the rhetorical situation  audience  purpose  context design principles  arrangement  emphasis  contrast  repetition  alignment  proximity (some) variables

 margins  blank space  paragraph spacing  paragraph length  line spacing  line length  justification  type sizes and typefaces (fonts)  type features (e.g., bold, italics, strikethrough)  letter case  highlighting  color  graphics, images, icons, symbols  tables, charts, diagrams  columns  headings  headers and footers  page numbers document design includes The use of all of which should be guided by: arrangement emphasis contrast repetition alignment proximity

“The intelligent and informed management of white space will do more to improve your visual communication than any other design decision.” (Alex W. White)

CRAP  contrast  repetition  alignment  proximity

contrast  contrast aids in the organization of information and creates hierarchy  contrast can add clarity  contrast can make the page/screen look more interesting

 if two items are different, make them really different; avoid doing wimpy contrast—make contrast strong

bold, bright pinks conservative, traditional black and gray

sloppy, handwritten font face elegant, cursive-style font face

square, linear shape wild, twisted shape

drab, flat gray bright, vibrant orange

bold, bright, simple blocks richly detailed, lively photos conservative, serious, black and white

black and white (strongest visual contrast) strong contrast between curve of icon and smooth, simple, lowercase, sans serif font face

repetition  repetition unifies elements throughout a document  repetition adds visual interest  repetition develops organization and creates consistency

 repeat some aspect of a design (e.g., horizontal rule, a certain type of bullet, a type of font) throughout an entire page or site  avoid repeating an element so much that it becomes annoying or overwhelming

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running header Including author/ organization and graphic line running footer including page number and graphic line

tip icon appears throughout instructions to mark key information

level 1 heading level 2 heading

alignment  alignment unifies and organizes the page  alignment helps create visual connections

 nothing should be placed on a page arbitrarily  avoid using more than two text alignments on a page  balance image and text alignment carefully  center alignment and full alignment are more difficult to read than right alignment

images are center aligned, vertically arranged image arranged centered and left of text text is left aligned or left justified; headings flush left

all bulleted items are aligned with hanging indent

2003 appears out of alignment with rest of title

images aligned flush left in each paragraph in which they appear; text aligned square around images

body text generously indented on page; left aligned with ragged right margin heading level 1 flush left, no indent

multiple, visually competing alignments create interesting look and feel

proximity  proximity helps to organize elements, imply relationships  proximity helps with use of blank space  proximity reduces clutter

 create visual relationships with elements that belong together  avoid too many separate elements on one page  don’t stick things in the corners and in the middle of the page

search features appear in close proximity main navigation in close proximity

organizations’ logos appear in close proximity

institute’s name and contact info in close proximity individual’s name and contact info in close proximity

images organized on page in close proximity

chunks of relatedinformation in close proximity