What makes a good design, and how do we decide this? An interesting question, one that can show us how deep-rooted good design decisions are and how they have evolved with us over thousands of years, to form what we call "core" design principles.

We can remind ourselves of these good core principles using rules and terminology that currently exist, allowing us to explain our decisions to clients in a better way and as a means of focus in our web design projects.

Designing for the Mind is an excellent article written by Francisco Inchauste; thought-provoking and visually stimulating.

"There is a real power that comes from being able to identify and speak to what makes your design meaningful."

What is the point in creating a design if you can't talk about it, or if you don't know why it's a good design? Please check out the link to the original Designing for the Mind article below – it's priceless and revealing.

Good Design: Designing for the Mind Article

"16 Pixels for body copy. Anything less is a costly mistake."

I love this design article and have to admit I'm guilty of using smaller text on website designs (keen designers might have noticed that what you're reading now is a tiny bit smaller than 16px). I hadn't quite appreciated how easy on the eyes it was until I got to the end and read the footer text in the much smaller font!

This article poses some questions: should larger font be used on websites and does this equate to good design? The author's points on this are valid, but reading the comments below the article also gives you a feel for the controversy that has been stirred up amongst other designers.

The article, along with the comments, makes for a well-rounded discussion on what constitutes good design for the web, with an emphasis on readability and font size.

Good Design: Font Size Article

Start with the basics...

It's always worth going back to the fundamentals, to review the rules and patterns we base our creativity on as designers. You might already be following certain rules unbeknown to yourself, however being able to acknowledge these as a designer and know why they works will inevitably make for better work. As the saying goes, "know the rules before you break them."

Good design isn't about luck... being able to define what makes for good design is a crucial skill in your job as a designer.

If you'd like to find about balance, rhythm, proportion, dominance, unity and other design principles, click the link below for an overview.

Good Design: Principles Article