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10 Basic Elements of Design

By Maryam Taheri on Jun 29, 2018 in Design Trends

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Creating beautiful design is about more than inspiration or a great idea, it’s about
understanding the fundamentals of the subject. Although it’s possible to spend years
studying the nuances of design and the many varying takes on how to be successful at
it, there are a handful, or two, of basic elements that every designer should know
before beginning any project. Even amateurs in the field who maintain personal
blogs or only make a hobby of it can utilize these following ten tips to create
professional looking pieces, and anyone who intends to earn money from the
endeavor must know them. Rules were made to be broken, of course, but you have to
know what they are first.

1. Line
The first and most basic element of design is that of the line. In drawing, a line is the
stroke of the pen or pencil but in graphic design, it’s any two connected points. Lines
are useful for dividing space and drawing the eye to a specific location. For example,
think about how a magazine uses lines to separate content, headlines and side panels.

Here are a few examples of what we traditionally think of when we think of lines:
Further Reading:

Design Elements: Line

6 Tips for Designing with Lines

Explore the power of lines to create visual interest in your design projects with these
geometric background patterns:

Geometric Line Patterns 2 Save

by kloroform in Graphics
2. Color

Color is one of the most obvious elements of design, for both the user and the
designer. It can stand alone, as a background, or be applied to other elements, like
lines, shapes, textures or typography. Color creates a mood within the piece and tells
a story about the brand. Every color says something different, and combinations can
alter that impression further.

Further Reading:

Color Theory for Designers: The Meaning of Color

Basic Color Theory

Check out these classic swatches and see what vintage colors can do for your design
pieces:
 A Century of Color Swatches + Bonus Save
by The Artifex Forge in Add-Ons

3. Shape
Shapes, geometric or organic, add interest. Shapes are defined by boundaries, such as
a lines or color, and they are often used to emphasize a portion of the page.
Everything is ultimately a shape, so you must always think in terms of how the
various elements of your design are creating shapes, and how those shapes are
interacting.
Further Reading:

Design Elements: Shape

Using Shapes in Design

Playing with shapes is easy with a pack like this one from Ottoson:

100 Unique Geometric Shapes Save

by Uncle Ottoson's Shop in Graphics

4. Space
Negative space is one of the most commonly underutilized and misunderstood
aspects of designing for the page. The parts of the site that are left blank, whether
that’s white or some other color, help to create an overall image. Use negative space
to create shapes as you would any other element. Check out this article if you're
interested in learning more about frequently used design terms like negative space.

Further Reading:

Space
How to Use Space in Design

Experiment with white space using a pre-designed template like Holo:

 Holo Business Card Design Save
by Emma Make in Templates

Neue is a great alternative if you want to apply negative space principles to enhance
your next presentation:
 Neue Minimal PowerPoint Template Save
by SlidePro in Templates

5. Texture
It’s counter-intuitive to think about texture when the piece isn’t ever going to be
touched. Websites and graphic design do rely on the look and impression of texture
on the screen, however. Textures can create a more three-dimensional appearance on
this two-dimensional surface. It also helps build an immersive world.

Further Reading:

Design and Composition: Texture

Design Elements: Texture
Using texture to get the most out of design

Texture packs like these make it much easier to try subtle touches of visual interest:
 Kraft Paper Background Textures Save
by Avenie Digital in Graphics

20 Vector Subtle Grunge Textures Save

by Brent Galloway in Graphics

6. Typography
Perhaps the single most important part of graphic and web design is typography.
Like color, texture, and shapes, the fonts you use tell readers you’re a serious online
news magazine, a playful food blog or a vintage tea tins shop. Words are important,
but the style of the words is equally essential.

These shop owners have created flexible font families that can make your text look
distinctive and memorable:
The Artisan Collection (Font Bundle) Save
by Hustle Supply Co. in Fonts

The Artisan Collection (Font Bundle) Save

by Hustle Supply Co. in Fonts
7. Scale (Size)
Playing with the scale and size of your objects, shapes, type and other elements add
interest and emphasis. How boring would a symmetrical website with all similarly
sized ingredients be? Very. But the amount of variation will depend heavily on the
content within. Subtle differences suit professional content, while bold ones prefer
creative enterprises.

Further Reading:

How to use size, scale, and proportion

Elements of Design: Scale

Tweaking size and pressure effects on your Photoshop stamp brushes can create
visual interest around scale:
 214 Spray Photoshop Brushes Save
by ArtistMef in Add-Ons

8. Dominance and Emphasis

While you can talk about emphasizing one thing or another, the element of emphasis
has more to do with an object, color or style dominating another for a heightened
sense of contrast. Contrast is intriguing, and it creates a focal point.

If you want to test out how dominance and emphasis can change your project's visual
impact, try a saturated Lightroom preset like this one:
 High Contrast Blow Lightroom Presets Save
by Sleeklens in Add-Ons

9. Balance
There are two schools of balance: symmetry and asymmetry. While most designers,
artists, and creative folks much prefer asymmetry for its eye-catching nature,
symmetry does have its place. Sometimes.

Further Reading:

Elements of Design: Balance

Design Principles: Balance

10. Harmony
Harmony is “The main goal of graphic design,” according to Alex White, author of
“The Elements of Graphic Design.” So, you know it must be important. Harmony is
what you get when all the pieces work together. Nothing should be superfluous. Great
design is just enough and never too much. Make sure all the details accord with one
another before you consider the project complete.

Further Reading:

Design Principles: Harmony

Balance, Rhythm, and Harmony
 {Sacred Geometry} Symbols + Meshes Save
by ekaart in Graphics

++++

There are hundreds of rules and many more principles when it comes to creating
beautiful designs on and off the web, but these ten are the basic essentials that will
ensure anything you create is appealing, professional and perfect. We highly suggest
you continue your learning path looking at this infographic featuring ten essential
commandments of graphic design.

Products Seen In This Post:

Illustration Graphic Design
by Sailor Johnny in Graphics

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by Fontfabric in Fonts

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Maryam Taheri
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 caracaleo.com Maryam's Shop →

I'm a recent graduate of the University of San Francisco with a degree in Biology and a passion for the creative
arts. I love building websites, trying new things, and I have a passion for social media.

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38 Comments
Christopher King
Wow, they say great minds think alike, i've just put the finishing touches to my very own Color
Wheel - https://creativemarket.com/wingsart/17181-Wings-Color-Wheel-Design-Tool?u=wingsart

Dec 2, 2013

Beth Rufener STAFF

Thanks for sharing!

@Christopher King, great job on your color wheel!

Dec 2, 2013

Christopher King
Thanks Beth. It's something i've wanted to try for ages.

Dec 3, 2013

Alexandra Papoutsaki
Beautiful article, thank you! Especially for the references :)

Dec 3, 2013
Roni Dé
Very useful, thank you :)

Dec 4, 2013

ray biztech
Thank you for the valuable info post.Raybiztech helps you align your IT withstrategic business
initiatives with reliable IT Services Responsive Design Company

Dec 6, 2013

anne m bray
Great article! I never heard of a trapezium before!
I took Color Theory class in the olden days before computers. I found it really interesting creating
a color wheel in Illustrator vs paint. Might be worthwhile doing some of the other assignments (if I
could remember them).

Dec 8, 2013

Femi Agbekorode
awesome

Dec 14, 2013

Lups
Inspiring!! got new idea :D

Dec 14, 2013

Caroline Jones
Maryam - you always write such informative, useful post. Excellent stuff - Caroline

May 21, 2014

Talo DG
This reminds me the Gestalt Psychology.

Feb 25, 2015

Logo Gulf
Sometimes you really need to go through basics again even when you are doing designing for 3
years. Looking at some of these elements, I feel like I didnt know about them.
Usman
http://www.logogulf.ae/website-design-service/

Apr 17, 2015

Deigha AndersonDavis
this is really helps tons ! Thanks

Sep 9, 2015

Ben Ben
Nice

Sep 9, 2015

Sidney Mathews
Very helpful!

Sep 9, 2015

Amaziah Worley
We are about to start studying basic elements of design in digital art and design. This was really
helpful.

Sep 9, 2015

Wyatt Pooley
This is very helpful i touched on all of these in my 9th grade art class but we didn't get very far
into them

Sep 9, 2015

Dakota Telson
This is very helpful!

Sep 9, 2015

Alayna McClarren
This is pretty cool for digital arts and design. It helps you alot!

Sep 9, 2015
Elisabeth Casad
Very helpful.

Sep 9, 2015

Jared Dalton
Very nice

Sep 9, 2015

morgyn lowman
vErY hElpful.

Sep 9, 2015

jose rojas
this is very helpful thank you!

Sep 9, 2015

Braylin Scott
This is very helpful

Sep 9, 2015

Jack White
Awesomeness

Sep 9, 2015

Sarah Rivera
very informative

Sep 9, 2015

Jacoya Baker
very inspiring helps allot

Sep 9, 2015

antony kinungi
now i have a direction to follow.
thanks alot.
 Nov 13, 2015

The Wizard
Alluuuuuuuuu Akbar

Nov 19, 2015

The Wizard
wet bread

Nov 19, 2015

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