It's easy to come up with traits that a designer needs to benefit her clients. She needs both artistic and technical skills along with a good knowledge of the clients' markets to create work that will accomplish her clients' goals. One trait of a good designer that might be overlooked is that of good communication skills. She needs to tell her clients what she's done, what she's doing, and what she can do. This communication might be hobbled if clients are not familiar with the language designers use to describe their work. To tell your designer what you might want in a logo, for instance, you may wish to be familiar with some of the following concepts.

Symmetry is a very commonly used principle in graphic design. Symmetry might be understood as “visual balance,” and this balance may be achieved linearly or radially. In linear symmetry, the portion of a graphic one one side of a line is reflected or mirrored on the other side of that line. The line of symmetry can be visible or just conceptual. In radial symmetry, the graphic is the same along lines that radiate at equal angles to each other from a center point. For example, four circles of equal diameter might be placed at radii of 3 inches from a center point at angles of 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 270 degrees. Linear and radial symmetry is often used in illustrations and logos.

Of course, a mirrored element, like one used in linear symmetry as explained above, does not necessarily need to fall along any particular line and does not need another element that mirrors it. If a line, visible or invisible, cuts across an element of a graphic or lies at some distance from the element, and the sides of the graphic on both sides of that line are switched to the opposite side of the line, then that element is said to be “reflected.” Reflection is often used to achieve linear symmetry but can be used for other purposes.

Perhaps even more fundamental than reflection is the concept of translation. Simply put, translation is moving the element without changing its direction or size. Translation is very commonly used to arrange the elements of a graphic design at various points on the graphic.

If an elements direction or orientation is changed about a point on the element or off of it, the element has undergone rotation. Rotation along with translation is useful to arrange the elements on the graphic. An arrow, for example, might be rotated to point at some other element of the graphic. Rotation can also be used to create common directions among two or more elements to achieve what is known as “common fate” and causes the viewer of the graphic to see those elements as a group. If the directions of elements are horizontal or vertical, they lend a feeling of stability to the graphic whereas diagonal lines may add a feeling of dynamism to the design. A logo for sports cars, for example, should employ a lot of diagonally orientated elements to give the viewer a sense of movement and speed.

Another common way to manipulate elements of a graphic is to resize them or dilate them. Dilation can be used to create perspective in an illustration or emphasize the differences between two elements which may be otherwise the same.

If an element is repeatedly copied and dilated two or more times, and this series falls along a straight line or curve, the designer has created what is referred to as a “gradation structure.” Gradation structures are often used to illustrate gradual changes in the size of an element, but gradual changes in shape or even color can also be applied to a graphical element. Gradation structures have been applied to illustrations of clothing and can create perspective as well. Color gradients or “gradations” are often employed to illustrate clear skies in which the blue fades as it approaches the horizon.

Although I may have just scratched the surface of lingo that's often used in design, what's presented here is a good start to understanding basic design principles. It's good for clients to know and understand these concepts to let them know what they want from a design. Clients can more readily come up with ideas that can work for their businesses.

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