Design Principles

The 6 types of Design Principles that I chose are Repetition, Balance, Proportion/Scale, White Space, Contrast, and Unity.

Repetition

Repetition is very subtle yet glaringly obvious. It’s something we don’t always immediately recognize, but once you notice it, it’s something you cannot unsee. Repetition manifests itself in our dorm with my wall of The Neighbour’s discography. They are all the same size, same artist, and placed in a repeating pattern on my wall. This tends to immediately catch the eye of people when they first see it. There is also some white space between the photos of the song that makes it easier on the eyes. Overall, it is a very satisfying example of repetition.

Balance

Balance is something we immediately notice. If something seems to be asymmetrical, our brains tend to subconsciously pick up on it. Balance makes me think of an art piece I did last semester. It’s a wood piece that was extremely tedious to do. It is supposed to be a mini-city made out of wood. This relates to balance because the entire piece would have been thrown off and looked “wrong” if it was not balanced. This is one of my biggest examples of repetition. 

Proportion/Scale

Proportion and Scale is an interesting concept. You can do it digitally by making text bold or italicized. That gives it higher importance than something that isn’t. A big example of proportion/scale is how in Abi’s and I dorm, my bed is lofted and thus higher than Abi’s. This immediately draws the attention of visitors when they first come to our dorm. By drawing the attention of other visitors with the height difference, it gives my bed a certain “importance”.

White Space

White Space/Negative Space can be found everywhere. It is very pleasing to our eyes and helps us break up space. Aesthetically white space has a lot of purposes. It brings our attention to what is important and keeps our focus on it. Also helps us not be as overwhelmed by everything around us. It is extremely helpful in terms of breaking up space. A negative space exists under my dorm bed. There used to be stuff underneath it but Abi and I took it, cleared out, and turned it into a small reading nook. This helps us not feel as overwhelmed in our dorm and brings our attention to what is actually important to us. 

Contrast

Contrast is a very aesthetically pleasing design concept when done right. Color contrast is one of the most common types and is certainly a very fun one to play around with. One example of contrast, which happens to be color contrast, is the difference in Abi’s and mine aesthetics. It is glaringly obvious when you see the room. Her side is light, airy, it feels/looks like a spring afternoon or a summer dream. Whereas mine looks dark, messily put together, feels like fall/winter. This contrast is something that I personally really enjoy. It represents our styles and personality very well and gives the room a deeper dimension.

Unity

I usually think of unity as aspects of all the design principles put into one. This is because you can use other principles to achieve unity. Unity manifests itself in my life with how Abi and I have the entirety of our room set up. From the contrast in our color schemes, the proximity of our beds and desks, to the repetition of our wall decor, it is what makes our dorm feel unified and concise. At first, it seems like everything should clash and look terrible put together but at second glance, you see that all of these elements work extremely well together. 

Gestalt Theory

It was very interesting to learn the science and psychology behind the design principles. It’s intriguing that this is all because our minds are overwhelmed by our surroundings so we put them into unity groups that help us to organize them mentally. My favorite principle that I learned about was Simplicity. The concept is very easy to absorb but difficult to apply in design. Making something look simple but complex at the same time is a skill that definitely takes time and practice. This helps me understand the design principles more and makes me want to learn how to apply them correctly.