what is good design
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
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