For teachers

Proportion handout

Three pages for US Letter paper. Pages 1 and 2 are for students. Page 3 is the answer key, so print it separately or leave it out.

Read the lesson online

Free to print and share with your students. Please don't sell it.

ux360.design Principles of design

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Proportion

Proportion is how the sizes of things in a design compare to each other. Bigger or heavier things look more important.

Two ways to judge it

A cartoon elephant face with big ears, a long trunk and small eyes, with dotted lines marking where each feature sits
Judged by context. We compare it with what we expect. An elephant with a tiny trunk looks wrong because we know what a real elephant looks like.
Left: a tree with a small leaf beside it. Right: a large leaf with a small ant beside it
Judged by relationship. We compare it with what is next to it. A leaf is small next to a tree, but big next to an ant.

Try it

Draw a cup on a table. Then draw it again, but change one size so it looks wrong.

Looks right
Looks wrong

How did you know the second one looks wrong? Was it context or relationship?

Read the full lesson: ux360.design/proportion-design/

ux360.design Proportion

Name

Check yourself

Circle one answer for each question.

  1. 1What does proportion compare?

    • The colors of things in a design
    • The sizes of things in a design
    • How many things are in a design

  2. 2On a poster, the title is three times bigger than the other text. What does that tell the reader?

    • The title matters most
    • The title was added last
    • The other text has a mistake

  3. 3A drawing shows an elephant with a tiny trunk. How do you know it looks wrong?

    • You compare it with what a real elephant looks like
    • You count how many legs it has
    • You check what color it is

  4. 4One artist draws a leaf small next to a tree. Another draws the same leaf big next to an ant. Who is right?

    • Only the first artist
    • Only the second artist
    • Both, because size depends on what is next to it

  5. 5When can breaking proportion on purpose help a design?

    • Never, because it always looks like a mistake
    • When you want one thing to stand out and make a point
    • Only when the design has no words

Want to check online? The same questions are at the end of ux360.design/proportion-design/

ux360.design Proportion

For the teacher

Answer key

  1. 1B. The sizes of things in a design. Proportion is about size and visual weight: how big one thing is next to another.
  2. 2A. The title matters most. Bigger reads as more important, so size tells people where to look first.
  3. 3A. You compare it with what a real elephant looks like. That is proportion judged by context: you compare the drawing with what you expect.
  4. 4C. Both, because size depends on what is next to it. That is proportion judged by relationship. The same leaf can be small or big, depending on its neighbor.
  5. 5B. When you want one thing to stand out and make a point. Something out of proportion grabs attention. Done on purpose, it makes a statement.

In class, about 20 minutes: read the lesson, do page 1, then page 2.

More free handouts: ux360.design/teachers/