Visual Hierarchy in Graphic Design: Basic Principles CAC Workshop, April 11, 2014. Morgan Room
Martin Holland [email protected] or [email protected]
Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2001, pp. 6-7.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_size_illustration2_with
_letter_and_legal.svg
Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and
Composition, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural
Press, 2001, p. 36.
Encourage students to create a
thumbnail sketch (example to
the far left of the page) that
includes all the information that
will be included in the final poster.
Notice, the underlying grid
structure that allows us to quickly
identify the most important
typographical information.
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, pp. 35 - 36.
Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, p. 45.
What’s wrong with this poster? Source: http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign
White space is as critical as the content
presented. Posters that are too text
heavy, will not be read.
A general rule of thumb that can be
applied to posters is that the text should
only be 20% of the entire board, with the
graphics using 40% of the space with the
white space also using the remaining
40%.
20% Text
40% Graphics & Images
40% White Space
Font Combinations:
Use no more than three fonts.
Aim for only using two;
one san-serif, the other serif.
A serif font contains thick and thin
strokes on each letter. (Garamond,
Caslon, Bodoni, Minion, Clarendon, and
Baskerville). These fonts are useful for
the title block as they are legible at a
further distance.
Font size: For the title use 75 - 85 pt.
Authors 48 - 56 pt.
Sub-heads 30 - 36 pt.
Body Text 20 - 24 pt.
Captions 14 - 18 pt.
REMINDER-
Test these as per software application.
Variations will occur.
Never, ever, ever use Comic Sans…
https://kuler.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/
Color
Yellow text disappears
on a white background.
Yellow text disappears
on a white background.
Red text appears blurry
on a green background.
Red text appears blurry
on a green background.
Just as green text
appears blurry on a red
background.
Keep in mind that 5 – 8 % of Caucasian men are color blind.
Resources:
Examples of Faculty Posters by Subject Area: http://f1000.com/posters/browse?docTypeSearch=Poster
https://www.flickr.com/groups/pimpmyposter/ http://betterposters.blogspot.com http://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/ http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus
Poster Design Advice and Feedback:
Open Source Layout Application: