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Throughout history, art as a medium of expression has been important to the success of government, society, and most of all opinions and ideals. The idea that composition and creativity can actually create something infamous is an understatement and with the conception of the Internet, it makes about anybody capable of creating something…good or bad. The differences that are going to make you a better designer than that other guy is going to be your fundamental knowledge of the essentials. The objects of fundamentals will separate you from the other designers and your business competition because you know what is qualified as a good design. There is actually more than what meets the eye.

            In this particular article, the design essential that we will focus on is the differences between formal and informal design in both graphic design and web design. Although, most of the examples will focus on graphic design, the same elements can be applied to the ideas of web design.

            The first most vital tidbit of information is the definition of formal design: “Conscious symmetrical repetition, while clearly creating perfect balance within a design”. Think of formal balance in design as sort of a hierarchy or checklist to make sure you have all of these elements or characteristics.

-       Balance- The equilibrium that results from looking at images and judging them against mass.

-       Rhythm- The repetition of certain elements to create a sense of movement.

-       Proportion- The comparison of dimensions or distribution.

-       Dominance- The visual weight of a design.

-       Unity- The relationship between the individual parts of the design.

The definition and qualifications of formal design are simple enough to understand. We designers actually use these principles everyday. For example, balance, rhythm, proportion, dominance, and unity are the ideas that successful designer’s use to create magnificent websites or compositions. As an example, Twitter uses the essential elements to create a successful website in the eyes of designers and viewers alike. Take a look at the content, it is centered and therefore uses the rule of formal balance. How about the navigation? With the idea of the relative box surrounding it, proportion and dominance come into play with the content box. And finally, unity is achieved with the idea of the rounded corners of the content and all of the other elements to create a design that pulls together for the fact that they share the same qualities.

In opposition to formal design is obviously informal design. Informal design concepts are just as important and may actually cause more planning than formal design concepts might take. Another name for informal design is asymmetrical balance. With the ideas of informal design in place, can you think of any examples? In web design, it is very hard to relate asymmetrical balance to a website for the fact that there is always a natural idea to make the final web composition balanced and visually easy to navigate and get around. In web design, there are not many examples of informal design. After researching, I found only one example of informal design that can be relatable and that is the idea of the human face. On all faces, the eye, mouth, or other elements may not be similar to the other side. The concepts of Informal design are a hard one to grasp and usually most people just consider informal design concepts the opposite of formal design concepts and that may make some sense of the concepts.

            One concept that creates discussion is the idea that designers should design with the viewer in mind. In web design, this idea is essential to the success of the website. A particular theory or study that talks about this visual relationship between the designer and the viewer is the Gestalt Theory. “The Gestalt Theory is involved with visual perception and the psychology of art among other things. It is concerned with the relationship between the parts and the whole of a composition” The five Gestalt concepts that may help you as a designer with the success of your website or composition are:

-       Closure: The mind supplies the missing pieces in a composition

-       Continuance- The eye continues in the direction it is going

-       Similarity- What an items looks like in relation to other items

-       Proximity- Where items are in relationship to each other

-       Alignment- Lining up objects to organize and form groups

With these characteristics of the psychology of the viewer, does it help you as a designer achieve the effect you were looking for? In my eyes, it creates a stepping-stone to understanding the viewer and how to achieve success, however you as a designer should not live on these ideas alone. Experiment with different designs and see what the viewer takes a liking to. Look at the past designers like Jacques-David, van Gogh, Picasso; they did not have these resources or the actual science of design. Just have fun with your concepts and in the end, you will have success.

            In conclusion, the ideas behind formal and informal design may help you to achieve your success as a graphic or web designer. The philosophies laid down by past designers and artists are an extremely easy way to determine success and what has worked in the past. When learning the design essentials, I realized that I apply these qualifications to my designs without even knowing it. But now to have the arsenal of knowing these fundamentals, it makes it easier and unproblematic to create a unique design that I know the viewer, customer, or teacher will understand and appreciate.

Other resources used in this article:

Design Notes: Gestalt (http://daphne.palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html)

Design Basics by David Lauer