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Call to Write , Third edition. Chapter Nineteen: Visual Design. Chapter overview. Two reasons to consider visual design in a writing class Basic principles of visual design Basic purposes of visual design. Why look at visual design in a writing course?. There are two reasons:
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Call to Write,Third edition Chapter Nineteen: Visual Design
Chapter overview • Two reasons to consider visual design in a writing class • Basic principles of visual design • Basic purposes of visual design
Why look at visual design in a writing course? There are two reasons: • The ability to read and evaluate visual messages has become part of the new kind of literacy. • Visual design is a factor in producing print and digital texts.
The goal of the chapter • See the intro to the chapter, page 636. • To help you understand design so that you can produce documents that • Fit the situation • Help readers navigate the page (move around to find the important information) • Influence readers in ways that you intend
Visual design and purpose: Information • One of the main functions of design is to identify things, places, publications, and organizations.
Company logos and trademarks • Everyday we see thousands of logos and trademarks, from our breakfast cereal to our vehicle, computer, jeans, and favorite fast food. • We see signs for Coke, Pepsi,, Dell, Gateway, Hyvee, Ford, Lee, Disney & more!
Three kinds of visual information • Textual • Representational • Numerical We will look at each type now.
Textual graphics • Used to organize and display words, phrases, sentences, or paragraphs. • Emphasize key points.
Textual graphics: examples • Bulleted lists • Pull quotes • Tables • Charts • Timelines
Representational graphics • Refers to the use of pictures to orient readers in time and space • Also used to illustrate processes (for example, how to change the oil, the process of photosynthesis, or how to burn a CD)
Representational graphics, cont. • Show the relationships of objects to each other • Capture events (the big football game, celebrating a successful campaign, wedding and baby photos) • Think of how hard it would be to perform many tasks without some pictures to guide you, and how much we value pictures of special events and people.
Numerical graphics • The final type of visual is numerical. This includes the following: • Tables of numbers • Line graphs • Bar charts • Pie charts
Ethics • Notice the comment about how easy it is to distort things (either by accident or intention) with visuals. • There is an example, too. The first graph exaggerates the increase in fuel efficiency of cars. The revised graph on the next page is much closer to the truth.
A second purpose: persuasion • Visuals can have a very persuasive impact: Remember the photos of the burning twin towers and reports of people buying flags, red and blue ribbons, donating blood and giving money? • See the posters on page 641: The Uncle Sam poster is one of the definitive images of our country during that era. • Note the other images in this section.
Four Basic Principles (CARP) • One way to remember these four things is to think of an acronym such as CARP. • Contrast: Refers to providing something interesting to catch the eye (bold) • Align (place) visual elements: Refers to where you put them on the page • Repetition: Repeat a visual element throughout a document • Proximity: Group similar items together
Working with type • We won’t cover every detail in this section, but you should look it over; several items are extremely important. • We need white space, so chunk down paragraphs and make them more readable. • It’s difficult to read ALL CAPS. • Some type faces are easier to read than others: Many should be used sparingly, and only for titles or decorative purposes.
Planning a visual design • See page 628-629 for five things to consider when planning a visual design. • Notice that this section echoes the writing process: planning, making a rough sketch, and then producing a more polished final product.
Keep this book! • Many of you will end up helping to produce a flyer, newsletter, brochure, or other print publication. • This chapter lists guidelines for each one, pointing out the features of successful examples. • Refer to pages 630-633.
Newsweek and visual design • Grab one of the issues of Newsweekmagazine and take a look. • Notice how skillfully it uses CARP in the overall page layout, as well as in ads. • Notice how the mix of text, white space, photographs, and other graphics create a very appealing layout that invites you to read.
Student Companion Website • Go to the student side of the Web site for exercises, chapter overviews, and links to writing resources for this chapter: http://www.ablongman.com/trimbur • Click on the textbook cover, and then select Student Resources.