Design & Delivery How will your project be read? 4 Principles of Graphic Design Typographical Suggestions Color Psychology

Suzanne Webb Michigan State University WRA 150: Consider Literacy January 31, 2006

4 Principles of Graphic Design CRAP Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity According to The Non-Designer’s Web Book By: Robin Williams and John Tollett

CONTRAST Use Opposite Colors Black type on a white background White type on a black background Who’s your audience? Aging eyes? Big Type Little Type Vary the Weight Bold / Regular / Italics / Bold Italic

REPETITION Repeating Elements Colors Art (logos, pictures) Font Layout Navigation

ALIGNMENT Flush Left Flush Right Centered Justified Pick one alignment and stick with it!

PROXIMITY Grouping Elements Headlines close to their body copy Captions close to their pictures 3-5 Groupings per page Give it The Squint Test

CRAP Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity

Typography

6 Categories of Type Promotes a “feeling” / Sets the “tone” Type Size (10-14 point) Upper Case / Lower Case A brief history…

6 Kinds of Fonts Oldstyle Modern Slab Serif San Serif Script Decorative

Font Choices Convey Meaning Marilyn Monroe

Oldstyle Goudy Oldstyle Goudy Oldstyle Bold Diagonal Stress Old-Timey Slanted Serifs Classy

Modern Modern No. 20 Modern No. 20 Bold Dramatic Thick/Thin Transitions Horizontal Serifs Invented for Advertising Never Good for Lots of Text

Sans Serif Tahoma Tahoma Bold Sans = French for “without” Good for Extended Bodies of Text Easy to Read

Slab Serif Clarendon Black Clarendon Black Bold Thick, Flat Serifs Headlines, Special Applications Not for Extended Text Maybe Children’s Books(?)

Scripts French Script Blackaddar Brush Script Use for formal invitations and not much else. Ever. Never set in all caps. Please: Use sparingly.

Decorative Bees Knees Papyrus Gigi Harlow Andy Jokerman Matisse Balloon

Decorative Sets a tone Fun! Difficult to Read Use Sparingly Does the user’s machine even have this weird font loaded? Set as a graphic

Serif (plain-old serif) Times Roman Times New Roman Bold Serifs guide the eyes Excellent for extended bodies of text Widely Accepted / Boring(?) Use for Resumes / Scanable On all Machines Works “Cross-platform”

Type Sizes Varying Sizes Adds Contrast Establishes a Hierarchy Consistency is Key For Print: point On Screen: ? (who’s your audience)

Type Sizes BIG TYPE --LITTLE TYPE-- Great for adding contrast!

Color Psychology

Color Psychology Do colors mean something? WARNING! JEALOUSY TRUST What about in other cultures?

Color Psychology Yellow In Egypt and Burma, yellow signifies mourning. In Spain, executioners once wore yellow. In India, yellow is the symbol for a merchant or farmer. In tenth-century France, the doors of traitors and criminals were painted yellow. Hindus in India wear yellow to celebrate the festival of spring. If someone is said to have a “yellow streak,” that person is considered a coward.

Color Psychology In Japan during the War of Dynasty in 1357, each warrior wore a yellow chrysanthemum as a pledge of courage. A yellow ribbon is a sign of support for soldiers at the front. Yellow is a symbol of jealousy and deceit. In the Middle Ages, actors portraying the dead in a play wore yellow. To holistic healers, yellow is the color of peace. Yellow has good visibility and is often used as a color of warning. It is also a symbol for quarantine, an area marked off because of danger. “Yellow journalism” refers to irresponsible and alarmist reporting.

Color Psychology Think about baby nurseries… Primary Colors? Pastels? Black and White and Red? Trends change and people tend to decorate nurseries with colors that supposedly stimulate their babies’ intelligence!

Color Psychology Think about trends… In Decorating In Signage In Packaging

Color Psychology Think about… Warm and Cool Colors Sweaters were worn in a light blue room; the secretaries were cold. The owners painted the room a warm peach, never touched the thermostat; the sweaters came off! It’s about Perception!

Color Psychology Sources on the web… idArticle=112&idArea=16

How will your project be read? 4 Principles of Graphic Design Typographical Suggestions Color Psychology