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FOUR DESKTOP PUBLISHING DESIGN ELEMENTS THAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW
Presented by Jerry Smith
Where We’re Going
Focus on four basic design elements Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity
Examples of Each Simple changes make a HUGE
difference
The Big Four
ContrastRepetitionAlignmentProximity
There is no clever acronymn: You’ll have to figure that one out on your own…
Before I Begin…
Framework by Robin Williams
Buy this Book:
Non-Designer’s Design Book
ISBN:
0321193857
Subjectivity
Yep, most of this is quite subjective These elements provide structured
options Even if you don’t get it right the first
shot, you’ll know some things you can change to create an entirely different look
Eliminates poke-and-hope mentality of design
Framework is to English… True or False: The English language
is always consistent? These rules can (and should be)
broken sometimes It’s a framework, not a set of laws
Something is wrong…
but you can’t put your finger on it. In many cases, the thing that’s wrong is
one of these elements By having a name for the broken
elements, you’ll find that it is much easier to fix
The four elements overlap quite a bit This is a very good thing. It leads to near
infinite possibilities.
Contrast (the king element) By definition, refers to the degree of
noticeable differences in something There are lots of ways to provide
contrast Color Alignment Typography (fonts) Size Shape
Color Contrast
A simple logo with no contrast
Color Contrast
Same simple logo with color contrast
A little contrast goes a long way
Before After
Alignment Contrast
For years, most of us have been conditioned to believe that centering everything is the way to go:
Alignment Contrast
But centering everything is overly formal and boring! With a little alignment contrast:
A Tale of Two Alignments
Before After
A Tale of Two (More) Alignments
Before After
Typography Contrast
Choose fonts that differ greatly! Bad: Times New Roman and Garamond Good: Times New Roman and Comic Sans
MS Most common typography contrast
involves serif vs. sans-serif
How NOT to do type contrast
Proper Type Contrast
One Small Change of Font
Before After
Put It All Together
A pinch of font, a dash of color!
Before After
Size Contrast
Just as with fonts, if you’re going to do size contrasts, make it count!!!
Two basic reasons to use size contrast: Emphasis Shock Value (Stress)
Yawn!
A Little Size Makes a Big Difference
Yawn to Yay!
Before After
Change the Size, Change the Message
Change the Size, Change the Message
Shape Contrast
Angular vs. Rounded
Contrast Review
Differences stand out Emphasis Stress
Color is easy Be really different with
Fonts Sizes
Repetition
By definition, to repeat The antithesis of Contrast
Humans like patterns Makes things very comfortable
The thing you see the most without realizing it The silent design element!
Things to Repeat
Colors Fonts Shapes Sizes
Humans are very good at intrinsically associating a repeated element with its function
Page 4 of a very long book
…and 690 pages later
What’s repeated?
The page number formatting The heading font, size, and weight The body text font and size The weight of emphasized text
Repeatable Elements with Distinct Function
Repeatable Elements with Distinct Function
Repetition Review
Create patterns where patterns are important Headings Body Other stuff
Main Menu and Navigational Elements should be repeated
Be careful not to overdo!
Proximity
By definition, the spatial relationship between items
Human beings naturally make associations between proximate objects The closer things are to one another, the
more they must be related Good designs exploit this intrinsic
trait
Same example, different context
One tiny adjustment…
Bye-bye extra box!
Before After
You saw it but didn’t know it!
What about Alignment?
What about it! Think about the other three
elements we’ve discussed… Alignment can be
Contrasted Repeated Used to create proximation
How Do We Teach This Stuff As with everything else: Patiently Tackle individually at first
Don’t go over all in one day Possibly a week long unit??
One element per day with examples and practice
Tie them together on Friday
Pavlov’s Children
Give specific praise for using the elements “I really like your use of contrast there, Sally” “Nice proximity with your grouping of
information, George!” The framework is great for constructive
criticism “Think about what kind of contrast you could
use here.” “Is there something you could do to make this
information seem more related?”
In Review…
Focus on four basic design elements Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity
It’s all subjective Simple changes make a HUGE
difference
In Review…
The framework is a tool, not a crutch Teach it slowly and consistently Don’t become a slave to it: HAVE
FUN!
Thanks for playing along! Any questions or comments?