Using Visual Elements for Design Cohesion

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you'll be able to:

• Select imagery and icons that reinforce your design's visual consistency
• Apply colour theory to create unified visual relationships
• Use visual weight and spacing to guide viewer attention effectively
• Build a cohesive visual system that works across different design elements

Introduction

Visual cohesion separates amateur designs from professional ones. When your imagery, icons, colours, and layout elements work together harmoniously, viewers instantly recognise quality and trustworthiness in your work.

This chapter shows you how to create that visual harmony using fundamental design principles. You'll learn practical techniques for selecting and combining visual elements that strengthen your overall design message.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Building Visual Consistency Through Imagery

Creating cohesive imagery means establishing clear rules for style, tone, and treatment across all your visual elements.

Step 1: Define your visual style
Choose a consistent approach for your images. This might be bright and colourful photography, minimal line drawings, or bold geometric illustrations. Stick to one primary style throughout your design.

Step 2: Maintain consistent colour temperature
Use images with similar colour temperatures. Warm images (yellow/orange tones) shouldn't mix randomly with cool images (blue/green tones) unless you have a specific reason.

Step 3: Apply uniform treatment
If you add filters, borders, or effects to one image, apply similar treatment to all images in your design. This creates visual rhythm and unity.

Lesson 2: Icon Selection and Styling

Icons work best when they follow a unified visual language that matches your overall design approach.

Step 1: Choose a consistent icon style
Select either outline icons, filled icons, or a specific illustration style. Don't mix different approaches within the same design project.

Step 2: Match icon weight to your typography
Thin, delicate fonts pair well with outline icons. Bold, heavy fonts work better with filled or chunky icons.

Step 3: Size icons proportionally
Use consistent sizing relationships. If your main icons are 32px, make secondary icons either 24px or 16px, maintaining clear visual hierarchy.

Lesson 3: Creating Visual Relationships with Colour

Strategic colour use ties different visual elements together, creating clear relationships between separate design components.

Step 1: Establish a limited colour palette
Choose 2-3 primary colours and 1-2 accent colours maximum. Use these consistently across images, icons, text, and design elements.

Step 2: Use colour to show relationships
Apply the same colour to elements that serve similar functions. All call-to-action buttons should use the same colour, all warning icons should share another colour.

Step 3: Balance colour distribution
Avoid clustering all your bold colours in one area. Distribute colour evenly across your design to create visual balance.

Lesson 4: Managing Visual Weight and Spacing

Visual weight and consistent spacing create rhythm and flow that guides viewers through your design logically.

Step 1: Balance heavy and light elements
Large, dark, or highly detailed elements have more visual weight. Balance these with lighter elements or white space.

Step 2: Use consistent spacing measurements
If you use 20px spacing between some elements, use multiples of that measurement (10px, 40px) elsewhere. This creates invisible structure.

Step 3: Align elements to an invisible grid
Line up visual elements along consistent horizontal and vertical lines. This creates order even when elements are different sizes or types.

Practice

Open any design software and create a simple layout with the following elements:

• One main heading
• Two paragraphs of body text
• Three icons representing different services
• One large image
• One call-to-action button

Apply the cohesion principles from this chapter. Use a limited colour palette, consistent spacing, and make sure all visual elements feel like they belong together.

Notice how small adjustments to alignment, colour, and spacing dramatically improve the overall professional appearance.

FAQs

How many different fonts should I use in one design?
Stick to 2-3 font families maximum. Use different weights and sizes of the same font to create variety without losing cohesion.

Can I mix photography with illustrations?
Yes, but establish clear rules. You might use photography for main content and simple line illustrations for icons, maintaining consistent colour treatment across both.

What's the biggest mistake people make with visual cohesion?
Using too many different styles in one design. Every new visual style you introduce needs to connect to your overall visual system or it will feel disconnected.

Jargon Buster

Visual Weight – How much attention a design element attracts based on its size, colour, contrast, or complexity

Colour Temperature – The warmth or coolness of colours, measured from warm (reds, oranges, yellows) to cool (blues, greens, purples)

Visual Hierarchy – The order in which viewers notice and process different elements in a design

White Space – Empty areas in a design that give visual elements room to breathe and create focus

Wrap-up

Visual cohesion transforms collections of separate elements into unified, professional designs. By maintaining consistency in your imagery style, icon treatment, colour usage, and spatial relationships, you create designs that feel intentional and polished.

Start with simple rules – one visual style, limited colours, consistent spacing – then build complexity gradually. The strongest designs often use the fewest visual techniques, applied consistently throughout.

Your next step is practicing these principles across different types of design projects, from web layouts to print materials, building your instinct for visual harmony.

Ready to put these cohesion principles into practice? Join other designers learning these essential skills: https://www.pixelhaze.academy/membership