Design Principles KIS PROXIMITY ALIGNMENT CONSISTENCY HARMONY GRAVITY/SEQUENCE BALANCE PROPORTION FONT USE

KIS - Keep it Simple This principle is basically self-explanatory. Keep fonts, colours and pictures simple. Two different fonts used consistently throughout the project is a lot more effective than all sorts of different fonts confusing the page. It’s the same with pictures and colours. Sticking to a basic colour scheme is a lot more manageable to read than a kaleidoscope of colours hypnotizing you, and not over crowding a page with pictures will make it that much more effective IS THIS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF KIS --- NO !!. HOME

PROXIMITY. This is to do with the grouping of text or images. Grouping together text or images that are related to the same topic make it much more easier for the user to read, rather than having to jump all over the page for the information they are after. Keep the groups just the right distance apart and consistent. For a good example: HOME

ALIGNMENT This principle refers to the arrangement of your text. For normal writing we usually have the alignment on ‘normal’. For headings many prefer ‘center’’ alignment and for footnotes ‘right’ alignment is often used. In some cases, for text in novels, we use the alignment setting ‘justified’. A bad example: HOME

CONSISTENCY This principle refers to keeping text or fonts consistent throughout your work. It’s wise to use no more than two different text or fonts. Otherwise it looks messy and the user finds it hard to read. Good Bad HOME

HARMONY Your work should ensure that all items on the page work towards a single goal. This goal is to ensure that it fits the image, purpose and intent of the page. A Good Example - everything on this page ‘sends’ the same message HOME

GRAVITY or SEQUENCE: Readers do not take in the whole page at a glance, there is a natural “gravity” ( in Western cultures) from left to right and top to bottom. Respect this flow. HOME

BALANCE A document must look balanced. Graphics and text have a visual weight and density - think of the text having a physical ‘weight’ - where would the page balance if put on a pivot point ?. A page can look unbalanced when text, graphics and white space are placed carelessly. There are two types of balance: Dynamic (informal) Static (formal) Balance also refers to the amount of the page which is set aside for each of text, graphics and white space. To much of one can upset the balance of the page. HOME

PROPORTION Every item on a page has a relative importance. Generally the amount of space you give to an item should reflect its importance. Do not forget white space which is very important in terms of balance, proximity and harmony. HOME

FONTS - When should you use which font ? Serif: The serif font is a font that has ‘ticks’ on some characters. This font is better suite for the body of the text.You would use this font type for block text, because it’s easier to read. This is why many books, magazines, newspapers etc use the font type serif. e.g ITC Officina Serif Book Sans Serif: The sans serif is a font type that has no ‘ticks’. This font is better suited for headings or a sentence exclaiming something in capitals. Sans serif is usually used in titles for articles, stories and for captions under photo’s in newspapers or magazines. e.g Comic Sans MS Script: Script fonts are usually reserved for special occasions or personal notations. It is a fancy type of lettering that often looks like it has been handwritten. e.g Brush Script MT HOME