Traits

Mirrored forms give the eye an axis to recognise, allowing Symmetrical design to organise even elaborate detail through correspondence. A strong centre can also give a minor message the importance of a state occasion; the content needs to justify quite so much ceremony.

A circle can remain a circle without being shaded into a sphere. Flat design gives the outline and the colour field more of the work, with plenty of room for complicated patterns. Declining depth leaves another decision entirely open: how much belongs on the surface.

Excellent kerning has its uses, although it cannot decide whether a composition should appear welcoming. Precise design makes small relationships count, including the optical correction that moves a shape away from its mathematical position; the control becomes convincing when it survives ordinary content and actual production.

A torn edge marks the point where one image ends and another account begins. Fragmented design keeps those differences available, letting the assembly become part of what the work says. How much interruption can a composition sustain before there’s no continuity left for the breaks to interrupt?

A single diagonal can send the eye across an otherwise sparse page. Dynamic design gives still forms an implied direction, sometimes enough to make their current position look temporary. All that apparent energy needs a route, though; competing directions can leave the composition busy going nowhere.

What disappears when a decorative border is removed? Ornamental design gives detail a compositional job, so the loss may reach well beyond the frame itself. A flourish can direct attention as precisely as a grid line, even on a page with very little decoration.