How Design Works
Learn the universal principles behind effective visual and functional design, from typography and layout to human intuition and product usability. Develop an eye for visual balance, diagnose why things feel clunky or effortless, and build the confidence to solve real communication problems.
Like Duolingo, but for How Design Works. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
24 levels across 4 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Directing the Eye, The Visual Toolkit, Designing How Things Work, and The Designer's Process. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Design Works
- People scan a visual composition for dominant focal points instead of reading sequentially word for word
- A deliberate entry point—like a punchy title or dominant photo—catches the roving eye and invites deeper reading
- Without a clear visual anchor, a layout feels like an undifferentiated block of information that takes too much effort to parse
- To establish authority without competing with surrounding elements, size differences must be obvious at a glance
- Subtle size differences look like accidental formatting mistakes rather than deliberate visual hierarchy
- A strong size contrast lets the dominant element win the viewer's first glance with zero competition
- Contrast comes from noticeable differences in value, such as dark shapes on light backgrounds
- Juxtaposing heavy font weights against thin or light weights creates immediate visual hierarchy
- Vibrant color accents against neutral backdrops instantly pull attention to primary actions
- Items placed close together are instinctively interpreted as part of the same conceptual group
- Increasing empty space between items communicates that they belong to different categories or tasks
- Strategic spacing creates clear visual structure without needing heavy borders, dividing lines, or colored boxes
- In cultures that read left to right, viewers naturally sweep their eyes starting in the top-left corner
- Scanning paths typically track horizontally across the top before dropping down and sweeping across again (like an F or Z pattern)
- Crucial identity elements like logos or key value propositions perform best along the earliest points of this natural visual sweep
- A typeface communicates mood and emotion instantly through its shapes before words are read
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Design Works the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is the primary role of an entry point, like a bold title or dominant photo, on a page?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where How Design Works takes you
- 1
Directing the Eye
- Visual Hierarchy: Guiding the Viewer
- Typography: Choosing and Setting Type
- 2
The Visual Toolkit
- Color: Purpose, Balance, and Meaning
- Negative Space and Structure
- 3
Designing How Things Work
- Usability: Affordances and Signifiers
- Flows: Friction and Error Management
- 4
The Designer's Process
- Problem Framing: Function Over Decoration
- Iteration and Critique
4 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Design Works is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Arts on Tomo
Everyday Graphic Design
Learn the invisible mechanics that make slides, posters, and pages look clean and deliberate. Master hierarchy, spacing, typography, and color to turn amateur visual clutter into confident visual communication.
Graphic Design: Directing the Eye
Learn how to turn cluttered visuals into clean, purposeful designs that guide the viewer's attention. Discover the core mechanics of visual hierarchy, layout grids, typography, and restrained color palettes. Walk away able to make slides, posters, and pages look confident and intentional.
Practical Graphic Design
Learn the core visual rules that transform cluttered graphics into clean, professional layouts. Build compelling social posts, flyers, and advertisements using proven principles of hierarchy, color, typography, and spacing.
Graphic Design in Practice
Learn to create clear, visually compelling designs that grab attention and communicate effectively. Master the fundamentals of typography, color harmony, logo creation, and social graphics to turn amateur layouts into polished visual work.
Graphic Design: Structure and Style
Move beyond basic layouts and learn to make deliberate visual decisions. Master the mechanics of typography, grid architecture, optical alignment, and color systems to build cohesive graphic work.
Elements of Visual Design
Learn how shapes, typography, color, and spacing work together to create striking visuals. Develop an eye for balance and hierarchy to turn messy layouts into clear, intentional compositions.
Start How Design Works today.
Download Tomo, search How Design Works, and play your first lesson in under a minute.