Design Principles

Design Principles 3.02 Understand business publications

Six Principles of Design • Balance • Proximity/unity • Alignment • Repetition/consistency • Contrast • White space 3.02 Understand business publications

Balance • Graphics don’t overpower text • Page is not too heavy on one side or the other 3.02 Understand business publications

Balance . You can create balance with the three elements text block graphic vertical text In this example they appear to be just random elements with no unity or balance 3.02 Understand business publications

Balance In this example the text block and graphic are resized to bring them closer together and better balance each other. 3.02 Understand business publications

Proximity/Unity • Distance between elements on a page • Used to demonstrate a relationship or a lack of relationship between elements • Are the objects grouped appropriately? • Does a relevant graphic appear in close proximity to the text it represents? • Is there uniform and appropriate space between headings and body? • The reader should be able to quickly discern the relationship between headings and related body as well as body and related graphics. 3.02 Understand business publications

Proximity/Unity The graphic anchors the bottom of the page, but the four text elements all float on the page with no apparent connection to each other (proximity/unity). 3.02 Understand business publications

Proximity/Unity The change in the headline (font change, reversed out of blue box) along with the subheading pulled in closer provides balance with the graphic on the bottom. The spacing between the two paragraphs of text is reduced slightly as well. 3.02 Understand business publications

Alignment • Justification of elements • Related items should be justified the same to emphasize their relationship to each other. • Left or right justified? • Centered? • Enhance readability with text laid out in a normal reading pattern (left to right). 3.02 Understand business publications

Alignment • There is nothing wrong with centered headlines, text, and graphics. • They lend a formal tone to a layout. • But something a bit more informal would be better. • Also, large blocks of centered text are usually harder to read. 3.02 Understand business publications

Alignment In this example: • text alignment is left-aligned • ragged right • wrapped around the bottom graphic • The bottom graphic is aligned more to the right • Opposite is an added graphic that is aligned to the right to help balance the overall design. 3.02 Understand business publications

Repetition/Consistency • Consistent pattern of font and color schemes and graphic types • Specific font, size, and style for headings, subheadings, and body text. • Do not mix photographic images and cartoon images on the same page. • Maintain a uniform color scheme throughout • Choose a color appropriate for the subject • Select uniform style, size, and effect for all headings and another for the body • Do not use all capital letters • Scheme - a planned combination of elements, such as a combination of font styles and sizes 3.02 Understand business publications

Repetition/Consistency Boring! 3.02 Understand business publications

Repetition/Consistency • In this example, the headline is repeated three times using graphics that tie in with the copy in the text blocks. • The repetition of the colors in the shapes and headline text that are in the copy help to reinforce the theme. • Overlapping the graphic and text elements unifies the elements of the design. 3.02 Understand business publications

Contrast • Emphasizing the most important elements on a page with color and size • Is there a distinct difference in color between the font and the background? • Are headings distinct so that the reader notices a difference between a header and the body? 3.02 Understand business publications

Contrast • There's isn't enough contrast between the headline and text • This is partly due to size • And also because the two different serif faces used or too similar (not obvious from the small graphic, trust me, they are different typefaces). 3.02 Understand business publications

Contrast • The oversized graphic provides contrast & reinforces the copy (tall basketball players) • Dropping the text down to the bottom portion of the page, reinforces the 'towering' aspect of the graphic • The reversed text in the blue box, the blue border, & the drop cap carries through the unifying elements • The round shape of the drop cap & its color echo the shape & color of the basketball in the graphic. • The drop cap & the reversed text on the left side plus the left-aligned text help to balance the large graphic element. 3.02 Understand business publications

White Space • Blank or negative space on a page • Used to focus the reader’s attention on important details • Used to give the reader’s eyes a break • Does not have to be white 3.02 Understand business publications

White Space Interesting, But could it be better! 3.02 Understand business publications

White Space • The large block of black (graphic of people) adds a large block of black white space. • Increasing the people & reducing the car size provides additional contrast & reinforces the theme • Leading, larger margins, & deeper paragraph indents add white space • The oversized drop cap helps to balance the page with the large, dark elements at the bottom of the page. • The drop cap style are consistent with the rest of the series. 3.02 Understand business publications

Examples of Design Principles • http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://0.tqn.com/d/desktoppub/1/0/v/050201balance.gif&imgrefurl=http://desktoppub.about.com/od/designprinciples/l/aa_pod2.htm&usg=__-_w7A0PngKPXGAkpVC17i5ABczE=&h=315&w=250&sz=13&hl=en&start=12&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=DjVWzTV7innm-M:&tbnh=117&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgraphic%2Bdesign%2Bexamples%2Bof%2Bproximity%2Band%2Bunity%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*%26tbs%3Disch:1 3.02 Understand business publications

Design Principles