SOME BASIC
CONCEPTS OF
DESIGN
(applied in infographics)
Let’s know the rules before we break them 

About me me me me…
I finished both my Master's
and Bachelor's degrees in
Development Communication
at Benguet State University. I
have edited, written, designed
and produced hundreds of
articles, videos, and
publications. It is an honor to
share the skills, knowledge
and lessons I've accumulated
within the 11 years of my
practice.

Remember these things
when designing
• Harmony
• White Spaces
• Typography
• Balance
• Appropriateness

1. Harmony: Do the elements (charts,
vectors, text, etc...) in your
infographic compliment each other?
Achieving harmony contributes to the clarity of your
infographic

You can harmonize by:
-maintaining a theme (uniform type of colors, fonts,
vectors); and
-arranging the elements so that they can tell a story or
to illustrate that they are connected with each other

 Is there a color theme?
 1 font style, various font
sizes
 Are the
illustrations/vectors
similar in style?
 Does the arrangement of
the elements help tell a
story or indicate that the
information being
presented are connected
to each other?

 The opposite of
harmony is clutter
-various colors
-1 font style, almost
same font size
-various styles of
illustrations
-dull vectors
-inappropriate visual
analogies
-dull data visualization

Tips in choosing color
themes
a. Any color in dark hues/shades are best combined with
white
Black background + white text
Dark Blue background + white text
Dark green backhround + white text

b. You can use one or two
color/s but in various
hues and shades
CATRIONA
G R A Y

• How many hues of blue
can you see?

c. You can use pictures, images, vectors as “color deciders” for
example, the dominant colors in your vectors are pink, then
you can use pink fonts or accents or even shadows

White spaces are not blank spaces
Maximize/manage spaces so that you can have white spaces
or eye oasis/breathing space
2. White Spaces

This is an editorial
with less white
spaces…..

…and this is an
editorial with a
generous amount
of white spaces…

• Now, compare the two editorials and ask these questions:
a. Which one is more enticing to read?
b. Which one is actually easier to read?
c. Which one looks neater and more organized?

The psychology of white
spaces
• Visually speaking, negative space provides relief, as well as
gives intelligent organization to elements on a page by
highlighting and separating text and graphics with the use of
white space.
• Just think of white space as being in-between characters,
between lines, between everything, it’s all white space.
• Effectively using white space means that you don’t crowd
content unless you have a good reason.
• Effectively utilizing white space will create an invisible order
and will enhance readability of any piece of design, whether it
be a website, a brochure, a Christmas card, or a business card.
Source: http://reddoorla.com/the-psychology-of-white-space/

White spaces
applied in an
infographic…

TYPOGRAPHY
of turning text itself
into visuals
is the art
3

• Typography can substitute and compliment images,
charts, vectors...
• Typography can also highlight and emphasize
information
Source: https://www.noupe.com/inspiration/showcases/typographical-
infographics-thatll-make-you-go-wow.html