Only a Business Card
Contrast
Contrast can add interest to otherwise dull page. Even more importantly, contrast can be used to highlight the more important page elements (see Galactic Enterprises in bold below), and to clearly display the structure of the information on the page. On this web page, how do the headings differ from the body text?
Proximity
Very often in beginner's designs, the words and phrases and graphics are spread out all over the place, filling corners and taking up lots of room so there won't be any empty space. There seems to be a fear of empty space. When pieces of a design are scattered all over, the page appears unorganized and the information may not be instantly readable.
The principle of proximity – group related items together
Put related items close together so they are seen as one cohesive group rather than a bunch of unrelated bits. Equally important, items not related to each other should be separated. Proximity gives the reader an instant visual cue as to the organization of the page.
Does your eye stop five times? Of course—there are five separate items. Where do you begin reading? In the middle because that phrase is in bold. What to read next? What to do when your eye reaches the bottom righ corner? Where does your eye go? Does it wander around making sure you didn't miss any corners?
Now there are two phrases in bold. Even more confusing to the eye.
The problem with both of these is that not one of the items seems related to any other. It is not clear where to begin reading nor is it clear when you are finished.
Now it is obvious where to start reading and when you have gotten to the end. The visual organization makes clear the logical relationships between the content.
Alignment
Beginners tend to put text on the page where there happens to be space, oftetn without reagard to other items on the page. This creates a messy layout.
The principle of alignment—Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every item should have a visual connection with something else on the page.
When items are aligned, it creates a strong cohesive unit. Even when items are physically separated from each other, if they are aligned there is an invisible line that connects them, both in your eye and in your mind. Even when you have used the Principle of Proximity to separate items, the Principle of Alignment informs the reader that they belong to the same piece. There is a relationship between the aligned items but this relationship is not as close as proximity suggests.
Right alignment creates a hard edge on the right hand side. To the eye, this connects the top and the bottom, and the mind perceives them as related. Proximity tells us close relationship, and alignement says looser relationship.
As an aside, little things matter. A simple line breks the visual monotony and gives the design a little flare. Its as simple as adding a border-bottom to the div of the top line.