Balance

The principle of both sides of an object having a sense of symmetry. It ensures that the weight and visual mass are distributed evenly on both sides of a surface. Balance is more important than symmetry because people don't often notice when something is asymmetrical, but they will always see if something is unbalanced.

More terms you might want to know

Shade

The relative lightness or darkness of a hue.

Repetition

The use of repeating elements and motifs for decorative purposes. In design, repetition occurs in many ways. It can be achieved by using a shape or design element in a pattern, and it can also be achieved through the use of multiple shapes or motifs that have similarities

Blur

A type of design technique utilised in the creation of visuals and illustrations. Blur is used to create an impression of movement or a sense of depth.

Body-storming

A UX design technique to explore and map out a service, product, or system through physical navigation, often completed at the start of a design process to provide designers with an understanding of how users will navigate the system. In addition, body-storming can be used in development to test functionality or measure ease of use.

Stock Photo

A photograph that is purchased and licensed for exclusive use by an individual or business.

Thumbnail

A small, non-preview image that accompanies a larger image. It provides an immediate sense of the content while not necessarily revealing it in its entire scope.

Font Size

A measure of the height of a set of text on an element.

Stroke

The path of any movement, mark, shape, or other feature of a design. It can be the border of an element or even the tight edge of a text box, etc.

Fitts' Law

A prediction model used in human-computer interaction. It states that the time required to move to a target area rapidly increases as the distance to the target increases. The law was proposed by Paul Fitts, an American psychologist, in 1954 as a mathematical model of movement with limited cognitive capacity.

Fitts hypothesized that one would quickly select its first apparent target when reaching for an object before considering alternatives — a phenomenon called "target fixation." This tendency would increase progressively with increased distance between the subject and object until it eventually became exponential (i.e., too far away).

Debossing

A design or decoration impressed into the surface of a material.

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