Understanding Design Principles

Image from:

nothingbutgeek.com

Balance/Contrast

• This magazine features only one image as a main focus, the image of Carrie Fisher. This is balanced very well with her pose, and the text equally distributed on both sides of her.
• The image features a lot of contrast with it's use of a black and white focus of color. This allows for her to have an ethereal essence, and is very fitting for a tribute edition of this magazine.
• The main image in black and white of Carrie Fisher is also contrasted with the bold, bright yellow of the magazine title. This adds the focus to her as well as the name in equal measure.
• Her pose adds the most balance in the image because her hands are placed at equal positions on her shoulders on opposite sides of the image. Also, her straight-faced look and hair balances the image even more. 

Rhythm/Repetition (Movement/Pattern)

• This image creates a sense of repetition and pattern in the sense that the main image is almost exactly symmetrical, even when it comes down to the shadows of the image, which allow it to feel very composed. 
• This pattern is also observed in the text on the magazine cover, as all of the distracting and bright text is strictly kept towards the top of the image as the main image falls over top of it, and the plain white text falls over the main image, and is more delicate and not distracting in any way.

Emphasis/Alignment

• The element that acts as the main focus of the image is the image of Carrie Fisher. The image is positioned directly in the center of the magazine cover and the use of black and white for the cover allows for the contrasting colors to show her image on it's own with no distractions around it that could take away from its bold simplicity. 
• The title of the magazine is emphasized as it is a very bold yellow color that contrasts with the simple black and white image below it. 
• The fonts for the title are much bolder and stand out more than the text on the main image that is white, and more delicate than the rest of the text. 

Unit/Proximity (Proportion)

• The images and text used are all complimentary to each other, as all of the colors are very contrasting of each other and nothing is incredibly distracting or ruining the composure of the magazine.
• The image of Carrie Fisher falls directly in the center of the cover, with an equal balance of surrounding elements on either side of the portrait. 
• There is a good balance of different texts used on the magazine cover, including the simple white text used on the main portion of the image, and the bold title. None of the text is crowded or placed in a distracting manner.