Just as in music, a good rhythmic design is very appealing! You feel almost like you can dance to a catalog that has images and key text in predictable places as you flip from page to page and section to section. The design has a visual beat you can follow!

What is Rhythm?

Rhythm is repetition. Rhythm is consistency. Rhythm is an established placement of elements and it brings immense unity to a layout.

Rhythm is used to…

• Unify
• Direct
• Emphasize

Creating Rhythm

Rhythm and proportion are closely aligned. They are slightly different in that rhythm focuses on the repetitive (in the truest sense of the word, which is not “boring”) aspect of a design. Rhythm also helps to achieve balance and can even contribute to a design’s direction and emphasis.

Repeat specific colors (your palette) throughout the layout. Similar to proportion, seek to use these specific colors more than once, so that they obviously belong in the layout.

Carefully arranged lines add a lot of visual order and emphasize the grid.

Scale can be a subtle way to create rhythm. You can repeat an object but reduce the size each time. This would also help create direction (almost like an arrow pointing from smallest to largest and then onward towards the focal point).

It’s a good idea to repeat obvious shapes and use them to help guide the audience’s eye through a design.

Rhythm can be seen in the element of space when you consider the overall distribution of objects. Using a consistent layout with the help of a structured grid will add

Use a similar texture or pattern to help identify different parts of the design or system.

Just like creating rhythm with color, stay within a set range of values.

Examples of Rhythm

One Degree

You may have seen the debate over the winning logo from the Wolda awards. Sure, at first glance it may seem overly simplistic and uninspiring, but then you discover how Jason Little from Landor Associates Sydney has employed this little guy all over the One Degree literature and you begin to really appreciate this gem of a mark. Rhythm can be as simple as a repeated graphic. But in its simplicity, this graphic adds a whole dimension of careful, thoughtful planning (hey, that’s design!). Here they also use the blue to add repetition—not to mention it adds to the more environmentally friendly print aspect, only using two colors, black and blue. Hopefully they also used soy inks and recycled papers!

Super Heroes

This is an excellent example of rhythm through repeated shapes. Notice how all the shapes together make a rounded rectangle, but the divided shapes have square corners unless they are one of the corners of the larger rounded rectangle.

Nuchi Packaging

Designed by Shine Advertising for Nuchi, this packaging is simple but full of rhythm. The images and text are in the same place so you know where to look from package to package to see what is inside. The colors—especially the orange—are consistent so you can easily identify that they are from the same brand. Even the photography is rhythmic—there is always one train car on the lid and three on the side on top of a track. And did you notice that the angle of the photography is the same, too?

The shapes of the containers themselves are all basic geometry—triangle, rectangle and circle—and the same height, which adds to the feeling of rhythm and consistency. You might say, “Yeah, sure, that’s an easy decision,” but remember, they could have used boxes of varying heights or crazy shapes like octagons or organic shapes to fit the outline of each piece inside. I’m sure even these basic shapes of the packaging were a very conscious decision from the folks at Shine.

How You Can Improve Your Sense of Rhythm

If you’re using a page layout program, by far the easiest way to create a rhythmic design is to use master pages. That way, you can lay down the basic structure, page numbering, section titles or other consistently present elements on one page, which saves you time and the hassle of lining things up from page to page.

Use shape to create rhythm. Are you creating a step-by-step process? Call out each step with a circle or square around it. Designing a book, newsletter or brochure? Use the same rounded rectangle to highlight each sidebar chart or pull quote.

Use color to create rhythm in a similar way by color-coding each section or group in the layout (perfect for a catalog!). In color palettes, it’s definitely a good idea to have an accent color that’s repeated for key information.

Alternate elements (like textures, colors, values or shapes) to create a rhythmic sequence. You could also create a progression of elements, like a gradient only with other elements of design. For example, objects could get progressively larger (creating direction!) or textures could get progressively more complex or compact.

Plan a typographical hierarchy system with titles, headers, subheads, running footers, etc. Use color, shape and scale to keep it consistent. The viewers will be trained to recognize these things and it will make it easier for them to find what they are looking for.

Grab the free Creative Curio RSS feed (What is RSS?). If you need to review, we’ve been through balance, contrast, direction, economy, emphasis, proportion, and how to apply them in your designs.

If you’re interested in more applied design theory, take a look at the Elements of Design: Real World Examples series.