There are seven (7) basic principles, that can help you transform your work and help you sharpen your eyes for design; Proximity, White Space, Alignment, Contrast, Hierarchy, Repetition, and Balance. Let’s start at the top and walk our way down.

Proximity is all about using visual space to show relationships in your content. In practice, it’s pretty simple. All you have to do is make sure all related items are grouped together, for example; blocks of texts or elements in a graphic. Groups that are not related to each other should be separated, to visually emphasize their lack of a relationship. All in all, this makes your work easier to understand at a glance, whether it’s purely text or something more visual.

White Space is an important part of every composition. Now, this doesn’t mean “literal white space”. Well, it just mean “negative space”, like the spaces between your content, between lines, and even the outer margins. In other words, it’s the areas in your design that are not taken by actual design assets or graphics. There’s no one way to use white space correctly, but it’s good to understand it’s purpose. White Space helps you define and separate different sections, it gives your content room to breathe. If your work ever starts to feel cluttered or uncomfortable, a little white space might be just what the doctor ordered.

Alignment is something you deal with all the time, even if you don’t realize it. Whenever you type an email or create a document, the text is aligned automatically. When aligning objects by yourself (for instance; images or separate text boxes), getting it right can be tricky, the most important thing is to be consistent. Let’s take a look at what that means. It might help to imagine your content arranged inside of a grid. Notice how there’s an invisible line centering each image to the text? Each grouping is also evenly spaced and aligned, with equal sized margins. It’s that attention to detail that makes the composition easier to navigate. Without consistent alignment, your work will start to feel disorganized.

Contrast simply means that one item is different from another. In layout and composition, contrast can help you do many things, for example; catch the readers’ eye, create emphasis, or call attention to something important. There are lots of strategies for creating contrast in design; you can use color, adjust the size, shape or visual weight of an object, or use contrasting styles of text.

Contrast is also closely tied to Hierarchy. A visual technique that can help the viewer navigate your work. In other words, it shows them where to begin and where to go next, using different levels of emphasis. Establishing hierarchy is simple. Just decide which element you want the reader to notice first, then make them stand out. High level or important items are usually larger, bolder, or more eye-catching in some way.

Repetition/Consistency, is a reminder that every project should have a consistent look and feel. That means, finding ways to reinforce your design by repeating or echoing certain elements. For instance, if you have a specific color palette, look for ways to carry it through. If you’ve chosen a special header style, use it every time. It’s not just for aesthetic reasons, being consistent can also make your work easier to read. When the viewer knows what to expect, they can relax and focus on the content.

Balance. Never forget that every element of your design has a weight. The weight can come from color, size, or texture. Just like you wouldn’t put all your furniture in one corner of a room, you can’t crown all your heavy elements in one area of your composition. Without balance, your audience will feel as if their eyes are sliding off the page. Symmetrical design creates balance through equally weighted elements aligned on either side of a center line.

In many ways, layout and composition are the unsung heroes of design. It’s easy to overlook their role, but they’re part of everything you do. With a little attention to detail, you can create beautiful professional looking compositions.