Paper-Art Posters Gorgeously Illustrate Key Design Principles

BALANCE, HIERARCHY, PATTERN, RHYTHM, SPACE, PROPORTION, EMPHASIS, MOVEMENT, CONTRAST, AND UNITY ARE COLORFULLY ILLUSTRATED AS PAPER ART.

BY CAREY DUNNE

Okay, so they're no replacement for a RISD degree. But these posters, by Turkish graphic designer Efil Turk, offer a fun primer on foundational visual concepts.

For her senior thesis at the Dokuz Eylul University of Fine Arts, Efil illustrated 10 principles--balance, hierarchy, pattern, rhythm, space, proportion, emphasis, movement, contrast, and unity--in the refreshingly old-school medium of 3-D cut-paper collage. "I wanted to question what are the fundamental elements of design besides creativity," Turk tells Co.Design. Each principle is cleverly illustrated: “Emphasis” features an orange and red triangle popping out against a background of gray and black; “Space” is illustrated with an open swath of white, fringed with colorful zigzags; "Hierarchy" is represented by a pyramid.