The much anticipated follow up to my 4 part series on CRAP design (CRAP is Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity). I didn’t plan on taking this long to have this article up but as it happened work got in the way of things. But on to the good stuff.. Alignment is impossibly important in design because it is the basis for everything that is design. Without alignment you have elements that are seemingly unrelated and randomly placed. This easily applies to web, print and other media just as the other CRAP principles do. Alignment is used to create order in your design.The basic principle of alignment tells us that every item on a page must be aligned with another item in some way or another. Whether things are formally balanced or informally balanced it is best to align elements with other elements to create a flow about the design. With every design there is always going to be some aspect of the design that needs focus, the focal point. When it comes to web design the content is what needs the most focus because it is the reason the end user is coming to your web site.

Mostly with print design it is important to focus on what you are advertising which still qualifies as content of course. The focal point in any design requires that elements be aligned around the primary content and allows for the user to focus in on it rather then be distracted by some flashing banner or unsavory design elements. This is where contrast in design comes in to play, but as long as you are paying attention you know I discussed that already in a previous article.

With text it is important to align it to a strong margin, not the center of the document mind you, the most acceptable and readable method is to do this left aligned, whether justified or not is up to you. The reason you shouldn’t center align things is because it is difficult to read, very sloppy and amateurish. Center aligned text is just awful and throws off the rest of the design very quickly. Center alignment has a very formal and sedated look about it and is best left to wedding invitations and poems, sparingly of course.

Alignment is a simple design concept and as long as you are ensuring that you are consciously paying attention to the alignment of your elements and creating eye flow to your focal point it is an easy concept to deliver.

CRAP Design 1: Contrast in design
CRAP Design 2: Repetition in design

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