Design makes communications more engaging, easier to understand, quicker to digest, more memorable, and more meaningful.
Design Principles
Design for Humans
- Design for How People Think
- Design for How People See
- Write for How People Read
- Create for How People Feel
Think Like an Architect
- Apply Dieter Rams' 10 Principles
- Construct an Experience (Hierarchy of Needs)
- Help People Make Choices
- Grab People's Attention
- Simplify Your Audience's Life (and Yours)
Color
- Learn Color Terminology
- Use the Color Wheel to Create Moods and Experiences
- Color Consciously to Affect the Mood
- Know the Modes and Systems
- Seek harmony, Avoid Discord
- Meet Expectations
- Establish an Ambiance: Use Lights, Brights, Darks, Pales, Warms, Cools, and Neutrals
- Study (a little) Pyschology
- Affect Moods and Behaviors
- Create for the Culture
Contrast
- Make Things Different
- Use Highlighting Techniques
- Contrast the Size
- Contrast the Typefaces
- Contrast the Tints and Shades
- Contrast the Space and Positions
- Contrast with Strokes, Shadows, & Reverse
- Consider Overlays and Watermarks
- Control the Pace
- Compare and Dichotomize
Repetition
- Be Strategically Repetitious
- Repeat within Documents
- Repeat Across Suites
- Repeat around Spaces
- Repeat Universals
- Repeat Similarity
- Create Visual Cues
- Establish Consistency
- Mimic What's Familiar
- Follow the Guide
Arrangement
- Align all Elements
- Keep Related Items Close
- Use Horizontals for Calm
- Use Verticals for Energy
- Use Diagonals for Tension
- Know Top Versus Bottom
- Use the Rule of Thirds
- Use Space to Draw Focus
- Use Space to Show Time
- Bleed for Aesthetics
"Why"
- Learn the Appeals
- Provide Enough Details
- Design Like Music
- Empty to Show Value
- Promote Propositions
- Think Metaphorically
- Make Advanced Yet Acceptable
- Expose with a Purpose
- Make Things Stick
- Help Them Remember
Organization
- Start with L.A.T.C.H.
- Apply a Pattern
- Know How Grids Work
- Use Single Column for Text
- Use Two Columns for Variation
- Use Three Columns for Intrigue
- Use Modulars for Complexity
- Use Hierarchies for Emphasis
- Organize Your Writing to Persuade
- Organize Your Writing to Inform
Negative Space
- Positive vs. Negative
- Figure-Ground Relationship
- Connect (or Don't...) the Dots
- Count 'em Up: 1+1=3
- Make Things Stable
- Look in the Margins
- Consider the Bleeds
- Turn off the Noise
- Put Blood in the Gutter
- Put the Whole Before the Parts
Typography
- Learn Some Terms
- Study Anatomy
- Classify the Types
- Use Two Fonts
- Find Unusual Pairs
- Increase Legibility & Readability
- Justify Your Means
- Save the Orphans
- Apply Pull Quotes
- Punctuate with Purpose
Iconoography
- Know the Signs of the Times
- Separate Symbols from Signs
- Use Metaphors as Signifiers
- Think Similarity
- Consider Examples
- Ask What's Symbolic
- Be Careful with Arbitrary
- Use Lines as Icons
- Use Logos to Brand
- Help Them with Signposts
Photography
- Learn a Few Terms
- Recognize Your StyleKnow the Types
- Crop for Closure
- Know the Direction They're Headed
- Apply the Face-ism Ratio
- Make Sides Equal (or Not)
- Crop with a Purpose
- Watch the Depth of Field
- Obtain the Rights
Data Visualization
The A.S.C.E.N.D. Method for Telling Your Data's Story
- The A.S.C.E.N.D. Method: An Overview
- Analyze Data & Purpose
- State Key Message
- Choose the Best Chart
- Emphasize for Clarity and Accuracy
- Narrate Purpose & Details
- Design for UXD & Accessibility
How to Use Common Charts and Graphs
- 100% Stacked Bar
- Area Graph
- Back-to-back Graph
- Bar Chart
- Benchmark Line
- Bullet Graph
- Column Graph
- Diagram
- Donut Graph
- Dot Plot
- Faded Bar Graph
- GeoMap
- Histogram
- Icon Array
- Indicator Dots
- Line Graph
- Nested Area Graph
- Numbers w/Icons
- Pie Chart
- Scatterplot
- Single Number
- Small Multiples
- Stacked Bar
- Stacked Column
- Treemap