Graphic Design : the fun part

1. Graphic Design:the fun part Sheila Potter Scott Olszowiec Digital Images

2. The plan: • housekeeping • activity • design principles • (if we have time): web examples • activity P:/AITT/teacher training/Clarica Scholars1/CD/… /Presentations and Resources/graphic design workshop/graphic_design.htm

3. Hierarchy: Organize Your Information • a hierarchy is a “visual path” • establishes the relative importance and sequence of information • use various font sizes, colours and weights for contrast • similar “chunks” of information together • separate unrelated items with more white space

10. Fonts: 2 broad categories • what is a serif? • Times New Roman has serifs • Arial doesn’t

11. Serif fonts lead the eye horizontally, and may therefore be preferable for large blocks of text, whereas sans-serif fonts are simpler, lead the eye up and down, and are more easily read from a distance. Serif fonts lead the eye horizontally, and may therefore be preferable for large blocks of text, whereas sans-serif fonts are simpler, lead the eye up and down, and more easily read at a distance.

12. Font-fest • some fonts are fun • some are friendly • some are more serious • some are dignified …others are more artistic than legible

13. Fonts have personality, and convey an impression which should be consistent with the meaning of the words themselves. Fonts have personality, and convey an impression which should be consistent with the meaning of the words themselves.

14. What’s your favourite colour? usually, complimenatry colours are a safe bet, but not always

15. Powerful colour… PREFER BLUE • for example, more people • which therefore has broad appeal, but also tends to be serious, corporate, and cool. • IBM • warmer colours tend to draw the eye, and can overwhelm a design • for example, red used a lot is hard on the eyes, but as a highlight, it can help establish hierarchy

16. whatever colour you choose, consider leaving lots of white space…

17. …Instead of using a busy background image

18. Balance Balance in design is the overall unity and visual weight that is created when all the elements are in place. • whole design will become unified • two basic types of balance: • symmetrical • asymmetrical

19. Symmetrical Balance

20. Asymmetrical Balance

21. Off Balance • In an ‘unbalanced ’ layout, • « …the eye is confused. It shifts from element to element, wanting to move things so that they sit right on the page, as we want to straighten a picture hanging crooked on a wall. » Toward a Dynamic Balance.

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