
black background.
A stereotype will also be the «fact» that pink
color is a «female» color. If we do not take into ac-
count this stereotype and create a line of cosmetics
for men in pink package, we risk with resources
which were spent on that project.
According to the stereotype, an arrow point-
ing from left to right is seen as a pointer to move
forward. A movement from the lower left corner
to the upper right one looks more positive for the
most of people.
Be sure to consider a stereotypical perception
when creating advertisements, sites, interfaces
and other design products, which are intended
to serve people. Of course, you can spit on the
stereotypes and make everything in the way you
like. But remember that a designer is a consumer
society servant, anyway, and it is not least for him/
her to take into account its interests. And if for
some reason a designer considers oneself beyond
these interests, his highway to become a freelancer.
Being real designers we are going to ignore the
society and delve into our own microcosms up to
the brow under no condition. The situation is quite
opposite. We will carefully examine all around us
and timely respond to new trends, occasionally
contributing to their creation.

Basic Principles of Perception

Introduction
Theory of Design
Self-Evaluation Quiz
1. What is a design? Try to remember the official
definition and then try to explain this concept
in simple terms.
2. What are an object and a subject of design?
Give the examples.
3. List the main types of design.
4. What does environmental design include?
5. What does refer to graphic design?
6. Explain the concepts of «usability» and «af-
fordance» in your own words. Think of your
examples of the affordance in various areas
of design.
7. Is design a field of art? If so, tell why. If it is
not, tell why do you think so, nevertheless?
8. Which professional and personal qualities
should have a designer?
Self-Evaluation Quiz
Introduction
Theory of Design
9. Explain how the perception process occurs.
Which kinds of vision do you know? Briefly
describe each of them.
10. Which tips does our brain use in the space
perception? How may some of these tips be
used in design?
11. What is a perception constancy?
12. What is a perception illusion? How can a de-
signer use them in his work?
13. How are stereotypes of perception formed?
Whether a designer may go against the soci-
ety stereotypes?
 Yekaterina Khomich

DESIGN THEORY
LESSON 1. INTRODUCTION

All rights on the copyrighted photo, audio and video works, fragments of which are used
in the material, are owned by their legal possessors. Fragments of the works are used for
illustrative purposes to the extent of the assigned task, within the educational process and
for the educational purposes, in accordance with Article 1274 Part 4 of the Civil Code of the
Russian Federation and Articles 21 and 23 of the Law of Ukraine «On Copyright and Related
Rights». The scope and method of the quoted works correspond to the established norms,
are without prejudice to the normal use of items subject to copyright and without harming
the legitimate interests of authors and other possessors of rights. As of the time of use the © Yekaterina Khomich, 2015
quoted fragments of works may not be replaced with the alternative analogues, which are
not copyrighted and as such meet the criteria of fair and honest use. © STEP Computer Academy, 2015
All rights are reserved. Full or partial copying of materials is prohibited. The use of works or www.itstep.org
their fragments is agreed with authors and copyright holders. Consistent use of materials is
possible only upon stating the source.
Responsibility for the unauthorized copying and commercial use of materials shall be governed
by the current legislation of Ukraine.