5 Design Thinking Principles, Examples & Stages

October 17, 2024

Designs appear to be the most simple thing, but the moment the pen hits the paper it could be more frustrating than anything. It is hard to visually express or convey the message as illustrated. 

That’s when the design elements, like line, structure, texture, etc are considered to be the building blocks of design, and the principles are considered the rules. In fact, as a business, you must have an understanding of the design thinking principles to enhance the functionality of your latest graphic design product. 

So are you confused about why are the principles of design important and what are these design principles? 

If so, this post has the answer for you. Below we have shared a detailed guide on the basic 5 design principles with 6 stages of design thinking.

Keep reading!

Why Are The Principles Of Design Important?

Well, it is no wonder that understanding the principles of design is essential for creating effective and visually appealing compositions. These principles serve as foundational guidelines that help designers achieve balance, unity, and clarity in their work.

By understanding these principles, designers can ensure that their designs not only attract attention but also communicate messages effectively. 

For instance, principles such as balance and contrast help in distributing visual weight and emphasizing important elements, respectively. This is crucial in guiding the viewer’s eye and enhancing the overall user experience.

Additionally, principles like repetition and alignment contribute to consistency and organization, making designs more cohesive and easier to navigate. 

Ultimately, the principles of design are not merely rules to follow; they are tools that enable designers to create meaningful and functional designs that resonate with users.

Mastery of these principles can significantly reduce the trial-and-error process often associated with design, leading to more efficient and successful outcomes in various projects.

5 Design Principles With Tips

Every design is made with a message and user perspective in mind. By making use of these 5 principles in mind, businesses can create an effective and informative design. Here is the overview of 5 design principles: 

• Balance 
• Alignment 
• Repetition 
• Contrast 
• Hierarchy 

Ready to explore them in detail? 

1. Balance

Balance is the distribution of elements in a design to create a sense of visual equilibrium. Moreover, Balance is usually of 2 main types: symmetrical and asymmetrical.

• Symmetrical balance: This is achieved when the elements on a page are evenly distributed on either side of a central axis.

• Asymmetrical balance: This balance is achieved when the elements on a page are not evenly distributed, but they still create a sense of visual equilibrium.

These are 2 types of balance and can be effective, but remember it is quite essential to make a choice of the right type of balance for your design. For instance, if you’re designing a formal document, you can use symmetrical balance. However,  if you’re designing a creative piece, you can use asymmetrical balance.

Tips To Use Balance Effectively:

• Consider the weight of each element when creating a balanced design. For instance, a huge image will have more weight than a small piece of text.

• Use white space to create balance in your design. White space is the space around and between elements.

• Use alignment and repetition to create balance.

2. Alignment 

It is a kind of a way or pattern elements are arranged about each other. However, it is essential to align the elements carefully to seamlessly create a sense of order and unity in the design. There are several other ways to align elements, such as right-aligned, left-aligned, center, and justified. 

Tips To Use Alignment Effectively

• Use a consistent alignment for the overall text on your page.

• Align related elements together as heading & subheading on the blog post. 

• Use elements to create a visual hierarchy, with the most important elements at the top and less essential elements at the bottom.

3. Repetition 

This is the utilization of the same elements repetitively. This principle can be used to create a sense of unity and rhythm, as well as to emphasize required elements. 

Tips To Use Repetition Effectively:

• Make use of color, font, and other several designs to create a cohesive look for your design. 

• Use repetition to create a visual pattern,i.e., you can repeat a series of icons or images to create a background or border.

• Use repetition to emphasize important elements,i.e., you can repeat a keyword or phrase in your design.

4. Contrast

Contrast refers to the difference in more than 2 elements in a design. It focuses on creating visual interest and making essential elements stand out.

However, there are multiple ways to create contrast in a design, for example using different colors, fonts, sizes, and weights. You can also create contrast by using negative and positive space. 

Tips To Use Contrast Effectively:

• Use contrast to make important elements stand out. For instance, you can make use of a bold font for a headline or a bright color for the CTA (call-to-action) button.

• Use contrast to create visual interest,i.e., use light text on the dark background and or dark text on the light background.

• Create a sense of depth with contrast in your design. For example, use a place overlapping elements or a gradient background on top of each other.

5. Hierarchy

It is basically the element arrangement in a design to showcase its importance. Hierarchy is important to use if you want to make the audience understand your design and get the information they find.

There are some ways to create a hierarchy in a design, for example using various fonts, sizes, colors, and weights. Also you can create hierarchy by using placements with quite essential elements at the top and the less important elements at the bottom. 

Tips To Use Hierarchy Effectively:

• Use size to indicate the importance of elements,i.e., use a larger headline than the subheadline and keep the body text shorter than the subheadline.

• Use font to indicate the importance of elements,i.e., use a bold font for your headline and a more subdued font for your body text.

• Use color to indicate the importance of elements,i.e., use a bright color for your call-to-action button and a more neutral color for your body text.

• Use placement to indicate the importance of elements,i.e., place your headline at the top of your page and your call-to-action button at the bottom.

6 Stages Of Design Thinking

Well, design thinking methodology is advantageous in the complicated and poorly defined concerns that require a human-centered rethink.  In fact, design thinking is a nonlinear repetitive process whose stages usually overlap and are not essentially sequential. 

Teams can freely use this methodology to stay ahead of the user’s needs while also being focused on encouraging creativity and collaboration.

This methodology is somewhat similar to the experimental method and can encourage using creative ideas, tools, and techniques, specifically during the early stages of flow. There are 6 stages of design thinking, which are as follows:

• Empathize 
• Define
• Ideate 
• Prototype 
• Test
• Implement 

Here is the detailed version of these Stages:

1. Empathize 

So, it is quite essential to empathize with the target audience and have an understanding of their requirements and analyze the challenges at hand.

This phase encourages you to observe and engage with the audience, know about their expectations, and analyze the existing challenges. Providing surveys and worthy interviews are some of the best ways to start the empathizing stage with the targeted audience. 

2. Define

Next comes the stage to collect and analyze the data from the 1st stage – “empathize”. This stage is essential to clearly define the exact concern statement.

A good problem statement should be treated as more human-centered than just as a business goal. This will assist in outlining the actual issue, before beginning with the other stage. 

3. Ideate 

Since you are aware of your targeted audience & their expectations, and have a clearly defined problem statement, it is time to generate creative ideas.

Usually, for this stage, businesses need to have a comprehensive discussion around the table and explore creative solutions to potentially solve the problem statement as early as possible. 

4. Prototype 

This is an experimental stage that focuses on finding the best solution for each identified problem. Do this by using scaled-down versions of the concept—also called prototypes—which are tested on users.

And then based on the feedback, make changes and develop products that effectively meet customers’ needs.  

5. Test

So, once the final prototype is ready, put it to the test by observing how the target audience interacts with the design and what their review is.

However, still it is an interactive stage, where you can go back and make improvements to ensure the end solution is aligned with the overall user review. 

6. Implement 

The implementation stage is frequently referred to as the sixth and last stage in certain models.

This stage is where the visualized output execute. It is the conclusion stage of the other stages that come together post-development to implement the final solution. 

Explore the Design Thinking Principles with RichestSoft

Since you have shortened your concern about “why are the principles of design important” and explored 5 design principles and 6 stages of design thinking, it’s time to have an understanding of why businesses need great expertise like, RichestSoft to get the design thinking principles for app or website development.  

RichestSoft’s expertise allows businesses to handle the complexities of design thinking. We have dedicated UX &UI Designers who help businesses to empathize with users, define problems clearly, ideate innovative solutions, prototype effectively, and test their designs iteratively. 

Our structured approach encourages creativity and ensures that the final product aligns closely with user expectations, reducing the risk of costly development errors.

Moreover, organizations that integrate design thinking into their processes have been shown to outperform their competitors significantly, as they are better equipped to adapt to changing market demands and consumer behaviors. 

In an increasingly digital world, where first impressions has often made online, having a well-designed website or app is essential for establishing credibility and attracting clients.

Therefore, partnering with a skilled mobile app design agency like RichestSoft can be a strategic investment for businesses aiming to enhance their online presence and drive growth through superior design and user experience

Conclusion

Overall, these above-mentioned design thinking principles examples serve as the foundation for creating designs that are not only visually appealing but also functional. They can be applied across design disciplines like design, web design, and app design.  

Businesses today must leverage great expertise, like those offered by RichestSoft, to effectively implement design thinking principles in app & web development. Design thinking is a human-centered approach that emphasizes understanding user needs. 

This is essential for creating products that resonate with customers. In fact, RichestSoft is a top Webflow design firm where you will hire Webflow developers who will bring interactiveness, engagement, and the desired vibe to your web design.