[Mat Helme] You're almost ready to critique your own design,

but first, we need to cover 3 more key components to proper aesthetics.

First up, we have emphasis.

Emphasis means applying intentional focus on one or more objects.

There are a few ways to do this—

we have already talked about contrast being a way to achieve emphasis within a composition.

Some of the other ways to portray emphasis are through size, color, and shape.

What this does is it creates a main focal point or center of interest with the composition.

This causes the eye to immediately go there.

Think of the main focal point as a magnet and your eye is attracted to it.

So, if we emphasize that focal point, we simply will draw the eye to it.

We can also emphasize an element or elements through isolation.

This is when the eye is diverted to the white space of the composition,

so by leaving an area blank, our eye is automatically attracted to it.

We could also emphasize through animation or movement,

which is our next principle—movement.

Movement is simply changing the place of an object's position.

Visual movement is achieved through eye movement throughout a composition.

Visual movement might also be referred to as rhythm—

how the eye is moved throughout the piece.

If it consistent? Is it choppy?

Think of it like music—so if the eye moves smoothly throughout the composition,

as we've strategically done throug our design and placement of our elements, this causes rhythm.

Now, how the eye moves through the composition,

whether it be consistent of choppy, all has to do with rhythm of the visual elements.

We can also use a technique called implied movement.

This is when we use sequential, repeating images, blurring, or motion indicators to apply movement.

So, essentially, we're creating movement within a still object

through repeating images, blurring, or motion indicators,

such as wind or, say, if someone was running and we were to put dashed lines behind them.

Or another good example is a smoke trail behind a plane.

We already have an understanding that a plane moves, but by adding the smoke, we're implying the movement.

We can also see this through shape, as well.

Again, using the plane as the example, if we were to squish the plane down,

this indicates that it's moving at a fast speed, thus making it more aerodynamic, thus implied movement.

Lastly, I would like to discuss unity.

Unity in design means 2 or more elements being joined as a whole.

This can be done with color, size, shape, texture, and space.

There is a reason why corporations use the same colors, graphics, fonts throughout their advertising—

it's used to unite the brand's identity throughout all of their mediums,

whether it be for print or digital.

Consistency is key to a design's success.

Take, for example, Coca Cola—you'll consistently see the same logo,

the same color palette, and the same usage of those logos and color palettes throughout all of their advertising,

whether it be on TV, whether it be on print, whether it be in a digital ad, or their website.

Now, this can be for any of the design principles, as well.

Say if Coca Cola, again, wanted to create movement within their digital ad—

now, they would keep that consistent throughout all of their ads.

Thus making it unified.

Again, consistency is key to a design's success.

We are now ready to critique a design, but first, let's take a quick quiz.