RepetitionÂ
Consistent Recurrence
Keung, L. (2023) 'The Principles of Design' URL
In design, repetition means reusing elements, such as colours, patterns, fonts, images, textures, and more in a consistent manner throughout a creative project. A benefit of including repetition in a creative work is to establish consistency. For example, companies will repeat the same logo on signs, printed advertisements and social media in order to create familiarity between audiences and designs. This can flow through to particular font and colour scheme choices as well. On the opposite side of this design element is variety, which helps to ensure that too much of the same does not lead to repetition suppression - which is where our brains see the same thing too often and it no longer causes interest. Learn more about variety here. Repetition works hand in hand with other design elements. Below, are three elements that repetition can be applied to:
Hierarchy through Repetition
The principle of visual hierarchy establishes the order of importance in a design. However, creating hierarchy becomes a challenge in the without repetition. This is because hierarchy requires using various elements, such as size and colour in a consistent way to indicate importance. When all elements are too different, meaning they do not use repetition, it becomes difficult for the viewer to spot the intended hierarchy. To learn more about hierarchy on its own, click here.
Rhythm through Repetition
The principle of rhythm encompasses the deliberate and consistent application of elements to convey energy or patterns. Repetition is essential for effectively using this principle, as it enables your audience to see and understand the intended rhythm. Without repetition, it becomes exceedingly challenging for your audience to grasp this principle. Another way to understand rhythm is harmony, which you can learn more about here.
Unity through Repetition
Unity represents the ultimate objective of any design, aiming to establish a cohesive and deliberate connection among all elements. Achieving unity involves various aspects, including the visual appearance of elements, their alignment, and their interactions (or lack thereof). Repetition serves as an effective means to attain unity in a design, as it enables the creation of a distinct and recognizable theme. To learn more about unity on its own, click here.
The above three examples were from The Website Architect (2020) "What is Repetition in Graphic Design?" URL