Notes to Chapter Three

1. Notes to Chapter Three English 308 Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

2. Visual Analysis: Two Keys • Learning to notice what’s going on visually • Learning how to categorize it all Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

3. A Taxonomy for Visual Vocabulary • Intra-level—text at the line level • Inter-level—text at the paragraph or field level • Extra-level—non-textual material • Supra-level—whole document Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

4. Three “Coding” Modes • Textual—words and numbers • Graphic—graphic elements (shading, lines, symbols, pictures, etc.) • Spatial—the position of these elements on the page or screen Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

5. Visual Language Matrix • Combining the four levels of design with the three coding modes produces the 12-cell visual language matrix. The matrix provides a framework for describing the visual language of any document. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

6. Matrix Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

7. Intra-Level Design: Linear Components Intra-level design controls the local variations of text, character by character, word by word, across a single line or a thousand lines. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

8. Intra-Level Design: Textual Mode • Typeface selection (such as Helvetica, Times, Chicago, Garamond, and so on) • Typeface disposition (such as roman, italic, boldface, UPPERCASE, shadow, and so on) • Type size (measured in points, such as 10-point, 11-point, 12-point, 24-point, 32-point and so on) • Print or display color Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

9. Intra-Level Design: Spatial Mode Local spacing between textual units: Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

10. Intra-Level Design: Graphic Mode Punctuation and other local marks including • Underscored or underlined text • Strikethrough text • Text with gray scale background Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

11. Intra-Level Design Headings Arial Bold 18 point • Creating Visual Interest • This page has a good deal of text and it is difficult to isolate one word from another. As such, this page is a good example of poor figure-ground contrast, not because of the contrast of colors. • The black text on the white background is perfectly suited • As is the choice of font • No, the problem is in the gray mass of type, where nothing stands out. When there is not visual variety, the eye cannot find anything to focus on. That’s why even paragraph breaks can be an important feature of a page of text. One line indented out of some thirty lines on the page creates visual relief and partially helps explain why paragraphs are a vital feature of any document. • At this point, the text will simply repeat itself. • Farewell, gentle reader • This page has a good deal of text and it is difficult to isolate one word from another. As such, this page is a good example of poor figure-ground contrast, not because of the contrast of colors. The black text on the white background is perfectly suited as is the choice of font, the very common serif font Times New Roman. • No, the problem is in the gray mass of type, where nothing stands out. When there is not visual variety, the eye cannot find anything to focus on. Text Times New Roman 12 point Gray-scale background Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

12. Inter-Level Design: Fields and Nonlinear Components Inter-level design helps readers comprehend a text, often by dividing the text into discrete units so readers can structure it. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

13. Inter-Level Design: Textual Mode • Headings to show the hierarchy of the parts • Numbers to show sequence Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

14. Inter-Level Design: Spatial Mode Distribution of text on the page • Position of headings • Spacing between headings and text • Leading (space between lines) • Indentation • Justification • Columns • Use of tables, charts, etc. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

15. Inter-Level Design: Graphic Mode Use of graphic elements to cue structure • Bullets • Horizontal or vertical lines between text • Boxes and/or gray-scale around blocks of text • Use of graphic elements to distinguish text in charts, diagrams, etc. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

16. Inter-Level Design Headings • Creating Visual Interest • This page has a good deal of text and it is difficult to isolate one word from another. As such, this page is a good example of poor figure-ground contrast, not because of the contrast of colors. • The black text on the white background is perfectly suited • As is the choice of font • No, the problem is in the gray mass of type, where nothing stands out. When there is not visual variety, the eye cannot find anything to focus on. That’s why even paragraph breaks can be an important feature of a page of text. One line indented out of some thirty lines on the page creates visual relief and partially helps explain why paragraphs are a vital feature of any document. • At this point, the text will simply repeat itself. • Farewell, gentle reader • This page has a good deal of text and it is difficult to isolate one word from another. As such, this page is a good example of poor figure-ground contrast, not because of the contrast of colors. The black text on the white background is perfectly suited as is the choice of font, the very common serif font Times New Roman. • No, the problem is in the gray mass of type, where nothing stands out. When there is not visual variety, the eye cannot find anything to focus on. Bullets More space between text before heading than after heading Box around text Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

17. Extra-Level Design: Data Displays, Pictures, Symbols Extra-level design includes data displays, icons and symbols. These elements operate outside the main text often as autonomous entities with their own visual vocabulary Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

18. Extra-Level Design: Textual Mode Descriptive text for extra-level elements • Labels • Titles • Legends • Captions Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

19. Extra-Level Design: Spatial Mode The arrangement chosen for the display • Type (chart, graph, etc.) • Subtype (pie chart, bar chart, etc.) • Size and proportion of display • Perspective Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

20. Extra-Level Design: Graphic Mode The visible stuff of the display • Shading, texture, and color of elements • Axis lines • Tick marks • Gridlines Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

21. Extra-level Design Chart title Axis labels Gridlines Tick marks Chart legend Axis titles Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

22. Supra-Level Design: The Whole Document Supra-level includes top-down design elements that visually define, structure, and unify the entire document. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

23. Supra-Level Design: Textual Mode • Title pages • Headers • Footers • Page numbers • Section Tabs Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

24. Supra-Level Design: Spatial Mode • Page size and shape • Page orientation • Paper (thickness, folds, flaps, pockets, etc.) Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

25. Supra-Level Design: Graphic Mode • Any marks, icons, colors, linework, and logos that unify pages, sections, or screens or that create major divisions Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

26. Each Document Unique • Each document uniquely combines elements from the twelve-cell matrix. • Some restrict variations to the upper left quadrant (school essays for example) • Others make use of a significantly richer vocabulary (see especially corporate annual reports, fundraising literature, etc.) Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3

27. Matrix Cells Not Airtight • Just as each document is unique, not all visual information will fit neatly in only one cell of the matrix. The matrix is just a tool that helps you categorize (and therefore describe) the visual language of a document. Designing Visual Language-Chapter 3