Before&After Design Tip: This Signage’s Visual Similarities Make It Beautiful—and Beautifully Simple!
Make a design of serene beauty by using only a few different elements—color, shape, line, space—and repeating them.
Here’s a quick design tip on signage design from issue 41 of Before&After Magazine.
This signage’s serene beauty is the result of its graphical similarities; you use only a few different elements—color, shape, line, space—and repeat them.

The similarities, like twins, naturally harmonize. Have a look:

Repeat the color: The tiny dot is all you need to connect top to bottom. Cover it up and see.

Repeat the shapes
Repeat the line

Repeat the space
CreativePro members can download original content from Before&After Magazine, a beloved resource that taught a generation of newly minted digital designers how to design and communicate effectively with the written word. See our archive here.
© John McWade/Before&After Magazine, courtesy of Gaye Anne McWade.
This article was last modified on December 17, 2025
This article was first published on July 11, 2025
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
Recommended for you
Before&After: Shape a Feathered Edge
Artistically erase part of an image, shaping it to fit the space
Before&After: Optima: The Typeface of 9/11
How Optima brings dignity and humanity to the National September 11th Memorial.
Before&After Design Tip: Condense Your Design
Think small and focused to to get good results easily.
