Design Principles in
Art Direction
GRAP2315 Art Direction
Establish your role and power
Promotional merchandizers - goal is to combine visual imagery
and language to enhance the story’s meaning.
Desire of any promotion: Communication variations
There is a science in the art of ad design
because people interact with the world
mainly through visuals.
Which one communicates better?
How Design Principles adds values in
Art Direction
Design = CARPENTRY and Principles = TOOLBOX.
You can use them during the design process, and unlike hammers, nails
and screwdrivers, they can exist entirely inside your head.
UNDERSTANDING and APPRECIATION = of what goes into the designs
As you become acquainted with them, you’ll start to see what does and
doesn’t work (and why), as well as how you can apply these principles to
your own creative work.
Art direction is about evoking the right emotion, creating
connection to what you’re seeing and experiencing.
Design is the technical execution of that connection.
Art Direction + Design = a great visual combo
• Do these colors match?
• Is the line-length comfortable for long periods of reading?
• Is this photo in focus?
• Does the typographic hierarchy work?
• Is this composition balanced?
Small details can make a huge differences
YOU NEED DESIGN
TO MANIFEST YOUR
ART DIRECTION
SKILLS A.K.A visual communication
Design principles in Art Direction
You can't flip a switch and create beautiful designs
on a whim.
Like learning to walk before you run
The principles of design are a set of guidelines that
help art directors create effective, harmonious, and
aesthetically pleasing visual compositions.
How do you feel visually Your reading will rolling
their attention on both
sides. There is a gap in
between the
communication
The bold, capitalized copy
catches the eye, but the
CTA button fades into
obscurity
Changing the button
positioning and increasing
the size would have been
more effective.
Spatial relationships and
How do you feel visually layout forces strain on
eye, no primary focal
point
Shading creates
muddiness that detracts
from bright aesthetic
Red pepper detracts from
the prominence of new
flag
How do you feel visually
Background color which
dilutes the product
visibility
keep the focus on the
product is by building
energy using sharply
contrasting palettes in
the background
Branding color
overshadowed by the
background
How do you feel visually
Increasing the size of the
copy or an image, you
signal to the viewer that
it’s essential.
Creative use of Logo.
Overcrowding obscures
visual cues
Overcrowding the
advertisement leads to
confusion
How do you feel visually
The degree of difference
between any two
elements of ad design is
called contrast
Contrasting colors to
define the background
and foreground
Principles of design
• Contrast • Repetition
• Symmetrical & • Variety
Asymmetrical • Movement &
• Emphasis Rhythm
• Proportion & Scale • Pattern
• Composition • White Space
1. Contrast
Designs that look the same are boring—by
experimenting with contrasting colour hues,
shapes, sizes, textures and typography, you
can liven things up. Humans tend to like the
contrast. It’s a great way to grab attention,
control the visual flow and keep folks
engaged.
1. Contrast
Contrast in shape/size
Contrast in colour
Contrast in movement
2. Symmetrical
Symmetrical design uses an
imaginary vertical (or
sometimes horizontal) line to
divide a design into two
halves around a central point.
Elements of equal visual
weight are balanced on each
side of the axis to create
symmetry.
2. Symmetrical
These are also symmetrical
2. Asymmetrical
An asymmetric
composition is when a
design uses unequal
weighted elements. One
side might have a visually
heavy element, balanced
with multiple lighter
elements on the opposite
side.
3. Emphasis
Emphasis is used to focus the
Emphasis
viewer’s attention on a certain part
of a composition.
The effect is achieved by
manipulating elements (like colour,
shape and size) to make specific
parts of a design stand out.
This professional campaign titled 'McMobile' was published in Canada in November, 2019.
3. Emphasis
When it comes to using mobile ordering to get fast food, Quebecers are behind the rest of Canada—it’s simply not one of their
habits. So, McDonald’s wanted to promote its mobile ordering to show how easily a cell phone, via the My McD’s app
3. Emphasis
Emphasis
4. Proportion & scale
4. Proportion & scale
5. Composition
Visual hierarchy is about
organising the value of the
elements within your design. By
ranking information from most
important to least important, you
make it easier for the viewer to
digest your content.
5. Composition
5. Composition
5. Composition
Hunger House: McDelivery
6. Repetition
Repetition makes designs visually
exciting and cohesive. It also creates
a sense of consistency by using a
repeating motif that the viewer
comes to expect. This makes it
particularly useful when it comes to
creating your distinct brand identity.
6. Repetition
6. Repetition
7. Movement & Rhythm
A rhythm art example would be
applying similar colours next to
one another in a sequence or an
arrangement of shapes or lines
that create a flow or movement to
the artistic composition, and as a
result, this flow or movement
creates the rhythm.
This professional campaign titled 'Tired Arches' was published in Germany in January, 2020.
7. Movement & Rhythm
This is the
rhythmic
movement
8. Pattern
While repetition occurs when the
same elements are repeated
throughout a design, a pattern is
composed of different
components repeated in the same
way. Think of the way gift wrapping
is usually made up of a few different
repeated elements—that's a pattern.
8. Pattern
9. Negative Space
The region between different
design elements is referred
to as "negative” or “white”
space. This is part of the
design that doesn’t contain
anything. No images,
drawings, shiny colours or
text. Nothing.
9. Negative Space
10. Variety
Variety keeps things
engaging. It stops designs
from being stagnant,
predictable and downright
boring — all things you want
to avoid. By making sure
elements are varied you stop
designs from feeling
monotonous and uninspired.
10. Variety
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