Design Principles

Design principles are guidelines that have been established by other designers who have used them to produce good results. Normally, following these principles delivers sound design. But there is no one formula for perfection, and there are many instances in which design principles are disregarded entirely.

The 80/20 rule, also called the Pareto principle, suggests that 80% of the effects in a system are only generated by 20% of its parts. For example, you only interface with 20% of a car or computer but that minimal interface has a 80% or greater control. For designers, this means that 20% is emphasized over 80% of the parts which are not visible in the presentation.

The driver only needs to access 20% of the car's mechanics.

Accessibility is most often associated with designing products that can be used by all people, including those with disabilities. It also means creating products that can be understood by all people, such as in the use of universal symbols. Designers should also consider the variation in size of users.

Five Hat Racks, also called continuum of hierarchy, is a theory that information can only be organized by the alphabet, time, location, continuum (small to largest) or category. The idea was stated in 1989 in a book called “Information Anxiety.” There is also disorganized orrandom grouping. We can actually study design in any of these ways, by the alphabetical order of names, the history, geographic regions, smallest to largest or categorically.

Arranging information in the same way does not mean it will look the same. Here color is arranged in continuum but varies in form.

In 1896 in an essay describing skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan (1856-1924) wrote “form ever follows function. This is the law.” Most simply, Sullivan was implying that the designer must first consider use, and then secondly the aesthetics. Some designers interpret the phrase

to mean adherence to use and function will always generate the best form. In the early twentieth century, there was a movement of functionalism that emphasized use value and simple forms. Sullivan’s phrase has also been stated as “form follows fiction,” because some people argue that the first step of design is always the imaginary vision, then function, then form.

Here function follows form and makes the bike unusable.

The hierarchy of needs is based on Abraham Maslow’s psychological theory that basic needs should be met before aesthetics. This means a designer should accomplish the function first.Function is followed by reliability, then usability (ease), then proficiency (improvements to daily life) and finally creativity (of the designer and the user).

Maslow's pyramid

Ockham’s Razor suggests that when users are given the option between two equal items, they will normally prefer the simplest design and overtime it will succeed. The clear presentation of information or controls facilitates use. Think of how something functions in an emergency or even just a hurry, people do not want to deal with complications.

Lindon Leader made Federal Express into Fed Ex in 1994

Rule of Thirds is a method for dividing a medium into three parts. If designing on a blank screen, you can divide it into three vertical columns to create an even harmony.

Symmetry is the visual equivalence among elements in a form. Reflection symmetry duplicates on a central mirror line. Rotation symmetry rotates design around a common axis. Translation symmetry locates the elements in a different area.

Designer Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi created the Love/Respect Axis. According to Roberts, most products can gain respect through quality that gives long term reliability. But a product can only gain love through genuine emotional connections. Despite these axes, there is no one formula for a masterpiece, as many designs surprise all the predictions.