hypothesis graphic design

InVisionApp, Inc.

Inside Design

5 steps to a hypothesis-driven design process

  •   mar 22, 2018.

S ay you’re starting a greenfield project, or you’re redesigning a legacy app. The product owner gives you some high-level goals. Lots of ideas and questions are in your mind, and you’re not sure where to start.

Hypothesis-driven design will help you navigate through a unknown space so you can come out at the end of the process with actionable next steps.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Start with questions and assumptions

On the first day of the project, you’re curious about all the different aspects of your product. “How could we increase the engagement on the homepage? ” “ What features are important for our users? ”

Related: 6 ways to speed up and improve your product design process

To reduce risk, I like to take some time to write down all the unanswered questions and assumptions. So grab some sticky notes and write all your questions down on the notes (one question per note).

I recommend that you use the How Might We technique from IDEO to phrase the questions and turn your assumptions into questions. It’ll help you frame the questions in a more open-ended way to avoid building the solution into the statement prematurely. For example, you have an idea that you want to make riders feel more comfortable by showing them how many rides the driver has completed. You can rephrase the question to “ How might we ensure rider feel comfortable when taking ride, ” and leave the solution part out to the later step.

“It’s easy to come up with design ideas, but it’s hard to solve the right problem.”

It’s even more valuable to have your team members participate in the question brainstorming session. Having diverse disciplines in the room always brings fresh perspectives and leads to a more productive conversation.

Step 2: Prioritize the questions and assumptions

Now that you have all the questions on sticky notes, organize them into groups to make it easier to review them. It’s especially helpful if you can do the activity with your team so you can have more input from everybody.

When it comes to choosing which question to tackle first, think about what would impact your product the most or what would bring the most value to your users.

If you have a big group, you can Dot Vote to prioritize the questions. Here’s how it works: Everyone has three dots, and each person gets to vote on what they think is the most important question to answer in order to build a successful product. It’s a common prioritization technique that’s also used in the Sprint book by Jake Knapp —he writes, “ The prioritization process isn’t perfect, but it leads to pretty good decisions and it happens fast. ”

Related: Go inside design at Google Ventures

Step 3: Turn them into hypotheses

After the prioritization, you now have a clear question in mind. It’s time to turn the question into a hypothesis. Think about how you would answer the question.

Let’s continue the previous ride-hailing service example. The question you have is “ How might we make people feel safe and comfortable when using the service? ”

Based on this question, the solutions can be:

• Sharing the rider’s location with friends and family automatically
• Displaying more information about the driver
• Showing feedback from previous riders

Now you can combine the solution and question, and turn it into a hypothesis. Hypothesis is a framework that can help you clearly define the question and solution, and eliminate assumption.

From Lean UX

We believe that [ sharing more information about the driver’s experience and stories ] For [ the riders ] Will [ make riders feel more comfortable and connected throughout the ride ]

4. Develop an experiment and testing the hypothesis

Develop an experiment so you can test your hypothesis. Our test will follow the scientific methods, so it’s subject to collecting empirical and measurable evidence in order to obtain new knowledge. In other words, it’s crucial to have a measurable outcome for the hypothesis so we can determine whether it has succeeded or failed.

There are different ways you can create an experiment, such as interview, survey , landing page validation, usability testing, etc. It could also be something that’s built into the software to get quantitative data from users. Write down what the experiment will be, and define the outcomes that determine whether the hypothesis is valids. A well-defined experiment can validate/invalidate the hypothesis.

In our example, we could define the experiment as “ We will run X studies to show more information about a driver (number of ride, years of experience), and ask follow-up questions to identify the rider’s emotion associated with this ride (safe, fun, interesting, etc.). We will know the hypothesis is valid when we get more than 70% identify the ride as safe or comfortable. ”

After defining the experiment, it’s time to get the design done. You don’t need to have every design detail thought through. You can focus on designing what is needed to be tested.

When the design is ready, you’re ready to run the test. Recruit the users you want to target , have a time frame, and put the design in front of the users.

5. Learn and build

You just learned that the result was positive and you’re excited to roll out the feature. That’s great! If the hypothesis failed, don’t worry—you’ll be able to gain some insights from that experiment. Now you have some new evidence that you can use to run your next experiment. In each experiment, you’ll learn something new about your product and your customers.

“Design is a never-ending process.”

What other information can you show to make riders feel safe and comfortable? That can be your next hypothesis. You now have a feature that’s ready to be built, and a new hypothesis to be tested.

Principles from from The Lean Startup

We often assume that we understand our users and know what they want. It’s important to slow down and take a moment to understand the questions and assumptions we have about our product.

After testing each hypothesis, you’ll get a clearer path of what’s most important to the users and where you need to dig deeper. You’ll have a clear direction for what to do next.

by Sylvia Lai

Sylvia Lai helps startup and enterprise solve complex problems through design thinking and user-centered design methodologies at Pivotal Labs . She is the biggest advocate for the users, making sure their voices are heard is her number one priority. Outside of work, she loves mentoring other designers through one-on-one conversation. Connect with her through LinkedIn or Twitter .

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How to create a perfect design hypothesis

A design hypothesis is a cornerstone of the UX and UI design process. It guides the entire process, defines research needs, and heavily influences the final outcome.

Doing any design work without a well-defined hypothesis is like riding a car without headlights. Although still possible, it forces you to go slower and dramatically increases the chances of unpleasant pitfalls.

The importance of a hypothesis in the design process

Design change for your hypothesis, the objective of your hypothesis, mapping underlying assumptions in your hypothesis, example 1: a simple design hypothesis, example 2: a robust design hypothesis.

There are three main reasons why no discovery or design process should start without a well-defined and framed hypothesis. A good design hypothesis helps us:

• Guide the research
• Nail the solutions
• Maximize learnings and enable iterative design

A design hypothesis guides research

A good hypothesis not only states what we want to achieve but also the final objective and our current beliefs. It allows designers to assess how much actual evidence there is to support the hypothesis and focus their research and discovery efforts on areas they are least confident about.

Research for the sake of research brings waste. Research for the sake of validating specific hypotheses brings learnings.

A design hypothesis influences the design and solution

Design hypothesis gives much-needed context. It helps you:

• Ideate right solutions
• Focus on the proper UX
• Polish UI details

The more detailed and robust the design hypothesis, the more context you have to help you make the best design decisions.

A design hypothesis maximizes learnings and enables iterative design

If you design new features blindly, it’s hard to truly learn from the launch. Some metrics might go up. Others might go down, so what?

With a well-defined design hypothesis, you can not only validate whether the design itself works but also better understand why and how to improve it in the future. This helps you iterate on your learnings.

Components of a good design hypothesis

I am not a fan of templatizing how a solid design hypothesis should look. There are various ways to approach it, and you should choose whatever works for you best. However, there are three essential elements you should include to ensure you get all the benefits mentioned earlier of using design hypotheses, that is:

• Design change
• The objective
• Underlying assumptions

The fundamental part is the definition of what you are trying to do. If you are working on shortening the onboarding process, you might simply put “[…] we’d like to shorten the onboarding process […].”

The goal here is to give context to a wider audience and be able to quickly reference that the design hypothesis is concerning. Don’t fret too much about this part; simply boil the problem down to its essentials. What is frustrating your users?

In other words, the objective is the “why” behind the change. What exactly are you trying to achieve with the planned design change? The objective serves a few purposes.

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First, it’s a great sanity check. You’d be surprised how many designers proposed various ideas, changes, and improvements without a clear goal. Changing design just for the sake of changing the design is a no-no.

It also helps you step back and see if the change you are considering is the best approach. For instance, if you are considering shortening the onboarding to increase the percentage of users completing it, are there any other design changes you can think of to achieve the same goal? Maybe instead of shortening the onboarding, there’s a bigger opportunity in simply adjusting the copy? Defining clear objectives invites conversations about whether you focus on the right things.

Additionally, a clearly defined objective gives you a measure of success to evaluate the effectiveness of your solution. If you believed you could boost the completion rate by 40 percent, but achieved only a 10 percent lift, then either the hypothesis was flawed (good learning point for the future), or there’s still room for improvements.

Last but not least, a clear objective is essential for the next step: mapping underlying assumptions.

Now that you know what you plan to do and which goal you are trying to achieve, it’s time for the most critical question.

Why do you believe the proposed design change will achieve the desired objective? Whether it’s because you heard some interesting insights during user interviews or spotted patterns in users’ behavioral data, note it down.

Even if you don’t have any strong justification and base your hypothesis on pure guesses (we all do that sometimes!), clearly name these beliefs. Listing out all your assumption will help you:

• Focus your discovery efforts on validating these assumptions to avoid late disappointments
• Better analyze results post-launch to maximize your learnings

You’ll see exactly how in the examples of good design hypotheses below.

Examples of good design hypotheses

Let’s put it all into practice and see what a good design hypothesis might look like.

I’ll use two examples:

• A simple design hypothesis
• A robust design hypothesis

You should still formulate a design hypothesis if you are working on minor changes, such as changing the copy on buttons. But there’s also no point in spending hours formulating a perfect hypothesis for a fifteen-minute test. In these cases, I’d just use a simple one-sentence hypothesis.

Yet, suppose you are working on an extensive and critical initiative, such as redesigning the whole conversion funnel. In that case, you might want to put more effort into a more robust and detailed design hypothesis to guide your entire process.

A simple example of a design hypothesis could be:

Moving the sign-up button to the top of the page will increase our conversion to registration by 10 percent, as most users don’t look at the bottom of the page.

Although it’s pretty straightforward, it still can help you in a few ways.

First of all, it helps prioritize experiments. If there is another small experiment in the backlog, but with the hypothesis that it’ll improve conversion to registration by 15 percent, it might influence the order of things you work on.

Impact assessments (where the 10 percent or 15 percent comes from) are another quite advanced topic, so I won’t cover it in detail, but in most cases, you can ask your product manager and/or data analyst for help.

It also allows you to validate the hypothesis without even experimenting. If you guessed that people don’t look at the bottom of the page, you can check your analytics tools to see what the scroll rate is or check heatmaps.

Lastly, if your hypothesis fails (that is, the conversion rate doesn’t improve), you get valuable insights that can help you reassess other hypotheses based on the “most users don’t look at the bottom of the page” assumption.

Now let’s take a look at a slightly more robust assumption. An example could be:

Shortening the number of screens during onboarding by half will boost our free trial to subscription conversion by 20 percent because:

• Most users don’t complete the whole onboarding flow
• Shorter onboarding will increase the onboarding completion rate
• Focusing on the most important features will increase their adoption
• Which will lead to aha moments and better premium retention
• Users will perceive our product as simpler and less complex

The most significant difference is our effort to map all relevant assumptions.

Listing out assumptions can help you test them out in isolation before committing to the initiative.

For example, if you believe most users don’t complete the onboarding flow , you can check self-serve tools or ask your PM for help to validate if that’s true. If the data shows only 10 percent of users finish the onboarding, the hypothesis is stronger and more likely to be successful. If, on the other hand, most users do complete the whole onboarding, the idea suddenly becomes less promising.

The second advantage is the number of learnings you can get from the post-release analysis.

Say the change led to a 10 percent increase in conversion. Instead of blindly guessing why it didn’t meet expectations, you can see how each assumption turned out.

It might turn out that some users actually perceive the product as more complex (rather than less complex, as you assumed), as they have difficulty figuring out some functionalities that were skipped in the onboarding. Thus, they are less willing to convert.

Not only can it help you propose a second iteration of the experiment, that learning will help you greatly when working on other initiatives based on a similar assumption.

Closing thoughts

Ensuring everything you work on is based on a solid design hypothesis can greatly help you and your career.

It’ll guide your research and discovery in the right direction, enable better iterative design, maximize learning, and help you make better design decisions.

Some designers might think, “Hypotheses are the job of a product manager, not a designer.”

While that’s partly true, I believe designers should be proactive in working with hypotheses.

If there are none set, do it yourself for the sake of your own success. If all your designs succeed, or worse, flunk, no one will care who set or didn’t set the hypotheses behind these decisions. You’ll be judged, too.

If there’s a hypothesis set upfront, try to understand it, refine it, and challenge it if needed.

Most senior and desired product designers are not just pixel-pushers that do what they are being told to do, but they also play an active role in shaping the direction of the product as a whole. Becoming fluent in working with hypotheses is a significant step toward true seniority.

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The 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process

Design thinking is a methodology which provides a solution-based approach to solving problems. It’s extremely useful when used to tackle complex problems that are ill-defined or unknown—because it serves to understand the human needs involved, reframe the problem in human-centric ways, create numerous ideas in brainstorming sessions and adopt a hands-on approach to prototyping and testing. When you know how to apply the five stages of design thinking you will be impowered because you can apply the methodology to solve complex problems that occur in our companies, our countries, and across the world.

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that can have anywhere from three to seven phases, depending on whom you talk to. We focus on the five-stage design thinking model proposed by the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (the d.school) because they are world-renowned for the way they teach and apply design thinking.

What are the 5 Stages of the Design Thinking Process

The five stages of design thinking, according to the d.school, are:

Empathize : research your users' needs .

Define : state your users' needs and problems.

Ideate : challenge assumptions and create ideas.

Prototype : start to create solutions.

Test : try your solutions out.

Let’s dive into each stage of the design thinking process.

• Transcript loading…

Hasso-Platner Institute Panorama

Ludwig Wilhelm Wall, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Stage 1: Empathize—Research Your Users' Needs

Empathize: the first phase of design thinking, where you gain real insight into users and their needs.

© Teo Yu Siang and the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

The first stage of the design thinking process focuses on user-centric research . You want to gain an empathic understanding of the problem you are trying to solve. Consult experts to find out more about the area of concern and conduct observations to engage and empathize with your users. You may also want to immerse yourself in your users’ physical environment to gain a deeper, personal understanding of the issues involved—as well as their experiences and motivations . Empathy is crucial to problem solving and a human-centered design process as it allows design thinkers to set aside their own assumptions about the world and gain real insight into users and their needs.

Depending on time constraints, you will gather a substantial amount of information to use during the next stage. The main aim of the Empathize stage is to develop the best possible understanding of your users, their needs and the problems that underlie the development of the product or service you want to create.

Stage 2: Define—State Your Users' Needs and Problems

Define: the second phase of design thinking, where you define the problem statement in a human-centered manner.

In the Define stage, you will organize the information you have gathered during the Empathize stage. You’ll analyze your observations to define the core problems you and your team have identified up to this point. Defining the problem and problem statement must be done in a human-centered manner .

For example, you should not define the problem as your own wish or need of the company: “We need to increase our food-product market share among young teenage girls by 5%.”

You should pitch the problem statement from your perception of the users’ needs: “Teenage girls need to eat nutritious food in order to thrive, be healthy and grow.”

The Define stage will help the design team collect great ideas to establish features, functions and other elements to solve the problem at hand—or, at the very least, allow real users to resolve issues themselves with minimal difficulty. In this stage, you will start to progress to the third stage, the ideation phase, where you ask questions to help you look for solutions: “How might we encourage teenage girls to perform an action that benefits them and also involves your company’s food-related product or service?” for instance.

Stage 3: Ideate—Challenge Assumptions and Create Ideas

Ideate: the third phase of design thinking, where you identify innovative solutions to the problem statement you’ve created.

During the third stage of the design thinking process, designers are ready to generate ideas. You’ve grown to understand your users and their needs in the Empathize stage, and you’ve analyzed your observations in the Define stage to create a user centric problem statement. With this solid background, you and your team members can start to look at the problem from different perspectives and ideate innovative solutions to your problem statement .

There are hundreds of ideation techniques you can use—such as Brainstorm, Brainwrite , Worst Possible Idea and SCAMPER . Brainstorm and Worst Possible Idea techniques are typically used at the start of the ideation stage to stimulate free thinking and expand the problem space. This allows you to generate as many ideas as possible at the start of ideation. You should pick other ideation techniques towards the end of this stage to help you investigate and test your ideas, and choose the best ones to move forward with—either because they seem to solve the problem or provide the elements required to circumvent it.

Stage 4: Prototype—Start to Create Solutions

Prototype: the fourth phase of design thinking, where you identify the best possible solution.

The design team will now produce a number of inexpensive, scaled down versions of the product (or specific features found within the product) to investigate the key solutions generated in the ideation phase. These prototypes can be shared and tested within the team itself, in other departments or on a small group of people outside the design team.

This is an experimental phase, and the aim is to identify the best possible solution for each of the problems identified during the first three stages . The solutions are implemented within the prototypes and, one by one, they are investigated and then accepted, improved or rejected based on the users’ experiences.

By the end of the Prototype stage, the design team will have a better idea of the product’s limitations and the problems it faces. They’ll also have a clearer view of how real users would behave, think and feel when they interact with the end product.

Stage 5: Test—Try Your Solutions Out

Test: the fifth and final phase of the design thinking process, where you test solutions to derive a deep understanding of the product and its users.

Designers or evaluators rigorously test the complete product using the best solutions identified in the Prototype stage. This is the final stage of the five-stage model; however, in an iterative process such as design thinking, the results generated are often used to redefine one or more further problems. This increased level of understanding may help you investigate the conditions of use and how people think, behave and feel towards the product, and even lead you to loop back to a previous stage in the design thinking process. You can then proceed with further iterations and make alterations and refinements to rule out alternative solutions. The ultimate goal is to get as deep an understanding of the product and its users as possible.

Did You Know Design Thinking is a Non-Linear Process?

We’ve outlined a direct and linear design thinking process here, in which one stage seemingly leads to the next with a logical conclusion at user testing . However, in practice, the process is carried out in a more flexible and non-linear fashion . For example, different groups within the design team may conduct more than one stage concurrently, or designers may collect information and prototype throughout each stage of the project to bring their ideas to life and visualize the problem solutions as they go. What’s more, results from the Test stage may reveal new insights about users which lead to another brainstorming session (Ideate) or the development of new prototypes (Prototype).

It is important to note the five stages of design thinking are not always sequential. They do not have to follow a specific order, and they can often occur in parallel or be repeated iteratively. The stages should be understood as different modes which contribute to the entire design project, rather than sequential steps.

The design thinking process should not be seen as a concrete and inflexible approach to design; the component stages identified should serve as a guide to the activities you carry out. The stages might be switched, conducted concurrently or repeated several times to gain the most informative insights about your users, expand the solution space and hone in on innovative solutions.

This is one of the main benefits of the five-stage model. Knowledge acquired in the latter stages of the process can inform repeats of earlier stages . Information is continually used to inform the understanding of the problem and solution spaces, and to redefine the problem itself. This creates a perpetual loop, in which the designers continue to gain new insights, develop new ways to view the product (or service) and its possible uses and develop a far more profound understanding of their real users and the problems they face.

The Take Away

Design thinking is an iterative, non-linear process which focuses on a collaboration between designers and users. It brings innovative solutions to life based on how real users think, feel and behave.

This human-centered design process consists of five core stages Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test.

It’s important to note that these stages are a guide. The iterative, non-linear nature of design thinking means you and your design team can carry these stages out simultaneously, repeat them and even circle back to previous stages at any point in the design thinking process.

References & Where to Learn More

Take our Design Thinking course which is the ultimate guide when you want to learn how to you can apply design thinking methods throughout a design thinking process. Herbert Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial (3rd Edition), 1996.

d.school, An Introduction to Design Thinking PROCESS GUIDE , 2010.

Gerd Waloszek, Introduction to Design Thinking , 2012.

Hero Image: © the Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.

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What is Design Theory? The Complete Guide to Help You Implement it Into Your Design Projects

The words ‘design theory’ might make you freeze up as the idea of getting theoretical was definitely not what you signed up for. Though, trust us, it’s not as complicated as it sounds, but it is a really important thing for designers to get to grips with. To help you out, we’ve written this definitive guide to help answer the question ‘what is design theory?’

To start, let’s break down the two words separately. Graphic design is the effective visual communication of an idea or concept and theory is a system of ideas intended to explain something. So, put simply, design theory is a system of ideas that explains how and why design works. Designers need to know how everything they put on a page communicates, influences, directs, invites, entices and excites an audience—design theory explains why.

Design theory can be broken into several theoretical approaches for understanding, explaining and describing design knowledge and practice and, next, we’re going to break these down for you. Shillington London teacher Andy Lester explained to us what, as a designer, design theory means to him:

Design theory is the asking and answering of the question “Why am I designing it this way?” If you can’t answer that question at every stage of the design process, you probably need to do a bit more thinking.

“As designers, we shouldn’t be making decisions based on personal preference. We’re not artists.”

So, What Exactly Is Design Theory?

Here we will break down the fundamentals of what we consider to be design theory.

Design Principles

The five design principles should be used in every design project you work on. Each principle is an essential part of a design, but how they work together is the most critical thing to consider when trying to communicate a message to a specific audience. For a more in-depth look at the design principles, check out this article .

Alignment : Aligning elements on a page creates visual connections and creates a unified design. It allows the viewer’s eyes to see order, which makes for easier, more comfortable viewing.

Repetition : Repeating elements creates associations and familiarity—certain elements of a design, if they are repeated, can be used to quickly and easily identify a brand, publication, etc.

Contrast: Contrast can be created when you use two elements that are complete opposites, like a classic and contemporary font or cool and warm colours. Using it creates impact and emphasis in a design.

Hierarchy: Grouping similar things close to each other implies that they are related to each other in some way—hierarchy is fundamental in creating organisation in a design.

Balance: Balance is the weight distributed on a page by how things are placed. There are two kinds—symmetrical balance and balance by tension. It gives a design stability and structure.

Working together all five design principles create a design that is visually appealing and structured so that legibility and readers’ comfort are key to the design.

Colour Theory And Colour Technical

Colour theory breaks down how and why to use a specific colour or colour palette in a design. It explains why colour can be a very powerful tool; how it can entice or persuade, create a specific emotion or convince someone of something. For example, the colour red can be associated with passion or strength—they demand attention.

Colour theory also considers how the different factors that must be contemplated when colours are chosen for a design, though how a colour is received differs person-to-person.

Being able to correctly choose a colour and harness its potential is the mark of a successful designers.

On the other hand, colour technical is a series of technical considerations about the application of colour in a finished design. These considerations alter depending on a number of things, like whether a design is digital or printed. Colour technical includes things like colour mixing (additive or subtractive), colour systems (RGB, CMYK, etc.) and colour gamut.

Design Thinking

Also known as human-centered design, design thinking is all about putting the user first and creating a design for a specific intended audience.

In other words, it’s about the designer putting themselves into the shoes of the person who is going to interact with their design.

Design thinking can be broken down into five key stages:

Empathise : They need to understand this person, their likes, dislikes and what they will respond well to.

Define : They then need to define the problem that needs to be solved through their design.

Iterate : They need to brainstorm several ideas of how to solve these problems.

Prototype : Decide what these ideas will look like and build them.

Test : The intended audience tests the design to discover what did and didn’t work.

Stages do not need to be in this order—though it’s important to always start with empathy—and you can go back and revise stages if your test is not successful.

Graphic Elements

Designers should know how to identify a graphic element and be able to use them in a design.

Graphic elements are a combination of forms, lines and shapes—some examples include line work, pattern, texture and type. Used sparingly, graphic elements can be used to provide variation and interest in a design or create hierarchy to guide the viewer through a design.

The difference between a graphic element and illustration is that graphic elements are purely decorative, while illustration aims to communicate a concept or message.

Okay, So What Are The Benefits Of Knowing All This?

Design theory gives you the knowledge and ability to combine form (the design principles etc.) and function (the design purpose) which, according to Bauhaus theory, is the basis of any successful design. In layman’s terms, you need both design theory and a practical knowledge of design to create effective design solutions.

Being a good designer is more than just knowing the software, it’s about understanding the theory behind it and how this should affect your decisions and outcomes.

On top of this, design theory also enables a designer to talk eloquently about their designs. They are able to explain how theoretical decisions lead to their chosen outcome, rather than hollow explanations. This ability will come in useful throughout a design career—from talking through your portfolio in your first job interview to presenting a design to a new, big client as a creative director.

Shillington New York teacher Jimmy Muldoon added:

“No matter if you’re creating identity work, illustration or product design, the design theory fundamentals are very important for any designer.

When you understand the importance of design theory you’re able to create more effective, appealing and valuable work for yourself and your clients.

Designers have been creating with design theory long before software and Adobe CC. If you’re using a pencil or illustrator these principles should be apart of your design process and design critique.”

How Is Design Theory Used in the Real World?

John Palowski, Shillington’s Course Content Manager and Manchester teacher, broke down how a designer might go about using design theory in the real world:

“When a new exciting brief lands, the creative juices tend to flow faster than they have before. The adrenaline can often lead to the investigation of many rabbit holes and after a while you soon start to wonder where on earth is this all leading to.”

Application of design theory is important here to redirect those creative paths towards a more meaningful conclusion.

“As well as this, designers often hit brick walls in their creative process. There are so many moving parts to each brief, that it stands to reason that things don’t click from time to time. By dissecting what the route of the problem may be, it helps to shut out all the other components of the brief to help crack the problem using basic design theory, to get things moving again.”

There you have it! Hopefully we’ve been able to break down the absolute minefield that is design theory for you. No doubt you’ll start noticing it all over the place, be able to recognise the decisions a designer has made and, most importantly, be able to use it in your own designs from now on.

Still don’t get it? Study graphic design with Shillington and take the online graphic design course , and you’ll master both design theory and the technical skills to compliment it in nine months part-time.

Oliver Stevenson February 6, 2020

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A Case for Graphic Design Thinking

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This chapter draws on a range of historical, philosophical and contemporary design references to argue for a broad view of graphic design thinking as a distinct approach to problem-solving. The history of epistemology is linked to the history of modes of communication, and this in turn is intimately tied to the development of textual organization, typographic and diagrammatic representation. Modes of thought and the way we acquire and share knowledge are shown to exist in symbiosis with technological development. In order to help define this mode of thinking, we consider the distinctions and similarities between forms of academic research in the humanities, the sciences, and in design. We also present seven characteristics pertaining to graphic design thinking in particular, making reference to the history and theory of graphic communication as well as to standards of professional practice. The final outcome of this mode of thinking implies action; it is inherently synthetic, generative and future-conscious. Defining and making explicit these seven characteristics puts into sharp relief the potential for graphic design thinking to be a tool of practical and ethical engagement with the world.

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Gillieson, K., Garneau, S. (2018). A Case for Graphic Design Thinking. In: Vermaas, P., Vial, S. (eds) Advancements in the Philosophy of Design. Design Research Foundations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73302-9_7

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Important Theories and Concepts of Graphic Design

Graphic design is a multi-disciplinary field that combines visual art, typography , and page layout to create a variety of communication media such as logos, websites, magazines, and books.

Graphic design is an important part of any culture because it helps us to access the information we need such as product information or text messages from our friends and family.

It can also help us communicate ideas, feelings, and emotions to other people. Graphic design can be used to promote a product or service, or it can be used as a medium of self-expression.

In this article, we will talk about some important theories and concepts related to graphic design.

Table of Contents

What is Design?

Design is the process of creating a plan for an object or environment. The design combines art, science, and technology to create new products, systems, and services that meet specific needs.

It’s important to note that design is not just about making things look pretty–it’s also about making choices based on what works best for the people using your product or service.

Designers must consider aesthetics as well as functionality when developing their plans for objects or environments.

However, design isn’t just about creating something new–it’s also about improving on existing products and services.

What is the Connection between Art and Design?

Design and art are related in a number of ways. Design is considered to be a subset of art, but it’s also more than just an aesthetic process.

Art is a form of self-expression, while the design is a more formalized and practical way of creating objects or environments.

The difference between art and design can be difficult to define, but it’s generally accepted that art tends to be subjective and open to interpretation while the design has a more specific goal in mind.

Art is more about expression and meaning, while the design is about function and purpose. The two are often used together, though the distinction between them isn’t always clear.

Difference between Artist and a Designer

A designer is a person who is involved in the process of designing. Designers are concerned with how things look and what they say about us as individuals, groups, or society as a whole.

They make decisions about color, layout, typography, and images to express their point of view or purpose. An image can result in an advertisement, an instruction manual, or simply a pleasing visual experience.

An artist is someone who creates visual art. They may be concerned with how something looks, but they are also interested in what it means and how it makes them feel.

A painting or sculpture may have a message that is conveyed through its subject matter, composition, or color scheme. While the distinction between artist and designer is not always clear-cut, there are some differences between the two professions.

The difference between artists and designers can be seen in the way they approach their work. An artist looks at the world around them and attempts to capture an image of it in a creative way, while a designer takes a different approach. A designer thinks about how something will look before creating it.

Check out our latest post on 10 Excellent Free and Paid Online Tools for Graphic Designers

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is the process of creating visual elements that communicate a specific message. Graphic designers create logos, websites, advertisements, magazines, and other forms of visual communication.

Graphic design is also the art of visual communication and problem-solving through the use of type, space, and image. It is a process of visual communication, problem-solving, and production.

The visual elements communicate the message to the audience, who are your intended users.

Graphic designers use color, images, fonts, and space to express a message. The design process is often iterative and can take several iterations to get it right.

What is the Theory of Graphic Design?

The theory of design is the study of the principles and elements of graphic design. It’s a set of guidelines that helps to make better designs and is based on many years of research.

The theory of graphic design has been around since ancient times, but it has evolved over time as we’ve learned more about what makes good designs effective.

Theory: What Is It? The Theory Of Design (TOD) is defined as “the study or investigation into some subject matter.” In this case, it refers specifically to the study and analysis of graphic design principles such as color choice or typography usage within an organization’s brand identity system (BIS).

Let’s have a look at the top 5 important theories of graphic design and why they matter.

1. Design Principles

The design principles are the foundation of graphic design. They are used to guide your decisions, from choosing a font to creating an entire brand identity.

In this section, you’ll learn about some common design principles and how they’re applied in graphic design. We’ll also cover some basics about color theory so that you can better understand how it works with other aspects of your projects (and why).

Alignment : Alignment is one of the most basic design principles. It refers to the positioning of elements within a layout or design. Alignments fall into three categories:

• Flush left and flush right (or justified)
• Justified with asymmetrical balance

Repetition : Repetition is a design principle that refers to the use of repeated elements throughout a project. This can be as simple as repeating an image or pattern, or it may involve using multiple fonts, colors, or type sizes. Repetition helps create unity across the design and can make it easier for viewers to understand what they’re seeing.

Contrast: Contrast is a design principle that refers to the use of different elements within a project. The most common types of contrast are: Contrasting fonts (e.g., Helvetica and Arial) Contrasting colors (e.g., black and white) Contrasting shapes (e.g., circles vs. rectangles)

Hierarchy: Hierarchy is a design principle that refers to the way in which elements are arranged so that viewers can quickly understand what they’re seeing. Hierarchy helps you connect with your audience by making it easier for them to navigate your content.

Balance: Balance is a design principle that refers to the use of multiple elements in equal proportion. It’s a way to create visual harmony and emphasize the most important elements in your design.

Using these five principles will allow you to create a design that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

2. Color Theory

Color theory is a study of the effect of colors on people. It’s like art, but it’s not just about art. Color theory is a theoretical framework for understanding and using color in design, as well as a branch of visual perception that studies the psychological effects of color.

Color has been used throughout history as a means of expression and communication, with some cultures relying heavily on it while others have avoided it altogether (like ancient Egypt).

Today, we use all sorts of colors every day–from the clothes we wear to the food we eat–and they can say different things about us depending on their meaning within context.

A color is a powerful tool used in design to evoke different emotions and feelings. It can also be used to represent specific meanings, create order and organization, or enhance the readability of text.

You may also like, Why is Sketching Important in Graphic Design? (Ultimate Guide)

3. Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a problem-solving process that focuses on the needs and aspirations of people. Its purpose is to create solutions that are useful, usable, and desirable for those who will use them.

Design Thinking is a human-centered approach that focuses on the needs and aspirations of people. It encourages designers to think about how their work can make positive changes in society, as opposed to focusing solely on aesthetics or form alone.

The process of design thinking has five distinct stages.

Empathise : The first stage of design thinking is to empathize with your users. This means understanding their needs, goals, and desires. Designers need to think about this in terms of who their audience will be, what they do, and how they behave.

Define : Once you know your users, the next step is to define their problem. This involves understanding what their needs are and how they currently approach solving them. It’s important to note that design thinking isn’t just about creating solutions—it’s about coming up with ideas that are innovative and useful.

Iterate : The third step is to iterate. This means creating many different ideas and prototypes in order to get feedback from users. The goal here is to get as much feedback as possible so that you can improve your designs based on what people want and need.

Prototype : The fourth stage of design thinking is prototyping. This means creating a physical or digital prototype of your product before it goes into production. You should use this stage of design thinking in order to test out your ideas and make sure that they work.

Test : The final step of design thinking is testing. This means that you should get feedback from users on your prototypes in order to make sure that they meet their needs. You can do this by testing out your prototypes with small groups of people or by doing user interviews.

The stages don’t need to be followed in order; you can also use a combination of them to create your product.

4. Graphic Elements

Graphic elements are the building blocks of graphic design. They are the individual components that make up a piece of work, and they can be used to create an overall visual statement.

Graphic elements include:

• Typeface (font)
• Size and proportion of shapes and lines, including line weight or stroke width
• Space around and between objects

These different graphic elements combine with one another to create meaning in your design, whether it’s an advertisement or a website.

You should be familiar with these basic concepts so that you know how your readers will interpret them when they look at your work!

When you look at a piece of design, it’s important to understand that there are different layers that make up your work.

The most basic layer is the visual story itself; this is what you see when you look at a photo or painting. Graphic design deals with all aspects of visual communication, including its planning and implementation.

Don’t forget to read our trending article about How AI-Generated Art is Changing Graphic Design

5. Functionalism

Functionalism is a design theory that focuses on the idea of functionality. Functionalism was developed as an architectural style in the early 20th century by Walter Gropius, who was one of the founders of Bauhaus.

The principles of functionalism were later adapted for graphic design by Paul Rand and others who believed that good design should serve its purpose well without being overly decorative or gimmicky.

Functionalism focuses on designing things that are easy to use and understand. It rejects the idea of using ornamentation or decoration on objects, instead focusing on their function and how they can be used for practical purposes.

Functionalism is a very minimalist design style; it aims to strip away all superfluous elements from an object so that only what’s necessary remains.

How Design Theories are Used by Graphic Designers?

Graphic designers can use the theories and philosophies of design to help them create more effective designs.

For example, they may want to make something look old-fashioned or retro, so they’ll choose a style that fits that idea.

In a sense, these theories are tools that any designer can use to improve their skills and create better designs. These theories aren’t just useful for graphic designers; they can be applied in many different fields of design and even in other areas of life.

Functionalism is another example; it’s a design philosophy that focuses on making objects easy to understand and use.

Graphic designers may also choose a style of design that matches their client’s needs. For example, if they’re designing a website for an old-fashioned business such as a bakery or jewelry store, they’ll choose to use an old-fashioned look and feel to match the client’s brand.

In conclusion, we can say that Graphic Design is a very important field of study and it has many theories and concepts which are very helpful for a designer to know. These theories and concepts help us understand what is design, what is art, and how they differ from each other. Also, there are other things like design principles that give us guidance on how to create better designs based on their characteristics such as functionality or formality.

Recommended reading: 12 Excellent Online Graphic Design Courses (2023)

What are the theories of graphic design?

Theories of graphic design are the ideas that explain how graphic designers create their works. They are based on different assumptions and principles but have one purpose: to help designers create better designs.

What are the five types of graphic design theories?

The five types of graphic design theories are: 1. Design Principles 2. Color Theories 3. Design Thinking 4. Graphic Elements 5. Functionalism

Is it important to use design theories as a graphic designer?

As a graphic designer, it is important to use design theories as a core practice. Design theories help you understand how to create art for specific purposes and audiences, which allows you to choose the most effective way to communicate your message.

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For the first time the word “perm” was mentioned in “The Tale of Past Years”, a fundamental source in the interpretation of the history of the Eastern Slavs created in the early 12th century. Perm were one of the peoples who paid tribute to the Kievan Rus. They were found by the first Russian expeditions to the Urals, to the north of the Kama River basin. Later, in Russian chronicles, this territory was called Old Perm or Perm Vychegodskaya.

Unlike Perm Vychegodskaya, the land along the upper reaches of the Kama River became known as the Great Perm. This name is often found in the written monuments of the 14th century. In the 14th - 17th centuries, the Great Perm included extensive lands along the Kama from its origins in the west to the Ural mountain range in the east, and from the upper reaches of the Pechora River in the north to the Chusovaya River in the south.

Novgorod merchants were the first ones who got interested in the Great Perm (furs and tributes). In the 14th - the first half of the 15th centuries, the Grand Duchy of Moscow began to encroach on the lands in the upper Kama. In the early 15th century, the first Russian settlements were founded in the Great Perm.

More Historical Facts…

In the second half of the 15th century, after the Novgorod Republic ceased to exist, the area became part of the united Russian state. Russia significantly expanded its borders to the east and gained access to new natural resources.

In the 17th century, the town of Sol Kamskaya (Solikamsk) became an important center of military, economic and cultural assimilation of the Middle Urals in the north. In the south-east, the newly constructed town of Kungur played the same role. In the first quarter of the 18th century, about 46,000 people lived on the territory of Great Perm, about 65% of them were Russians.

Until 1727, the Middle Urals was part of Siberian gubernia with the center in Tobolsk, then Perm was part of Kazan gubernia, and, from 1781, by order of Catherine II, the Perm region ruled by a governor-general was formed.

It remained the main mining area of the Russian Empire until the end of the 19th century. There were more than 110 mining plants producing cast iron, iron, steel. For a long time, it was the main provider of copper. Salt production was also developed. In the east of the Urals large deposits of platinum were discovered. By the end of the 19th century, gold mining grew twice.

The 20th century was marked by intense growth of the local industry: engineering structure became more complex and rich. During the Second World War, more than 120 plants were evacuated in the Western Urals. Such branches of industry as chemical, non-ferrous metallurgy, oil-processing developed intensely; oil deposits prospecting began; a number of pulp and paper mills was concentrated in the region; new towns grew on the basis of new industries.

In 1938, Perm Oblast was formed. In 1940-1957, it was called Molotov Oblast. In Soviet times, the Komi-Perm Autonomous District was part of Perm oblast. In 1993, with the adoption of the Constitution of Russia, it became an independent subject of the Russian Federation.

In 2003, a referendum was held in which the residents of Perm Oblast and the Komi-Perm Autonomous District supported the unification of the two regions into one. In 2005, these two administrative regions ceased to exist and the united Perm Krai was formed.

Beautiful nature of Perm Krai

Chamomile field in Perm Krai

Author: Igor V. Kuznetsov

Perm Krai nature

Author: Vasiliy Mitryushin

Perm Krai scenery

Author: Sergey Timofeev

Perm Krai - Features

The territory of Perm Krai is located in the basin of the Kama River, which provides access to 5 seas (the Caspian, Azov, Black, Baltic, and White). The length of Perm krai from north to south is 645 km, form west to east - 417.5 km.

The climate is temperate continental. Winters are long and snowy. The average temperature in January is minus 18.5 degrees Celsius in the north-east and minus 15 degrees Celsius in the south-west, in July - plus 18.6 degrees Celsius.

The largest cities and towns are Perm (1,043,000), Berezniky (134,700), Solikamsk (91,000), Chaikovsky (81,300), Kungur (63,600), Lys’va (58,800), Krasnokamsk (51,000), Chusovoy (42,700). The national composition according to the 2010 Census: Russians (87.1%), Tatars (4.6%), Komi-Permians (3.2%), Bashkirs (1.3%), Udmurts (0.8%).

Perm Krai is rich in various natural resources: oil, natural gas, coal, mineral salts, gold, diamonds, bog iron ore, peat, limestone, precious and decorative stones, construction materials. One of the largest deposits of potassium salts in the world - Verkhnekamskoye - is located here. It occupies about 1,800 sq. km., the thickness of salt-bearing layers reaches 514 m. Forests, mostly coniferous, cover about 70% of the territory.

This region is one of the most economically developed regions in Russia. The basis of the local economy is highly developed industry. The main branches are as follows: oil, chemical and oil chemical, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, wood processing. All potassium fertilizers in Russia are produced here.

Attractions of Perm Krai

The most famous museum in Perm Krai is the Perm Art Gallery that has the world-famous collection of Perm wooden sculpture and one of the richest in Russia collections of masterpieces of Russian icon painting. The museum of local lore in Perm has a number of interesting exhibits telling about the nature of the Kama region, its rich historical past from prehistoric times to the present day.

Not far from Perm, on the high bank of the Kama River, you can find “Khokhlovka” - an architectural and ethnographic museum covering an area of 42 hectares. The museum has unique wooden buildings of the 17th-19th centuries. Every summer, various folk festivals are held in the territory of this open-air museum.

In the south-eastern part of the region, in the town of Kungur, there is a unique natural monument of nationwide importance - Kungur Ice Cave. This is the only cave in Russia adapted for excursions. The old town of Kungur, founded in 1663, is a historical town with about 70 monuments of architecture.

Solikamsk is one of the oldest towns in the Urals. There is a unique museum of salt here. The town’s architecture reflects the techniques of Moscow architecture of the mid-17th century and the local tradition dating back to pagan times.

There is a number of interesting places along the Chusovaya River connected with many historical events, well-known figures of Russian history (Ermak, Stroganov, Demidov, Emelyan Pugachev). On its way the river crosses several mountain ranges, therefore, on its banks there are many picturesque rocks.

There are several architectural monuments in the towns of Osa, Usolye. Belogorsky Monastery and Gubaha Ski Resort are also worth mentioning.

Perm krai of Russia photos

Pictures of perm krai.

Winter in Perm Krai

Author: Boris Busorgin

Village in Perm Krai

Paved road in Perm Krai

Perm Krai views

Wooden church in the Perm region

Author: Nadezda Shklyaeva

Church in Perm Krai

Village in the Perm region

Author: Sergey Bulanov

Churches in Perm Krai

Cathedral in Perm Krai

Orthodox church in the Perm region

Author: Andrey Omelchenko

Winter in Belogorsky Monastery in Perm Krai

Author: Craciun Alexandru

The questions of our visitors

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Perm Krai Capital of Culture

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Youth policy

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Project initators: 

“ Cultural Planning will help to ensure the Perm region will remain distinctive and unique” , Mr. Protasevich said. “It will mean planning ways to support and preserve our heritage, developing appealing opportunities for artists and musicians regardless of age, and generating education and employment. It will mean building a creative community with a buzz.”

“Some of the identified objectives of “Perm krai international:young journalists@school” project include facilitating greater communication and cooperation among young community and official organizations in Perm krai”, said the Vice-Minister of Perm krai.

“Perm Krai International: young journalistes@school”

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The international children festival of theatre arts “Long Break”

What is the international child festival of theatre arts “Long Break”? It is a real holiday for young spectators and their parents. The international child festival of theatre arts “Long Break” will be hold from the 30th of April to the 5th of May. It will be in Perm and Lysva. It will be hold under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture, Youth Politics and Mass Communications of Perm Krai. The program of the festival is prepared by Russian and foreign experts of child theatre. There are the most interesting for children events of the world arts. The “Long Break” familiarizes children with actual artists. It is the platform where people communicate with people using the language of modern arts which is understandable for a new generation.

The festival “The White Nights in Perm”

• The participants of the festival of land art “Ural Myths” will create art objects using natural materials. The objects will have the same mythological idea.
• During the festival of bears “MedveDay” the masters Teddy-makers will tell gripping stories about a symbol of the city. They will organize some exhibitions of teddy bears and they will give master classes.

• The exhibition “Mammoth’s track” will gather mammoths from different corners of Russia on Perm’s territory. There will be even a famous mammoth Dima.
• And at last the international festival of street arts «Open sky» will represent the various program: carnival processions, a 5-day master class «Mask Art», street shows and performances, performances of Russian and foreign street theatres.

The IX International festival “Heavenly Fair of Ural”

From the 26th to the 3rd of July the IX International festival “Heavenly Fair of Ural” takes place in Kungur. There will be a fight for the I Privolzhski Federal Disctrict Cup for aerostatics and the VII Perm Krai Open Cup for aerostatics.This year Kungur won’t hold rating competitions which results are taking into general account of the pilots. They counted on creating entertainment activities “Air battles over Kungur”. There will be the representatives of sub-units of ultralight aviation, detachment of parachute troops and water means. All the battles will take place straight over the city. And natives will take part in the festival too.According to initial data 15 aeronauts and about 50 ultralight aviation pilots expressed willingness to take part at the festival. And a dirigible pilot confirmed his participation.Ultralight aviation pilots will take part in the “Air games” within the festival. As last year a campsite of ultralight aviation will base in an area near a village Milniki.

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