White space should always be kept to the outside of the design in order not to distract the viewer or reader's eye movement.

Each element within a layout should be aligned with at least one other element to create harmony and balance to make the advertisement easier to read.

To emphasize the importance of creating a sense of focus or unity, have a group of students demonstrate the following scene. Using a group of four students have three students look at an object or a book and one student in the group look or point away from that center of attention. Ask the other students in the class what effect the action of the single student has on the scene. Is that action creating a distraction?

In a layout it is important to keep the reader focused on the subject therefore elements should all face-in to promote the subject.

A basic rule of thumb is to use no more than three typefaces on a page. Have students develop an ad where more than three typefaces have been used and ask them their impressions about the effect.

Have the students collect different types of advertisements where there are repetitive elements. For example, geometric shapes can be repeated a number of times as a means of directing eye-flow across an ad in a specific pattern.

A repeated element can vary in size or colour or be placed diagonally without affecting the desired result.

Have the students collect advertisements that reflect different uses of a dominant feature and discuss the importance of dominant features to the success of the advertisement and the effect of a dominant feature in making a more eye-catching advertisement.

Have students experiment with the design elements of a selected advertisement to see what creates the best eye-flow. They should discover that overlapping the elements within the advertisement contributes to a sense of unity within the layout.

Have the students show how they might direct eye-flow through a sample layout with the use of light and dark areas on the layout.