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Day 1 of learning something new about design.
-ve 25% Rule, Leave atleast 25% space empty in your design to make it look more visually appealing.
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Good design tells you where to look first.
Visual hierarchy isn’t just about making some elements bigger than others.
It’s about creating a clear path through the design — so the viewer knows what matters, what comes next, and where to take action.
01 – Main message
The first thing your eye should understand.
02 – Supporting content
Information that adds context without competing with the main message.
03 – Visual focus
Imagery, contrast, spacing, or composition that guides attention.
04 – Action
A clear next step that feels natural within the hierarchy.
When everything is competing for attention, nothing feels important.
Good design creates focus, flow, and intention.
Like a lot of designers, I find my portfolio one of the hardest projects. There's no deadline, and it can always get better. Anyway, I think I'm happy with this one for a while.
Take a look:
davidguba.com
portfolio looks sharp
09 XL — From a Portrait to a Visual Story.
This one started with a simple black-and-white portrait, but I wanted to give it a little more personality. I began experimenting with contrast, grain, and shadows to build a raw, almost cinematic atmosphere.
Then came the fun part — playing around with typography, adding the black strip across the eyes, and using minimal details like 09 and XL to give the composition a subtle editorial feel.
Once the poster came together, I placed it in a real-world bus stop mockup to see how it would live outside the screen.
A little experimentation, a few happy accidents, and lots of tiny adjustments later — this was the result.
The black bar across the eyes with 09 and XL on the sides turns a simple portrait into a bold poster, and the bus stop mockup shows it works at street scale. Is the grain added in Photoshop or part of the original photo?