( Note: To hide or display these lecture comments, go to VIEW and click COMMENTS) These are principles that work not only in business documents, but in many applications, from business cards to newspaper pages.

Elements of Design

Most of this material comes from these two sources. The one on the right is written by professors here at Clemson. Credit where credit is due … Robin Williams Susan Hilligoss and Tharon Howard

But this book offers four principles that I think you can apply across the board, no matter what kind of document you are designing. I think they also are relevant to architecture and product design. Here’s a memory peg for remembering them, “CARP.”

Four concepts

Contrast Alignment Repetition Proximity

Principle One is proximity. Robin Williams describes it this way: “Closeness implies a relationship.”

Proximity

“Proximity, or closeness, implies a relationship.”

This is how you apply proximity.

Proximity

Key idea:

“Group related items together”

Here’s an example of a proximity problem. I’ve seen this kind of design often, however. This must be the name of a band!

Proximity

Problem:

Reader’s eye must bounce all around card to obtain information All examples from

The Non Designer’s Design Book

Simply by grouping related items, you make this card much more understandable and memorable.

Proximity

Solution:

Group together related elements

Here are the same problems again. Look at the ad, and think about how the proximity of elements might be changed to improve this.

Proximity

Problems:

 The two items in top left are in close proximity but not related  Gaps separate related items

Robin Williams definitely regrouped information here to relate information. But she also made some other design changes to add visual appeal to this ad.

Proximity

Sol ut ion:

Regroup information Change to caps/lowercase Use squared edges Let image break out of box

Here we go again: a shopping list; all things are equal.

Proximity

Problem:

Everything is close to everything else

But note how pulling related items into proximity with each other makes this information easier to use. The logic of its organization is clear now. Also, note how contrasting typography, to create subheadings, help “chunk” the information. Subheadings in a report do the same thing. Use them!

Proximity

Solution:

Contents are grouped Contrast is added with headlines/rules

Now let’s talk about alignment. Here is the key idea: Visually connect the elements.

Alignment

Key idea: “Nothing should be placed on the page arbitrarily. Every item should have a visual connection with something else on the page.”

Aligning information, in this case, flush right, really helps. Proximity and contrast also are being used here.

Alignment

 No element has any connection to the others.

 Elements aligned

Here’s a pretty standard layout, centered

.

Alignment

But look how much crisper it looks with alignment, plus some thought about proximity.

Alignment

Does the text go with the cartoon, or are they independent chunks of information? The ragged right type seems to separate the elements.

Alignment

Trapped white space pushes elements apart

Change the alignment, and it becomes obvious that they go together. Note the strong lines Robin Williams uses in this example to get alignment. Flush right type, strong vertical line on the cartoon.

Alignment

“ Find a strong line and use it.” Flush right type makes use of image’s border.

Principle 3 is repetition.

Repetition

Key idea:

“Repeat some aspect of the design throughout the entire piece.”

Here we go with the band again. Not a bad card, right? But note the question here: Now look at the change ...

Repetition

When you get to the end of the information, does your eye just wander off the card?

Boldfacing that number, so it pairs with the headline, really makes it jump, and it hold your eye on the information.

Repetition

Repeated bold type encourages reader to “bounce” between the two dominant typefaces

Our final concept is contrast. This slide shows the kind of design you see all the time from do-it yourself Yellow Page customers. How in the world do you start accessing this information? It is daunting!

Contrast

Problem:

 What is the focus?

Border? Eagles? Type?

Here is the same ad with all four principles being applied. How are they being used here?

Contrast

Solution:

 Contrast  Alignment  Repetition  Proximity

The end