what is good design

What Is Good Design? And How Do You Do It?

COM335

Desktop Publishing Defined

What is "good"?

• It’s a matter of opinion.

• What is “good” to one person, may not be “good” to another.

• It depends on your specific objective and your target audience

Step One: Relevance

• Time Available: 1-7 Seconds ~ 4 words per second

• What’s in it for me?

• Headlines & Titles – Maximum 28 words

– 9-5 is the best and should be twice the size of the subheads

Step One: Relevance

• Captions • People will read

captions, no matter how long, before reading body text

Step One: Relevance

• Photographs – Inspire curiosity and

involvement

– Help readers imagine themselves there

– Vary size, shape alignment, layering, isolation

Step Two: Confirmation

• Time Available: Up to 90 seconds

• Was I right?

• Looking for a reason NOT to read.

Step Two: Confirmation

• Short Body Text – Increase

comprehension

– Every 2-3 Paragraphs • Use Sub-heads, sidebars,

pull quotes, summaries, teasers

• Unfinished statements will get 30-60% more people to keep reading

Headlines

Layout

Layout

Step Two: Confirmation

• Numbers & Outlines – Use bulleted lists

– Call-outs

– Quizes – get people involved (helps establish the need)

– Table of Contents

Step Two: Confirmation

• Non-photographic Art – Charts

– Graphs

– Tables

– Clip Art

– Illustrations

– Watermarks

Step Two: Confirmation

• Graphic Devices – Rules

– Drop Caps

– Dingbats

– Bullets

– Screens

– Boxes (use sparingly to highlight items)

Step Two: Confirmation

• Decreased Readability – ALL CAPS

– Underline

– Italics – Color

Graphic Devices

• Pick two or three MAX per publication and use consistently

• Do not intersect Rules

Rules

Graphic Devices

• Drop and Initial Caps – Draw attention to the

beginning of the body text

– Use large initial letters to indicate the beginning of a chapter, articles or section of text

Graphic Devices

• Dingbats – Bullet Points

– End-of-article markers to create a visual end-point

– Highlight important copy

– Can be custom

Graphic Devices

• Boxes and Bullet Points – Indicate “This is the

primary point”

– Relate to one another

– Use boxes and bullets like an outline

Step Three: Action

• Time Available: As much as needed

• What do I do?

• Long body text – Break up for skimmers

– Assume the general public has a 6th grade education

– Break up with graphic devices

Step Three: Action

• Proof – Connects message and reader, creates memory

• Call to action – Statistics

– Track record

– Testimonials

– Issue a challenge

– Visualization

– Impact Statement

Layout Design Symmetrical

• Copy is centered and art is distributed evenly

Asymmetrical

• Unusual shapes, white space and color achieve balance

6 Rules of Balance • Anything located in the

upper left quadrant (primary optical area of the layout has more optical weight

6 Rules of Balance • Large items are noticed

more, seen for a longer time, and remembered better than small items

6 Rules of Balance • Elements that are dark

carry more optical weight than black and white

6 Rules of Balance • Color conveys more

optical weight than black and white

6 Rules of Balance • White space serves to

draw reader’s attention to whatever is in the “non-empty” space

6 Rules of Balance • Rectangles are

“expected”

• Triangles, ovals, circles, cubes convey optical weight