Raffaella Isidori The 7 pillars of design. (And how they apply to life)

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4 Tenho a honra de estar aqui no Porto convosco, numa das cidades que mais gosto em todo o mundo. Muito Obrigada!

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6 communication & visual designer, strategist, creative director, writer, student, professor, coach, mentor, translator, photographer, brand builder, mindful practitioner and Porto lover

7 The 7 pillars of design (and how they apply to your life) Inspired by Alex White s The Elements of Graphic Design

8 these general principles relate to how we perceive things, and thus also permeate many aspects of our lives

9 Being aware of and applying them can help us design better. but also work better, write better, and be better in life

10 In design as in life these principles should be treated as guides, as indications

11 In design as in life these principles should be treated as guides, as indications not as imprisoning rules

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13 modulate them to achieve better, more appealing, and value-added design, products, articles. Projects

14 and lives

15 Vamos!

16 SPACE

17 Space is the area within, around above or below an object, or objects

18 It is also the area at our disposal for the task we are working on

19 In life, space is what surrounds us physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally

20 white space is the space between the elements, as well as the space within the elements

21 white space is not empty space

22 It s a powerful element of design

23 As it enables objects in the designed space to exist at all

24 M. C. Escher, Day and Night (1938)

25 Whitespaceisthemostimportant,subtle andinvisiblekindofpunctuationorpunct us:apoint,adivisionofmultiplicity,asom ethingoutofeverything

26 In life, white space is silence, pause, a needed time to recharge

27 It can be physical: sleep, napping, or time away from work or people

28 It can be mental: meditation, running, a hobby, or unplugging

29 We need white space in life to better see, feel and appreciate the filled space

30 UNITY HARMONY

31 In a design, when all elements are in harmony, no individual part is predominant and perceived as more important than the whole.

32 Achieving harmony is a main goal of good design

33 And also of a worthy life

34 When all elements in our lives are in harmony, our quality of life is superior and rich

35 To avoid chaotic - or dull design, we need a good balance between unity and variety

36 we need a good balance between the known and the new, the safe and the exciting

37 In design, we can achieve unity in 4 ways:

38 1 - Proximity: elements that are physically close are seen as related.

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40 Proximity, in life, is community

41 2 - Similarity: elements that share similar position, size, color, shape, or texture are seen as related (thus united)

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43 Similarity, in our lives, makes us feel safe and belonging [like, here, now]

44 It can also make us curious (or suspicious) about the unfamiliar/unknown

45 3 - Repetition and rhythm: recurring position, size, color, or use of graphic elements creates unity. Rhythm is repetition with a focal point interruption

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47 Having routines and breaking routines. Appreciating comfort, and breaking out of comfort

48 4 variations on a theme provide continuity while retaining interest

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50 Well pasta is great but we gotta change the sauce don t we?

51 GESTALT

52 The fundamental principle of Gestalt perception is the law of Prägnanz

53 humans tend to order their experience in a manner that is regular, orderly, symmetrical, and simple

54 And that minds perceive external stimuli as a whole rather than a sum of parts

55 In design, this means that all the elements that are part of a whole are affected by what surrounds them (each other)

56 By manipulating the relationship between the parts, we can change the cumulative perception of the whole

57 we perceive experiences as whole and our perception is affected by the context

58 In addition to proximity (1), and similarity (2), some gestalt grouping principles include:

59 3 closure: the mind tends to see a complete figure even when it is shown only parts of it

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61 In life, this may lead us to jump to conclusions

62 (especially if we don t listen)

63 4 continuity: the mind perceives objects on a path as being grouped together

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65 In life, this may lead to prejudice

66 5 simplicity: if elements in space form a pattern that is regular, simple and orderly they will be perceived as units

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68 This, in life, may lead to generalization

69 Gestalt principles applied to life, should be reminders, that perception and reality may differ

70 And things may not be as simple - or as predictable as we might think (or like)

71 HIERARCHY

72 Best expressed through proximity, hierarchy is necessary to convey meaning in a proper/correct order

73 In design, we can achieve hierarchy through: size, alignment, repetition contrast, and color

74 In life, hierarchy can be determined in many ways and applied to many things

75 It can be an asset, a goal, an imposition, a privilege, an opportunity, or a penalty

76 But it still boils down to establishing priorities

77 CONTRAST DOMINANCE

78 These concepts are closely related to each other, and to hierarchy

79 Lack of dominance in a group of equally-weighted elements forces competition amongst them

80 And this is true in life as well

81 Lack of contrast/dominance in design creates messages that are hard to decipher

82 poor hierarchy in design delivers an unpleasant experience

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84 Contrast (diversity) adds interest, value and spice

85 Eccessive contrast manifests a need for change or for better balance

86 COLOR

87 Color is partly artistry but mostly science and common sense Alex W. White

88 Attract attention

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90 Identify and group elements

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92 Convey a mood

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98 And in life? Aside from the practical (or fashionable) applications

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100 Color is more than a chromatic expression

101 People, emotions, friends, family, moments, lovers, enemies, victories, pets, music, failures, food, passions, dislikes, feelings

102 This is color in our lives

103 BALANCE

104 Or, as it can be defined: the state of equalized tension

105 Or, as it can be defined: the state of equalized tension which is not necessarily a state of calm

106 In design, there are 3 types of balance

107 Symmetrical (or formal) vertically centered and visually equivalent on both sides

108 Static, Classic, Formal, Consistent

109 Asymmetrical (or informal) variety of sizes, careful use of white space

110 Dynamic, Modern, Powerful, Vital

111 Overall (or mosaic) Too much information, lack of contrast and hierarchy

112 Unfocused, Confusing, Noisy

113 Balance, in life, is harder to achieve than in design

114 An holistic vision

115 being aware of the deceptiveness of perception

116 a wise use of (our) space

117 and a good mix of harmony, priorities, contrast and color

118 Combined, these principles can provide some guidance and inspiration

119 For us to design a desirable, valuable, interesting, and worthy life

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121 get in

122 slides here (tomorrow):