5.1 | Design Basics

They are important to remember. Always. The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity Good design is simple. That does not mean boring. It means that unimportant or unrelated visuals are removed so that the important elements can be emphasized. Now that we’ve utilized all of the design rules, this slide is much easier to look at and understand than the first one you saw. Your yearbook spreads should also be easy to understand. Ask students: what is the pneumonic that can be used to remember the principles of design? In the next slides we are going to look at professional designs to see how they utilize these principles. They are important to remember. Always.

The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity One photo or area must be at least two times larger than the next largest shape. Headlines should be obviously larger than other text. Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity .

contrast Pantone Project, Paul Octaviours [IL] Paul Octaviours is a photographer and storyteller from Chicago. He created a Pantone photoseries that he posts on Instagram. Notice that the Pantone swatch is the dominant element. Its size contrasts with the size of the elements around it, making it the Center of Visual Interest (CVI). Pantone Project, Paul Octaviours [IL]

The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity Every shape, color and font should be repeated at least once, usually more, on a design. Alignment Proximity Simplicity

HARMONY Les Miserables Movie Ask students to identify the various ways the designer of this ad used harmony. Color of background coordinates with eyes. Repetition of color in font, which is in harmony with hair color. Repetition of font. Repetition of one-word descriptors of movie. Les Miserables Movie

harmony Lake & Sumpter Magazine Design by Jaime Ezra Mark Adviser: ask students to identify the ways in which harmony has been used in this magazine cover. What elements are repeated? Primary font Angle of arms reflects the angle of the water slide Color block behind “Lake & Sumpter” echoes the color in the water slide Color in bathing suit reflects color in background. Lake & Sumpter Magazine Design by Jaime Ezra Mark

The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicty Think grids. Think even spacing. Photos and text boxes should align even when on separate facing pages, otherwise known as a Double Page Spread. Proximity Simplicty Proximity: Captions should be next to the photo they describe. Photos about the same topic should be touching or should have narrower spacing than other photos.

alignment Ask students to identify the various ways the designer of this ad used alignment. Right-justified headline Vertical text that aligns with both headline and yogi Bent leg aligns with end of vertical text Lululemon

alignment Lake & Sumpter Magazine Design by Jaime Ezra Mark Ask students to identify the various ways the designer of this ad used alignment. Centered text Implied line leading from eyes to headline Lake & Sumpter Magazine Design by Jaime Ezra Mark

The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity Similar ideas, concepts or topics should be closer to one another than unrelated ones. Simplicity

proximity Projectforawesome.com Design by Karen Kavett Ask students to identify the various ways the designer of this ad used proximity. Rail of white space between body of website and sidebar or videos clearly makes them separate units. Proximity of videos on right side makes them a visual unit. The proximity of “Submit a video” and “$71,348.30 raised” helps to quickly define the idea for viewers. Arched rail of white space separates headline from the content below it. Projectforawesome.com Design by Karen Kavett

proximity Design by Liz Rankin, Graphic Designer Ask students to identify the various ways the designer of this ad used proximity. Sub-headline is near headline to create a unit “Monday” is near paragraphs of text, linking the topic to the text to follow. Graphics from left page overlap onto right page, linking them as a unit. Design by Liz Rankin, Graphic Designer

The Principles Contrast Harmony Alignment Proximity Simplicity Unnecessary visuals and text are eliminated, no matter how much you love them.

simplicity Starbucks Corp. Adviser: ask students to identify the ways in which Starbucks has made sure the ad is simple yet interesting. Discuss: Color Font Simple background Imagery Graphics Starbucks Corp.

simplicity Heinz Ketchup Adviser: ask students to identify the ways in which Heinz has made sure the ad is simple yet interesting. Discuss: Color Font Simple background Imagery Graphics Heinz Ketchup

TYPOGRAPHY Watch the video “An Intro to Typography” by Karen Kavett on YouTube. Review the following slides, taking notes so you can complete the scavenger hunt later.

TERMS As you can see, serifs are the little “feet” on letters. Sans Serif literally means “no serif” and applies to fonts like Ariel that don’t have serifs on them.

Type styles SERIF fonts have little feet on them. In general, serif fonts are easier to read in long text blocks. “SANS SERIF” literally means “without serifs.” Sans Serif type does not have feet on the letters. Full of personality, DECORATIVE fonts should be reserved for headlines and should be used in moderation. Traditional and classic, SCRIPT fonts are often difficult to read, so they should be reserved for headlines and used in moderation.

Add energy with contrast Combining fonTs Add energy with contrast Proximity: Captions should be next to the photo they describe. Photos about the same topic should be touching or should have narrower spacing than other photos.

These are all 36 point type. Type sizes Type is measured in points. It is measured from the bottom of a descender to the top of an ascender. These are all 36 point type. Because type is measured from the bottom of a decender to the top of an ascender, fonts can appear to be very different sizes even when they are the same point size.

Text alignment JUSTIFIED ALIGN LEFT ALIGN RIGHT CENTERED With his head in his hands and the sweat coming down his face, sophomore Brandon Gonzales knew it was all worth it when he placed third in the district race. He finished with a time of 20:06 to lead the junior varsity team. With his head in his hands and the sweat coming down his face, sophomore Brandon Gonzales knew it was all worth it when he placed third in the district race. He finished with a time of 20:06 to lead the junior varsity team. ALIGN RIGHT CENTERED With his head in his hands and the sweat coming down his face, sophomore Brandon Gonzales knew it was all worth it when he placed third in the district race. He finished with a time of 20:06 to lead the junior varsity team. With his head in his hands and the sweat coming down his face, sophomore Brandon Gonzales knew it was all worth it when he placed third in the district race. He finished with a time of 20:06 to lead the junior varsity team. Justified: When type is justified, it has a structured or blocky look with even edges on both the left and the right. Uneven word and letter spacing is especially noticeable in narrower columns of text. Align left: Type set flush left is considered the most readable and natural because spacing is consistent, and the reader’s eye can easily find the beginning of each line. The reader appreciates the openness created by the space at the ends of the lines, especially in longer stories. Align right: The spacing of words and letters is consistent in flush right type also, but readability drops because the left side where the reader expects to see a line start is not even, but ragged. Type that is aligned right has a distinctive look and could be a design choice for a small amount of text. Align center: Centering is symmetrical, balanced, formal and potentially boring. Letter and word spacing are consistent, but the reader has to keep finding the line beginnings. Like right-aligned type, center-aligned looks best for small amounts of text and without hyphenated words.

Assignment You will find examples from the handout on-line. You will not be taking pictures. Find examples, copy and paste them into a Word document. When you are finished, email the assignment to me with your name on it. Please label each example.