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Four Desktop Publishing Design Elements that Everyone Needs to Know

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. C ontrast R epetition

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Four Desktop Publishing Design Elements that Everyone Needs to Know

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  1. Four Desktop Publishing Design Elements that Everyone Needs to Know Presented by Jerry Smith

  2. Where We’re Going • Focus on four basic design elements • Contrast • Repetition • Alignment • Proximity • Examples of Each • Simple changes make a HUGE difference

  3. The Big Four • Contrast • Repetition • Alignment • Proximity There is no clever acronymn: You’ll have to figure that one out on your own…

  4. Before I Begin… • Framework by Robin Williams • Buy this Book: Non-Designer’s Design Book • ISBN: 0321193857

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. Color Contrast A simple logo with no contrast

  10. Color Contrast Same simple logo with color contrast

  11. A little contrast goes a long way Before After

  12. Alignment Contrast • For years, most of us have been conditioned to believe that centering everything is the way to go:

  13. Alignment Contrast • But centering everything is overly formal and boring! With a little alignment contrast:

  14. A Tale of Two Alignments Before After

  15. A Tale of Two (More) Alignments Before After

  16. 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

  17. How NOT to do type contrast

  18. Proper Type Contrast

  19. One Small Change of Font Before After

  20. Put It All Together

  21. A pinch of font, a dash of color! Before After

  22. 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)

  23. Yawn!

  24. A Little Size Makes a Big Difference

  25. Yawn to Yay! Before After

  26. Change the Size, Change the Message

  27. Change the Size, Change the Message

  28. Shape Contrast • Angular vs. Rounded

  29. Contrast Review • Differences stand out • Emphasis • Stress • Color is easy • Be really different with • Fonts • Sizes

  30. 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!

  31. Things to Repeat • Colors • Fonts • Shapes • Sizes • Humans are very good at intrinsically associating a repeated element with its function

  32. Page 4 of a very long book

  33. …and 690 pages later

  34. What’s repeated? • The page number formatting • The heading font, size, and weight • The body text font and size • The weight of emphasized text

  35. Repeatable Elements with Distinct Function

  36. Repeatable Elements with Distinct Function

  37. 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!

  38. 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

  39. Same example, different context

  40. One tiny adjustment…

  41. Bye-bye extra box! Before After

  42. You saw it but didn’t know it!

  43. What about Alignment? • What about it!  • Think about the other three elements we’ve discussed… • Alignment can be • Contrasted • Repeated • Used to create proximation

  44. 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

  45. 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?”

  46. In Review… • Focus on four basic design elements • Contrast • Repetition • Alignment • Proximity • It’s all subjective • Simple changes make a HUGE difference

  47. In Review… • The framework is a tool, not a crutch • Teach it slowly and consistently • Don’t become a slave to it: HAVE FUN!

  48. Thanks for playing along! • Any questions or comments? 

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