esign principles are widely applicable laws, guidelines, biases and design considerations which designers apply with discretion. Professionals from many disciplines — e.g., behavioral science, sociology, physics and ergonomics — provided the foundation for design principles via their accumulated knowledge and experience.

Design principles are fundamental pieces of advice for you to make easy-to-use, pleasurable designs. You apply them when you select, create and organize elements and features in your work. Design principles represent the accumulated wisdom of researchers and practitioners in design and related fields. When you apply them, you can predict how users will likely react to your design. “KISS” (“Keep It Simple Stupid”) is an example of a principle where you design for non-experts and therefore minimize any confusion your users may experience.

In user experience (UX) design, it’s vital to minimize users’ cognitive loads and decision-making time. The authors of the definitive work Universal Principles of Design state design principles should help designers find ways to improve usability, influence perception, increase appeal, teach users and make effective design decisions in projects. To apply design principles effectively, you need a strong grasp of users’ problems and a good eye for how users will accept your solutions.

Design is not a monologue; it’s a conversation.

—Whitney Hess, Empathy coach and UX design consultant

Proportion

Proportion is one of the easier design principles to understand. Simply put, it’s the size of elements in relation to one another. Proportion signals what’s important in a design and what isn’t. Larger elements are more important, smaller elements less.