DESIGN FOUNDATIONS
Start with the fundamentals.
Every strong design begins with an understanding of the fundamentals.
Explore the elements and principles designers use to organize information, establish hierarchy, create relationships, direct attention, and communicate ideas.
Learn about balance, contrast, scale, rhythm, alignment, proximity, grids, Gestalt principles, and more—and discover how these concepts work together to create meaningful visual communication.
Elements and principles
Every piece of design, from a postage stamp to a city wayfinding system, is built from the same small set of raw materials — the elements — and organized by the same set of working rules — the principles. Learn to name them and you can take apart any design you see, understand why it works, and fix the ones that don't.
The elements are the ingredients: line, shape, color, value, texture, space, and form. The principles are the recipes: balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, and unity. Neither list means much alone — the skill is in combining them on purpose.