November 24, 2010

Graphic Design Principles: Alignment

Alignment in Graphic Design
Whatever form the design is, we would be faced to choose the proper use of the alignment or layout. Alignment is very important in the design to build an aesthetically beautiful look and function effectively. Now we will explore some easy tips relating to use of
alignment in graphic design.

In general, the alignment is divided into four main formats, namely the center, left, right, and justify. Let me briefly describe one by one these text formats and about the function and placement of each in the design.

Center


Center alignment is usually used to display the balance and focus on design that does not use a lot of content / items. For example you can see on google homepage, it uses the middle paragraph as the search field. This is because the appearance of the google search field using the minimal content so that the use of a lot of white space (empty space) will make visitors focus on the search field.

Alignment in Graphic Design

Center alignment will be a "weak" if it is used in design with content that is too full of writings, such as books and articles on web pages. The reason is, the absence of the boundary line which serves to make it look more orderly and organized. In addition, in this case the use of center alignment will make the text look messy and unfocused, so the reader will tend to experience confusion to catch any content presented on the text.

Alignment in Graphic Design

Left


Left alignment is the standard use of paragraphs to the text page that uses a lot of content. That will create the element of regularity of the similarity distance between one word with another word. In addition, the views that have been left flat set will look more dynamic and easier to read. Align left suitable for use in the text block on web pages, books, magazines, etc..

Alignment in Graphic Design

Alignment in Graphic Design

Right


Right Alignment (flush right) is used to attract the attention of the reader. Format like this will give a unique impression and attract more attention because of unusual appearance. Usually this will work well only if used for a minimal design content such as business cards, banners, etc..

Alignment in Graphic Design

But don't ever use this type of lay-out for a page dense with text. Since we all read from left to right. So it will be easier for readers to capture the contents of a text page that display regular left as left alignment.

Justify


Justify will make page views seem monotonous and not dynamic. In addition, the size of kerning in the paragraph does not fix, it will make little irregularity in the text that ultimately makes the page difficult to read.

Alignment in Graphic Design

Alignment in Graphic Design

Justify usually used for the layout with a text field that is not so wide like a newspaper page.

That's a few tips from me, if you have a rebuttal, questions, criticisms or suggestions, please submit it via the comment section! :)

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6 Comments

Almost always use justified alignment in my working papers.

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@Criminal Defense Attorney in Los Angeles

yes, it can be useful as a guide on making ads - but basically, every design will require the aligment.

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@cowboy belts

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@Leovi
Yes, it is widely used in the document- and it considered to make a neat impression.

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Interesting read. Got me wondering if the left/right alignment theory is reversed on arabic websites where they read the other way round.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/

Yes, it is.

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Great post with great arguments. I will bookmark it to have it and read time to time. Thanks for sharing.

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