layout and Composition in a way they're
the foundation of design they give your
work structure and make it easier to
navigate from the margins on the sides
to the content in between of course it's
not just about working with text
composition matters in other mediums too
like graphic design web design and much
more without a well composed layout your
work would basically fall apart the key
to mastering layout and composition is
to think like a designer luckily it's
easier than it sounds
there are five basic principles that can
help you transform your work and sharpen
your eye for design let's start at the
top and work 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 related items are
grouped together for example blocks of
text 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
whitespace is an important part of every
composition now this doesn't mean
literal whitespace
it just means negative space like the
spaces between your content between
lines and even the outer margins there's
no one way to use whitespace correctly
but it's good to understand its purpose
whitespace 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 whitespace 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
could start to feel this organized
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 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 elements 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 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 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 a
nudge here some extra whitespace there
and voila with a little attention to
detail you can create beautiful
professional-looking compositions
thanks for joining us for the basics of
layout and Composition check out the
rest of our design topics including
typography color and images
you