Instead of fighting our way through the chaos of the blank sheet, Following basic design principles can quicken the design process.
Read on the subject. View related design projects. Look for common methods that previous designers applied. Don't start working with an empty tank, Fill your mind with goodies and solutions.
02. A mood board
Save any related design, fonts, color schemes. surround your sketching board with examples.
03. Imitate
Start with a template. Imitate an existent project, Just for the first steps. Don't worry your voice and style will awake by doing so.
.png)
04. Content hierarchy
The important content should dominate visually. Organize the content by importance, then set the visuals so they express the hierarchy.
Great resources for layout:
1. Time magazine.
2. The Best of News Design 36th Edition by Society for News Design
05. Space is an element
Don't be afraid to leave space. Big margins or between elements. you don't have to fill the whole area, it's better if you won't.
06. Color scheme
Use color schemes. Dribbble can be really helpful here.
07. Alignment = Order
Everything should be aligned. Elements to elements and a group of elements to a group of elements. Nothing can be left hovering for no reason.
08. Keep it simple
Every element needs a reason to exist. Don't decorate, design.
09. Few typefaces & Variants
Limit yourself to 2-3 fonts but make use of their variants - bold next to light, etc. Define easy-to-read-fonts for headings, subtitles, and body text. People are confused by too many typefaces.
A great resource for Typefaces: Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton.
10. Break text lines the way you read
Don't treat texts just as shapes.
P.S.
Feel free to break any rules.