Last year, we created a Color Theory Quick Reference Poster – a cheat sheet designed to give you a quick overview of color theory at a glance. It proved fairly popular with the design community, as we received our biggest bump in traffic yet from it, and it remains one of Paper Leaf Design’s most popular posts. I know I still reference it quite often.

One thing that quite a few readers have asked for is a similar quick reference poster, or cheat sheet, for the Elements of Design. Well, wait no longer readers – it’s here, it’s free, and it’s pretty sweet (in my humble opinion).

*Edit: Guess what? We also have a Principles of Design Quick Reference poster now, along with our Color Theory poster!

Hit the jump for downloadable wallpapers, printable posters, and the original .EPS files.

We took what we learned from the creation of the Color Theory poster and applied it to this Elements of Design cheat sheet. The purpose of the poster is not to teach you everything you need to know – that will never happen. What it’s meant to do is provide a quick overview of the elements of design; a refresher for those in the know, and a starting point for design newbies.

We made various files available for you to download, below.

Desktop Wallpaper

Click to download the Elements of Design Reference Sheet wallpaper (grey) in 2560X1600, 1920X1200, 1680X1050, 1440X900 and 1280X800 pixels.

Click to download the Elements of Design Reference Sheet wallpaper (white) in 2560X1600, 1920X1200, 1680X1050, 1440X900 and 1280X800 pixels, viewable below.

Posters

Click to download a zipped folder of the print-ready 11×17″ PDF poster, containing both the grey & white versions.

Source File

Click to download the .EPS version of the Elements of Design Reference Sheet.

Terms of Use

Feel free to use this poster wherever, whenever, and however you see fit. All we ask is that you don’t try and pass it off as your own, and perhaps give us a link back. Thanks!