- Contrast
- Repetition
- Alignment
- Proximity
- Legibility
- Type is measured in points from the top of the letters, the ascenders, to the bottom of the letters, the descenders.
- There are 72 points in an inch.
- There are 12 points in one pica and six picas in one inch.
- Type is never measured by the width of the letters.
- Printed type:
- body type -10 and 12 points.
- headlines - 24 points or larger
- Projected visuals
- body type - 24 points or larger
- headlines - 36 points or larger
- (Long narrow rooms need larger fonts.)
- Double spaced type has double the leading of the size of type.
- why you are using the color?
- what is the purpose or function of the color?
- what information does it add?
- Some photos and graphics need color.
- In photographs black and white shows more detail and contrast than color.
- Color can particularly helpful in informational graphics such as diagrams explaining a process.
- Red - warm color; associated with fire. Depending upon the length of exposure, red can increase blood pressure; considered stimulating and exciting. Be careful about using too much red as it can easily overpower other elements on a page. Red used in advertisements brings the highest returns from women.
- Yellow - warm color associated with happiness. Yellow reminds people of a warm sunny day and gives hope.
- Blue - cool color; associated with sweetness. Sugar is often packaged in blue containers. Blue is the favorite color of the majority of people and is considered the safest color to use in design. Blue works well as a background color. Blue is known to have a calming effect on people. Blue used in advertisements, brings the highest return from men. Dark blue is considered the color of quiet colors work well for black background.
- Purple - associated with royalty, religion, and ceremony.
- Green - warm or cool color depending upon the brightness selected. Green is associated with astringency and trees but still remains one of the most popular colors.
- Brown
- men associate brown with wood and leather while women associate brown
with leather and furs; like blue, brown is safe.
- Contrasts, weights, structures, form and direction of typefaces must be considered.
- Determine the feelings to convey
- Audience of the publication: age level? reading level?
- Publications whose main purpose is to offer news to the readers generally use few type faces with clean or traditional characteristics.
- Decorative type for body is inappropriate. Body copy is almost always a plain style with serifs
- Publications or screens that are more featured oriented can use headline type with more ornate characteristics.
- When producing a collaborative project, a type style sheet should be developed for consistency.
- Plain, bold, italic, underline, shadow, outline, condensed, and extended are examples of type styles.
- Common kinds of graphics used in presentations: photographs, clip art, illustrations, tables and graphs, movies
- Graphics are assigned a file format by the program with which they are created:
- Graphics should be used to either illustrate or inform. They can be used to explain complicated information, illustrate a point, tell a story visually, add information to a story, attract attention, or entertain.
- Cropping out unnecessary information makes the point of the pictures stronger because it removes distraction.
- Some photographs and illustrations may need to be cropped and resized. When you crop a picture it allows you to enlarge what is left of the illustration.
- For ethical reasons, do not alter content, including the use of morphing programs without permission.
- The action to the action of the content?
- Captions, or cutlines, are considered part of the graphic.
- Make sure that the captions are set in different kind or style of type than the body copy.
- Captions should add to, not repeat, the information in a graphic.
- According to the Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia, all graphics must have copyright information incorporated with the graphic. This means that the copyright information (©, owner, date) must be grouped into the image and all are one image.
- Work your design around the optical center of the page. The optical center is slightly about the mathematical center of the page and slightly to the left.
- Irregularly-shaped art grabs the eye
- Have a specific purpose for a graphic. Do not just use it for decoration.
- Make sure that the eye does not “go off the page” because of the graphic
- Do not crowd the layout! White space is important, but do not trap white space within an object or graphic.
- If the message of the graphic is eye-catching or powerful then the graphic could be used in a large size, or be the dominant element on a page.
- Charts, diagrams and tables can be useful for explaining information that is too complicated to digest in written form.
- Navigational - moving from place to place
- Hot text - explanations, glossary, more information
- Watch transitions—if it does not add to the product, do not use.
- Cropping out unnecessary information in a graphic makes the point of the pictures stronger because it removes distractions.
- Be concerned about ethical behaviors
- Scripts, cursive, and novelty type are like hot sauce - use them sparingly!
- Personal
- Meaningful
- Relevant
- Include citations—do not plagiarize
- Copyright—different from citations
- The original intent
- Keep focused
- Black letters emphasize tradition
- Use type from a few families rather than a wide variety of families (fonts)
- The minimum for visual presentations is 24 points. The headings should be a minimum of 30 points.
- Watch transitions - if it does not add to the product, do not use.
- George Lucas Educational Foundation: Project Based Learning Module
- George Lucas Educational Foundation: Assessment Module
- FairUse Guidelines for Multimedia
- Questioning
Toolkit
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An Introduction to Basic Principles • learner-centered B. Process for development of multimedia product 1. Establish criteria and assessment methods• Clarify content to be addressed2. Establish assumptions C. The Big Six Skills: An Information Problem Solving Approach 1. Task definition (define the problem, identify information needed) • Time-based (Macromind Director) -> Living Books • Microprocessor F. Understand the Design Principles2 Avoid elements on the page that are merely similar. If the elements (type, color, size, line, thickness, shape, space, etc) are not the same, then make them very different. Add contrast through your typeface choices, line, thicknesses, colors, shapes, sizes, space, etc. Be strong! Repeat visual elements of the design throughout the piece (color, shape, texture, spatial relationships, line thicknesses, sizes, etc). This develops the organization and strengthens the unity. Repetition is similar to consistency. Look at the possibility of adding elements just to create a repetition. Every element should have some visual connection with another element on the page. This creates a clean sophisticated, fresh look. Be conscious of where you place elements. Always find something else on the page with which to align, even if the two objects are physically far away from each other. Items relating to each other should be grouped closely together. This helps organize information and reduces clutter. Squint your eyes slightly and count the number of visual elements on the page by counting the number of times your eye stops. If there are more than three to five items on the page, try to group separate elements together into a closer proximity so that one visual unit is created. 2 Williams, Robin; The Non-Designer Design Book
Measuring Type
Color Blindness Remember that many are color blind and cannot distinguish between colors such as red/green. Psychology of color Eyes are attracted to warm colors (reds) and move away from cool colors (blues, greens). Watch colors - be sure they compliment, not fight!
Graphic formats:
10 Rules of Navigation 1. Avoid simple page turners Caution With the plethora of resources available today on the Internet, CD-ROMs, and laser discs, one must now question the authenticity and accuracy as well as the relevancy of the information. A skill that must be taught is the evaluation of the information, quality and reliability.Resources In closing Tie the product closely to the process of information literacy and Technology Applications process, knowledge, and skills
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