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Do you find yourself in critiques or feedback sessions saying things like, “I don't know…I just really like it!” Or perhaps you received negative feedback from your superiors and were unable to defend your design choices? Don't worry, you're not alone!

There's a widely pervasive idea that design is “touchy-feely”—that it's subjective and cannot be analyzed, but this idea is wrong. Design is quite objective and can actually be learned. The question is, “How?”

Before we can begin analyzing, we need to identify a common vocabulary that lets us talk objectively about design. Let's begin with seven terms (some people call them design elements) which will become the ammunition for our weapons of defense:

1. Line
   The Line is one of the most basic properties of design elements. This property includes both literal Lines as well as implied Lines, which are created when objects' edges are aligned.
   
2. Shape
   Shape is another very basic design property. All objects have Shape, whether it's regular (circle, square, etc.) or irregular (e.g. amorphous or polygonal).
3. Size
   Whether large or small, the Sizes of elements are crucial to establishing Dominance (see Design Principles below) and hierarchy in a design.
4. Texture
   This can refer to physical Texture, in the case of printed or manufactured objects, or it can simply refer to visual Texture (or pattern) when referring to a website or other electronic medium.
5. Color
   This is used to refer to the aspects of color called “hue” (what people typically call “colors,” such as blue, red, purple, etc.) and “saturation” (how pure or impure a color is). Colors can be further grouped into “cool” Colors (blues and greens) and “warm” Colors (reds and yellows).
6. Value
   Value simply refers to how bright something is. Value is frequently used separately from Color, in the forms of black, white, and gray.
7. Space
   This is the most commonly overlooked element and is commonly undervalued by clients. It can refer to Space inside an object, or “negative space” around objects. It is crucial to establishing Balance and Movement (see Design Principles below) in a design.

Ok, now that we have a common vocabulary to use, how do we go about actually analyzing design objectively? First we need to establish the goal of the design. Perhaps a poster needs to intrigue people enough that they visit the website URL on the poster. Maybe the website needs to induce visitors to sign up for an email newsletter. There are many facets to these goals. Are we trying to provoke a particular emotional response in people? Which demographic(s) are we targeting? Once we have these goals solidified, we can begin objectively analyzing the design.

There are five design principles that are inherent in any design, and these will become our primary weapons. By analyzing how these principles are used in a design, we can see how well the design meets the goals we've established. Let's look at these principles and some questions we can ask to help determine how well each one is used.

1. Balance
   Whether or not a design is balanced is one of the most basic principles of design, because it helps people quickly feel “comfortable” with your design (which may or may not be a good thing depending on your goals). Balance (or lack of it) will affect the Unity and Movement of the design and is affected by Rhythm and Dominance. Balance is most directly created through the use of Size, Value, and Space. One useful way to talk about Balance is to use the term “visual weight.” For example, on a white background, a dark object is “heavy” and a bright object is “light.” But what if they're supposed to “weigh the same?” This could be achieved by altering either their Size or Space around them. Making the light object bigger would balance it with the heavy object. Or in some cases you can move the light object farther away (increase the Space between the objects) to increase its weight. When analyzing the Balance of a design, you can ask,
   
   • Is my eye drawn more to one side than the other, or more to one object than the rest?
     
   • Is that where the designer intends me to look, or am I supposed to be looking somewhere else?
2. Rhythm (or Repetition)
   Rhythm can affect all of the other principles. If overused, it becomes “pattern-y,” which can be uninteresting, but if used properly it is a powerful tool. Repeating elements (usually Shapes) affects the elements' Dominance by lessening their impact, which in turn affects a design's Balance. Repeating elements throughout a design can help increase its Unity, and depending on how the elements are arranged, they can lead your eye through the design, creating Movement. The basic mechanism behind these effects is simply that when you see the same thing over and over again, your brain takes less notice of it and begins looking for something that's unique and different. When analyzing the Rhythm of a design, you can ask,
   
   • Is Rhythm overused, or is it used in appropriate amounts?
   • Are there places where some repeated elements could strengthen the Unity and Movement of the design?
     
3. Movement
   The leading of the observer's eye through a design is an important weapon in a designer's arsenal. Because a lot of visual design doesn't change with time (like videos do), leading a viewer through a design serves the same purpose: revealing information to them one step at a time. Without Movement (which is established using Balance, Rhythm, and Dominance), people don't know how to “take in” a design, leading to information overload, especially without a proper visual hierarchy to guide them (see #4, Dominance). Although it changes from culture to culture, most western cultures begin looking at a design in the upper left corner and move to the lower right corner (because this is how we read). Knowing this, you can use elements to attract the viewer's attention and temporarily halt their movement. Or perhaps use Line and Space elements to hasten their movement or guide it toward a particular portion of the design. When analyzing the Movement of a design, you can ask,
   
   • As my eye travels through the design, am I receiving the information in the intended order, or am I being led haphazardly?
   • Is the most important information either first or last as I move through the design?
4. Dominance (or Contrast)
   Dominance affects Balance and Movement, and is inextricably tied to Unity. Whether something is more or less Dominant than other elements in a design affects the Balance of the design (because you tend to look at the more Dominant elements first and most) and it also has a strong effect on the hierarchy of information in the design. More Dominant elements are perceived as more important than other elements and receive more attention. The best way to manipulate Dominance is through the use of contrast. An object's Dominance is generally increased as that object becomes more different from its surrounding elements, and its Dominance is decreased as it becomes more similar to surrounding elements. When analyzing the Dominance of a design, you can ask,
   
   • Does the Dominance of visual elements match the importance of the information they contain?
   • Are any elements too Dominant, distracting from the rest of the design?
5. Unity
   The overall Unity of a design is key to reaching your goals for that design. If you're aiming for a particular visual style to reach your demographic, or trying to evoke a particular emotional response in people, all aspects of the design must work together towards those goals. Unity is in opposition to Dominance, and the two must be properly used together to achieve maximal results. Ideally, the elements of a design should be unified, but not homogenous, and they need to have a proper hierarchy, but not be too dissimilar. This is best expressed through the statement “simultaneous similarity and difference.” For example, different elements in a design may have similar aspects which unify them (e.g. angular Shapes and dark Values), but also have different aspects which establish Dominance (e.g. different Sizes and Colors). When analyzing the Unity of a design, you can ask,
   
   • Are the elements of this design similar enough to feel unified, or does something interfere with the design's Unity?
     
   • Is the design too unified—i.e. does it need more contrast among the elements to establish a better visual hierarchy?

There are many more aspects to being able to objectively critique a design, such as the psychological results of using a particular design aesthetic with a particular demographic. And there are many more questions to be asked than just the ten I've listed above. But hopefully you can see how easy it is to be able to speak objectively about visual designs.

So next time instead of “I just really like it,” you will be able to try something like, “I'm really impressed with how you kept the design balanced…”

As our leading interactive developer and resident Eagle Scout, Charlie is driven by a desire for excellence, and his strength is found at the intersection of form and function where he serves up remarkable applications. Charlie also writes at his blog, of People and Pixels.

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