Today we have chosen to review the Web Design column. In my opinion any good discussion starts with laying the foundation, so let’s find out what the basics are. The primary principles around which any field is based are universal: they can be applied to a variety of disciplines in a variety of ways. Web Design folds perfectly with the aforementioned concept, and can be applied to any field in an inexhaustible variety of forms.
Web design is a relatively new profession compared to other forms of design, but as with any design discipline, there are aspects of the web design process that are unique to the space in which it asserts itself and here we can list: screen resolution, additive color spaces, and image compression. Too often, however, these more unique details override our overall sense of the bigger picture. We focus on the fact that this is web design and leave aside the basic design concepts that can make any project stronger without interfering with the more technical considerations later. In these situations there is constantly the issue of time and changes that can occur quite quickly, as every digital branch changes and develops periodically.
The first concept that I want to discover the more we delve into the subject is shaped by an authentic perspective, the legacy that the field has received over the years has marked all art forms and the content can be extended into any past or future generation, more concretely you are free in creation, you can found a site in a Byzantine style, medieval, vintage, even to the extreme of a molding of your imagination about implementing an interface representative of a future world.
The principles that Web Design fulfils are:
- Balance
- Rhythm
- Proportion
- Dominance
- Unity
Balance results from looking at images and interpreting them in terms of our ideas of physical structure (more concretely: mass, gravity or the sides of a page). It represents the placing of objects in a design in relation to their visual weight within a composition, usually balance comes in two forms: symmetrical and asymmetrical.
Rhythm is the repetition or alternation of elements, using intervals/spaces between them. Rhythm can create a sense of movement and establish pattern and texture. The types of rhythms are very varied, but often defined by the feeling you get when you look at it. Rhythm types are: regular, flowing and progressive.
Proportion is represented by the size comparison or distribution of shapes. It is the ratio between elements or between a whole object and one of its parts. Different proportions within a composition can refer to different types of balance or symmetry and can contribute to perceptible quantities and visual depth.
Dominance determines the visual weight of a composition, establishes space and perspective, and often determines where the eye goes first when looking.
The concept of unity describes the relationship between the individual parts and the whole. The goal of unity is achieved when the result gives a sense of wholeness. Unity in design is a concept that stems from Gestalt theory that speaks to visual perception and psychology and specifically to how the human brain organizes visual information into categories or groups.
This was the first part of the Web Design universe, follow us to learn new things every week!
