20 Design Concepts Every Designer Should Know About

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Design is everywhere. In the swipe of an app, the layout of a dashboard, the way a button responds when you tap it. Behind every smooth experience is a silent system of choices—and at the heart of those choices are some design concepts every designer should know about.

Too often, we chase trends and polish pixels without pausing to ask why something works. But the difference between good and great design comes down to understanding the design concepts that drive behavior, emotion, and interaction. These are the tools that turn ideas into interfaces and wireframes into impact.

Whether you’re designing your first product or refining your tenth, these concepts by Design Journal are your creative compass. You won’t find fluff here—just clear, practical ideas you’ll use every day. Let’s dig into the ones that matter most.

What are design concepts?

Design concepts are the building blocks of everything we create. They’re not tools or templates—but the thinking behind them. Before you open Figma or sketch a wireframe, you’re already applying design concepts—whether you realize it or not.

In UX design, these concepts help guide how information is structured, how interactions feel, and how users emotionally respond. From visual hierarchy to usability and user-centered design, every design choice stems from a deeper principle.

Think of it this way: design concepts are like the grammar of design. You may speak the language fluently, but when you understand its rules, you can express anything with clarity and intention.

A signup form, a pricing page, a product tour—they all succeed or fail based on how well these underlying ideas are applied.

The beauty of design concepts is that they scale. Whether you’re creating a one-page portfolio or a multi-platform product, these principles bring consistency, coherence, and meaning to your work. And the more fluent you become, the more naturally great design flows.

List of 20 design concepts

At its best, design feels effortless—but behind that ease is a craft rooted in intention. Every click, scroll, and tap is guided by invisible rules that shape how users feel and interact.

These 20 design concepts are more than best practices—they’re the foundation of thoughtful, user-first work. Let’s break them down, one idea at a time.

Accessibility

Design becomes powerful when it becomes inclusive. Accessibility ensures that your product works for everyone, not just the average user, but also those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor challenges.

Imagine navigating a complex form without being able to use a mouse. Or trying to make a purchase on a site that doesn’t support screen readers.

Accessibility design solves these real-world issues. That means color contrast ratios that support low vision, alt text that explains images, and interfaces that function with keyboard-only navigation.

It’s not just about compliance, it’s about dignity, usability, and reach. When accessibility is built in from the start, you design experiences that are smarter, stronger, and more human.

Consistency

Imagine a world where every door opens differently, one pulls, one slides, one pushes sideways. That’s how users feel on websites or apps where consistency is missing.

Design consistency builds trust. When your buttons look and behave the same throughout the interface, users build confidence with every click.

Repeating visual patterns, like color palettes, icon styles, and typographic scale, reduces the cognitive effort needed to navigate.

It’s not about being rigid. It’s about helping users feel at home, no matter where they are in the journey.

Visual Hierarchy

Every screen has a voice. Visual hierarchy makes sure the most important parts speak the loudest, while supporting elements whisper in just the right tone.

This is the principle that helps users instantly recognize where to start. A bold headline, a vibrant CTA, a clean structure of sections, these aren’t just design flourishes; they’re signals.

Visual hierarchy relies on contrast, size, alignment, and position to gently guide the eye through a story.

A landing page that reads well visually feels effortless. That’s the power of hierarchy, it leads without shouting.

Contrast

Without contrast, everything blends together, and not in a good way. Contrast creates distinction: between background and foreground, primary and secondary actions, or content and navigation.

It’s what makes a CTA button pop on a homepage. Or makes text readable in both light and dark modes. But contrast isn’t just about color, it’s also about font weight, image saturation, element scale, and more.

Strong contrast is both an accessibility win and a user experience booster. It ensures your interface feels dynamic, clear, and polished.

Proximity

Our brains naturally group things together. When elements are close, we assume they’re related. When they’re spaced out, we don’t.

That’s why form labels should sit just above or beside their input fields. Or why pricing details should live next to a “Subscribe” button, not three sections down. Proximity isn’t just a spacing choice, it’s a cognitive signal.

It helps reduce scanning effort and organizes the interface in a way that feels intuitive. Done well, users won’t even notice it, they’ll just flow through your design effortlessly.

White Space

White space isn’t empty, it’s intentional. It gives content room to breathe and allows users to focus without noise or distraction.

Think of it like silence in music: without pauses, every note becomes cluttered. In design, white space separates sections, elevates visuals, and improves reading flow.

Whether it’s padding around text or margin between components, this invisible tool is what makes your interface feel calm and structured.

Cluttered UIs lead to confusion. Strategic white space leads to clarity.

Usability

A design isn’t successful if users struggle to use it. Usability ensures that what you build is not only functional but also intuitive, efficient, and enjoyable.

A clean navigation bar, a logical form flow, a visible confirmation message, these small things have a big impact. They remove friction and reduce user errors. Good usability often goes unnoticed, but bad usability? It’s unforgettable in the worst way.

The easier your product is to use, the more likely people are to stick around.

User-Centered Design

User-centered design flips the usual approach. Instead of designing for business goals first, you start with the user—who they are, what they need, and how they behave.

This means doing real research. Building personas. Mapping user journeys. You’re not just guessing what users want but you’re also discovering it. And when you do, the solutions you create are more relevant, more useful, and more impactful.

Design becomes less about aesthetics and more about empathy.

Functionality

Pretty won’t save a broken experience. Functionality is the backbone of good design—it ensures that everything users interact with actually works.

A form that submits correctly, a menu that opens reliably, a modal that closes without frustration, these are the building blocks of trust. UX designers often think in flows, not pages, and functionality is what connects every part of that journey.

Without it, even the best UI becomes a dead end.

Mental Models

Users come to your product with expectations already in mind that are formed by past experiences. These are their mental models, and when your interface matches them, things just “click.”

For example, people expect shopping carts to behave like Amazon’s, or “Save” buttons to mean their work is stored. If you break those models without guidance, confusion follows. But when you align with them, you shorten the learning curve and build confidence quickly.

Understanding mental models is key to intuitive design.

User Journey Mapping

Every user is on a journey, whether they know it or not. User journey mapping helps you visualize that path, from first visit to final click and every emotion, question, and action in between.

It’s not just a tool; it’s a mindset shift. You’re stepping into your user’s shoes, anticipating confusion, spotting drop-off points, and refining touchpoints. A good journey map uncovers not just what’s happening but why.

Once you understand that story, you can design an experience that feels seamless, not segmented.

Color Wheel

Color isn’t just about looking good, it’s about balancing relationships. The color wheel helps you build palettes that make sense visually and emotionally.

When you understand how complementary, analogous, or triadic colors interact, you create harmony on screen. Tools like Figma’s color picker or Adobe Color use these same principles under the hood.

Knowing the “why” behind the colors makes you a more intentional designer. Great color choices aren’t accidents, they’re rooted in the wheel.

Color Psychology

Colors speak a language all their own. Blue color builds trust. Red color creates urgency. Green color calms. Before a single word is read, color has already set the tone.

That’s why tech brands lean into blues, and wellness sites love greens and soft neutrals. Your palette isn’t just decorative, it’s persuasive.

Choosing colors intentionally gives you another layer of communication, subtle but powerful. Color psychology lets you guide emotion, nudge behavior, and create experiences that feel just right.

Typeface and Font

Typography gives your design its voice. It’s how your product “sounds” in silence—modern and clean, traditional and elegant, bold and loud, or calm and quiet.

A font’s shape, weight, and spacing influence readability and tone. Choosing the right one sets the mood and supports the brand story. From system fonts to custom typefaces, every character carries personality.

Don’t underestimate the power of your type—it speaks volumes.

Font Combinations

Great font choices are good—great font combinations are better. When typography is thoughtfully combined, it creates hierarchy, elegance, and flow across every screen.

Think of it like casting two actors in a scene—each has their own role, but they need chemistry. Pair a bold display font for headlines with a subtle sans-serif fonts for body text, and suddenly your layout breathes.

The wrong combo, though, breaks rhythm and distracts the reader. Font pairing is where function meets finesse—it’s how you turn words into a visual experience.

Design Thinking

Design Thinking isn’t a buzzword—it’s a mindset. It starts with empathy, dives into problem definition, and ends with real solutions shaped by users’ needs.

It encourages you to challenge assumptions and reframe problems. Whether you’re sketching wireframes or interviewing users, every step in Design Thinking brings you closer to why something matters. It’s where creativity meets clarity.

Design becomes less about the “perfect shot” and more about meaningful progress.

Design Sprint

When time is short and stakes are high, Design Sprints offer a shortcut to smart solutions. It’s a five-day process where teams map, sketch, decide, prototype, and test—fast.

No endless meetings. No drawn-out debates. Just focused collaboration with users at the heart of every decision. Design Sprints help you move from idea to insight without waiting for the “perfect” time.

Sometimes speed leads to the sharpest clarity.

Agile Methodology

Agile methodology flips the script on traditional design cycles. Instead of long builds and one big launch, you release in short sprints, test fast, and adapt along the way.

This iterative rhythm keeps your team flexible and focused. Designers, developers, and product leads move in sync—constantly refining based on real-world feedback. It’s not about perfecting before shipping. It’s about learning through doing.

Agile makes design more alive, responsive, and resilient.

Prototyping

Prototyping turns abstract ideas into something tangible—fast. Whether it’s a clickable wireframe or a polished mockup, prototypes bring your vision to life before a single line of code is written.

It’s your playground for testing, failing, and refining quickly. Want to explore two different button placements? Prototype both. Show them to users. Let them tell you what works.

Prototypes are not the end—they’re how you get there faster and smarter.

Feedback Loops

Design is never really done—it evolves. Feedback loops ensure your product grows with your users, based on real reactions and results.

From usability testing to post-launch analytics, feedback reveals blind spots, validates ideas, and sparks new ones. The key? Don’t treat feedback like a final exam. Use it like a compass.

The best designs are built with users—not just for them.

Conclusion

Design isn’t just how something looks—it’s how it thinks, feels, and functions. These 20 design concepts aren’t trendy terms or fleeting buzzwords.

They’re the foundation of good UX, the quiet logic behind every elegant interface, and the reason why some experiences feel effortless while others fall flat.

Whether you’re wireframing your first project or leading a product team through an agile sprint, these concepts keep you grounded. They remind you to design not just for pixels—but for people.

So bookmark this list. Revisit it often. Let it guide your next prototype, your next critique, your next big idea. Because mastery in design isn’t a finish line—it’s a rhythm of thinking, testing, learning, and evolving.

Frequently asked questions

What are the concepts of a design?

Design concepts are the core ideas that guide how a product, interface, or experience is built. They include things like visual hierarchy, consistency, usability, and user-centered design. These concepts help turn abstract problems into clear, functional, and beautiful solutions.

What are the 7 fundamental principles of design?

The 7 fundamental principles of design are balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, proportion, rhythm, and unity. These act like invisible rules behind every strong layout, ensuring the composition feels harmonious and intentional across all mediums.

What are the seven elements of design?

The seven core elements are line, shape, color, texture, space, form, and value. These are the raw materials of any visual language—whether you’re designing an app interface or a brand identity. Every design you create draws from this toolbox.

What are the 4 types of design?

Design comes in many forms, but it’s often grouped into four main types: graphic design, product design, UX/UI design, and service design. Each focuses on solving different kinds of problems—visually, functionally, or experientially—often overlapping to create seamless, user-centered solutions.