
CRAP design principles
A good user experience is a key to the success of any website or app. To improve it, I apply the basics of CRAP design principles to any design. It allows to create a more intuitive and satisfying user experience for customers. These principles function as a set of guidelines that I can use to improve the usability of a website.
1. Contrast
Contrast is the backbone of any design. By differentiating elements in your design through color, size, font, and other visual properties, you create focal points that guide the user’s eyes and help them make sense of the content.
How to Master Contrast in design:
- Define a visual hierarchy: Decide which elements are most important, such as call-to-action buttons or headlines, and make them stand out by differentiating their size, colour, or boldness relative to other elements.
- Balance colour usage: Don’t overwhelm users with too much contrast. Instead, follow the 60–30–10 rule to achieve a visually balanced design that maintains focus and harmony.
- Ensure readability: Make sure that text and background colours have sufficient contrast for easy reading, this will also enhance accessibility for users with visual impairments.
Below is an example of the different CTA buttons I created for the newsletter template of Greetz.
2. Repetition
Repetition is the intentional use of recurring elements throughout your design to create consistency, unity, and a sense of cohesiveness. It helps users build familiarity with your design and reinforces your brand identity. Repetition can be applied to various design elements, including colors, fonts, shapes, and patterns.
How to incorporate repetition effectively:
- Stick to a consistent style: Choose a set of fonts, colours, and icons to use throughout your work, or leverage your company’s design system if available.
- Repeat key layouts: Use standard website layouts to avoid reinventing the wheel. Familiar placements for elements, like “My Account” in the top right, help users navigate more intuitively.
- Use familiar language: Employ easy-to-understand language, familiar terms, and common phrasing to ensure clarity and ease of use for your audience.
3. Alignment
Alignment refers to the arrangement of elements in your design so that they line up in a visually organized and logical manner. Proper alignment helps users follow the flow of information, creating a clean and structured look that is easy to navigate.
How to implement alignment effectively:
- Organise your design: Use a grid system< to maintain consistent spacing and alignment throughout your design.
- Align related elements: Position related items, like labels and input fields in alignment to create a clean, logical flow.
- Keep margins consistent: Ensure that margins and padding are uniform across elements to maintain a balanced, orderly appearance.
4. Proximity
Proximity refers to the strategic placement of elements in your design to show their relationship and create a sense of organization. By grouping related elements together and separating unrelated elements, you make it easier for users to understand the structure of your design and find the information they need. The principle of proximity is essential for several reasons:
How to Use Proximity for Better Organisation:
- Group related items together: Place elements that are related close to each other to visually communicate their connection.
- Use white space for separation: Either unite or separate elements by using white space to create clear divisions and avoid clutter.
- Make groupings visually obvious: Use techniques like background colours to separate groupings, enhancing usability by helping users quickly focus on elements most relevant to their current task.
Above is an example of two different components I created for the newsletter templates. They are separated by a light background color.