Author: Curtis Newbold

While you might often think of contrast in design as having to do with the physical characteristics of a particular design element (like its size, weight, color, typeface, and so forth), by definition “contrast” is broader than that—you can also create contrast by making something different in position or location.

When it comes to contrasting visual elements to look significantly different from each other (see Contrast Rule #1: Make Things Different), typefaces are no exception. But first, a word on terminology: what’s the difference between a “font” and a “typeface,” anyway? It actually does matter when you’re trying to create

Size is an incredible tool that magically announces to people what is most important and what is least important. Whether you’re creating a résumé, a sales report, or a flier (or anything else), you should think about how contrasting the size of text and images will guide people to what

In some ways, the term “highlighting” can be used synonymously with “contrasting,” since the goal of highlighting is to contrast one piece of information from another. When you highlight information, you are drawing attention the unqiueness of the highlighted nuance. Use highlights to emphasize, direct the eye, create visual interest,

Whenever you place two or more visual elements in a page that are not intended to be exactly the same, it’s important that you make each element clearly and distinctly different. Whether you are using two or more colors, two or more fonts, two or more sizes, two or more

In addition to using color to affect emotions, you can actually explore ways in which color affects how people act and react to information. Research in the way color affects physical behaviors is a relatively new area of study and researchers aren’t always sure which colors will affect which actions.

If your goal is to persuade, motivate, engage, or inspire people, then, in many ways, your goal is to better understand the psychology behind what causes people to feel the way they do. Reserach has repeatedly shown that color—among other factors, of course—can have a profound impact on people’s emotions.

The intensity, brightness, and schematic combinations of colors affect the way people will feel about and interact with your information. When you appropriately match the color of your document to the intended ambiance of your message, people will be far more likely to react to it in the way you