TC415: Class 2

1
TC415 Class 2

• Questions from the readings?
• Overview of Class 2
• Tools of organization
• Building blocks of design
• Vertical and horizontal white space
• Ten rules of good design

2
Design Conveys a Message

• Every aspect of a printed documentits size,
  the typefaces, the amount of text, the relative
  size and position of each elementconveys a
  message to its reader. Roger C. Parker,
  Looking Good in Print

3
Design Should Be Organized

• Effective graphic design is based on
  organization as much as it is on inventiveness.
  Roger C. Parker, Looking Good in Print

4
Page Organizers

• Gridsestablish overall structure of page
• Columnsorganize text and visuals
• Guttersrepresent the inner space of facing pages
• Marginsrepresent the space between columns and
  edges of page

5
Text Organizers

• Headlines and subheads (heads)
• Kickers
• Captions
• Headers and footers
• Bullets
• Styles
• Pull quotes and sidebars
• Jumplines
• Nameplates and logos

6
Building Blocks of Design

• Space on a page can be divided into
• Black space
• White space
• Gray space

7
White Space Is Important

• White spaceor page space that is free of text
  or artworkis one of the most undervalued tools
  of graphic design. Roger C. Parker, Looking
  Good in Print

8
Where White Space Exists

• Open area surrounding headlines
• Space associated with subheads
• Page margins
• Vertical space between columns of type
• Space created by ragged line endings
• Paragraph indents and extra line between
  paragraphs
• Leading between lines of type

9
Other Ways to Add White Space

• Sinks
• Vertical white space

10
Other Design Building Blocks

• Rules
• Borders
• Boxes
• Drop shadows
• Screens
• Bleeds

11
Vertical and Horizontal Space

• An important goal for document designers is to
  consider the interplay of the horizontal and
  vertical dimensions of the page to help readers
  infer the intended structure of the text. Karen
  Schriver, Dynamics in Document Design

12
Spatial Context Can Cue

• Typographic cues which incorporate spatial
  changes clarify information relationships and
  decrease reader effort.Elizabeth Keyes,
  Typography, Color, and Information Structure

13
Vertical White Space

• Measured left to right
• Establishes line length
• Refers to blank space in
• Character spacing
• Word spacing
• Alleys
• Gutters

14
Horizontal White Space

• Measured perpendicularly up and down between
  elements
• Refers to blank space in
• Leading (line spacing)
• Between paragraphs
• Between graphic and caption
• Between subheads and text

15
Ten Rules of Good Design

• Design should be purposeful.
• Design should simplify.
• Design should organize.
• Design should provide contrast.
• Design should project an appropriate image.
• In the first sentence of the first chapter of
  Parkers book, he states there are no universal
  rules of design so well look at these as
  guidelines or principles.

16
Ten Rules Continued

• Design should provide selective emphasis.
• Design should reflect restraint.
• Design should provide unity.
• Design should speed production.
• Design should involve editing.