Basic elements every designer needs to know

Creating beautiful designs is about more than inspiration or an amazing idea, it is about understanding the fundamentals of the subject. Although it is possible to spend years studying the refinement of design and the many different ways to be successful at it, there are a few basic elements that every designer needs to know!

First of all is the element of colour. It is one of the most obvious elements of design. Colour is used in the background, or can be applied to other elements like shapes, textures, typography or lines. By using the correct colour you can create a mood within the piece and tell a story. It is important to note that every colour is associated with something different, for example Red is mostly seen as the colour of danger and love.

Another element is lines. Lines are the most basic elements of design. For most people a line is a stroke of a pen or pencil, however to a graphic designer it is any two connected points. Lines are useful for dividing space and drawing the eye to a specific location. Just think of a magazine, lines are used to separate content and headlines.

Lines are used to create shapes, and shapes are a fundamental part of design. Shapes add interest whether it is geometric or organic. Different shapes are often used to emphasize a portion of a page. Everything is ultimately a shape, something to remember is how the various elements of your design can create shapes and how these shapes are interacting.

Negative space is one of the most underutilized aspects of designing a page. The blank spaces on a website whether it’s black, white or some other colour helps create the overall image of a website. Lastly the typography is the perhaps the single most part of graphic design. Just like the other elements are used to communicate certain messages, words are just as important but the style is equally essential. The different sizes of your elements also influence the overall image of the design.

There are endless amounts of rules and principles to create a beautiful design, but these are the basic elements to ensure you create an appealing, professional and perfect design.