Design Principles

There are three basic design principles that you must be aware of when communicating visually with data—simplification, heirarchy, and layout.

Simplification

• Focus only on the things that matter.
• Data can only represent a small part of reality. Don't try to put too many things in your visualization.
• Avoid unnecessary clutter in your charts—but necessary clutter is fine.

Hierarchy

• Some objects are more important than others. Reflect that in your visualizaton.
• Utilize size - larger elements are more important than smaller elements.
• Utilize contrast - elements that pop off the page are more important than muted ones.
• Utilize positioning - our eyes usually follow a common pattern when reading a page, take advantage of that. All things being the same, people who read from left to right usually follow the “Z” path when looking at objects.

Layouts

• Similar to positioning, use your layout to help users know where to look.
• Portrait layout is good for documents and posters while a landscape is good for presentations.
• Proximity - elements placed close to each other will appear to be related.
• Enclosure - when you enclose things, you encourage the perception of these things belonging together.
• Separation - adding a line or space between elements makes them seem separated / disjoint.
• Connection - similar to enclosure, when you connect elements, you encourage the perception of these elements belonging to a group.
• Be consistent - establish a style for each design element and use it for similar elements.

See Graphic design has rules and they work (Laurel Coons)