If you’re a graphic designer just starting out and not sure where to begin, it’s important to remember that in this field, as in other visual art forms, balance is key.
An essential part of a balanced composition, and therefore a pleasing and effective graphic design, is alignment. If the alignment is not harmonious and balanced, the overall look of a graphic design will be chaotic, cluttered and, by default, amateurish – the exact opposite of what you want. In the same vein, a proper and harmonious alignment can not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also essential for conveying your message and can also help you “manipulate” the viewer by drawing their attention to important elements.
Alignment is essential when it comes to creating a logo, marketing materials or websites, in short, in all aspects and products of graphic design.
What does alignment mean in graphic design?
Alignment is the way a graphic designer achieves fluidity in a design, whereby balance, harmony and the structured look of a design is achieved.
The concept of alignment means that the graphic designer must consider the elements that make up his or her design as part of a whole, so images, shapes, colours and text must be thought of separately, but also (especially) in synergy with each other.
Why is alignment important in graphic design?
Here are some of the reasons why alignment is an essential concept and tool in this field:
- It’s part of the aesthetic impact: a design with correct and effective alignment conveys professionalism, balance and harmony
- Improves user experience: alignment can help guide attention and gaze to important and/or pleasing design elements
- Contributes to a sense of unity: good alignment helps the viewer to perceive how the different elements are connected, thus giving a sense of unity and coherence
Principles of alignment
In graphic design there are two basic principles of alignment:
- Alignment of edges: i.e. left, right, up or down alignment
- Central alignment: i.e. alignment to a central line which may be vertical or horizontal
Text alignment in graphic design
Although, as mentioned above, the concept of alignment concerns all the elements that make up a graphic design, the most common aspect of alignment involves the placement of text.
Any graphic design, whether it’s a logo, an advertisement or a web page, usually contains food such as images, shapes, colours and text and in each case a specific text alignment will be used.
In some cases, different sections of a graphic design will use different alignments for text, for example, in an article, headings and subheadings may be aligned differently from the actual content of the article.
Another way of aligning the text is to use an imaginary grid of vertical and horizontal lines that create an invisible structure according to which the different elements can be placed. A grid alignment can help achieve precise alignment and create cohesion within a large design.
Regardless of the options and criteria you consider in aligning your text, it is essential to remember that for your design to be effective, the text must be legible, easy to see and understand, and must not clutter the overall look.
So, you can be creative, even using some basic principles such as the ones I’ve given you in this article, but remember that the main purpose of a graphic design is to convey a message and you should always make sure that your message can be received by the viewer and that it is the right one for your purpose.