Transcript A Quick Look at Graphic Design:

A Quick Look at Graphic Design:
Or everything you need to know in a lecture
to make your documents look great!
Jennifer Bowie, for Business Writing
Overview
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Typography and Type Elements
Document Design
Jennifer Bowie, for BW
Typography and Type Elements
#1 one thing to remember:
Typography exisits to honor content
Typography exisits to honor content
Typography exisits to honor content
Typography exisits to honor content
Typography and Type Elements:
Font Classifications
There are four basic font classifications:
• Serif: the oldest type, has serifs on the end of letter to guide
reader’s eye, also has thick and thin strokes, considered
more “readable” than sans serif. Gives a more formal and
traditional feel to documents. Good body text or contrast
text. Includes: Times, Garmond, Georgia, Goudy, Book
Antiqua, and many more.
• Sans Serif: “without serif,” only about 100 years old,
has stokes that have little to no variation in width,
looks more modern and technical, used a body text in
Europe. Makes a good body text or contrast text.
Includes: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Tahoma, Century
Gothic (and other Gothics), and many more.
Typography and Type Elements:
Font Classifications con.
• Script: fonts that look they they are hand
lettered, can connect or not. Should be used in
small amounts for fancy documents (invitations),
occasionally for headings, titles, logos, and drop
caps. Most should never be set in long bodies of
text. Use as a display font, or rarely a contrast.
Includes: Comic Sans, Gigi, Brush Script (and other
scripts), Fine Hand, and more
• Decorative: fun, distinctive fonts. Should never be
used in long bodies of text. Best used as display fonts.
Very powerful so use sparingly. Includes: Goudy Stout,
Impact, Algerian, Matisse, Minstral, and many more.
Typography and Type Elements:
General Categories
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Type is used for different things. General categories
are:
• body text- readable in long blocks of text and smaller sizes
(print 9-12 pts, online 12-14 points). Can be Sans Serif or
Serif fonts
• display text- less readable and not designed to be read in
long blocks. Used in advertising, for title or logo, and other
display uses. Can be Script or Decorative fonts
• contrast text- meant to contrast with your body text. Good
for headings, subheadings, titles, and smaller blocks of text.
Normally will be Serif or Sans Serif (opposite of body font)
but can more more legible Script or Display fonts
Typography and Type Elements:
Type Setting
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Leading: (space between lines) should be at least
120% for serifed fonts, and 135-140% for sans
serif.
• greater is better than lesser for body text
• display fonts can handle little or even negative leading
• typefaces with small x-heights do not need greater
leading, but those with large may
• leading should increase proportionally as line length
increases
Typography and Type Elements:
Justification
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Justified left: flushed left and jagged right, this is the most
readable for long segments of body text
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Justified right: flush right, jagged left, highly unreadable,
use rarely.
Justified: flush left and right so the text forms a box. Can
cause rivers in the text.
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Centered: ragged both sides. Use rarely and in small
amounts, very unreadable.
Rivers?
An Example
Suscipit exerci typicus praesent, tego feugiat
amet. Iusto feugiat elit aliquip aliquip loquor
modo lobortis dolore interdico lucidus. Facilisis
vel ulciscor laoreet abdo metuo velit dolus
obruo luptatum, capto uxor. Luptatum
tincidunt vel gravis suscipit appellatio. Velit
illum in si, persto proprius tincidunt nulla
conventio haero, saluto. Os augue sagaciter vel
in, fatua.
Typography and Type Elements:
Type Styles
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Italic: consider using for emphasis. Italics are the right slant
letters of a typestyle, based on cursive handwriting. Used to
emphasize words and for titles of books referenced in text. Does
not interrupt flow like bold so it can be used in body text. Not
very legible online, but fine in print. Works better with a serif
font.
ALL CAPS: avoid at all costs. All caps takes up a lot of room
and are much harder to read than normal upper and lower case
words, due to the way we read. It also is used for yelling online.
There are much nicer ways to differentiate between type. Use
only for small amounts of text (display or contrast) if using.
Bold: use to add emphasis, but use sparing and not in the body
text (without consideration) since it interrupts reading
Underline: Impedes readability. Never use online as it looks like
a link. Considered “out dated”.
Document Design
Communicate, not decorate
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Design should always be used to communicate,
and not to (just) decorate
Document Design
Color
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Color adds splash and interest to documents,
while helping readers locate information
• use the same color for the same type of information
throughout the document
• use color with other devices (white space, …)
• use color to communicate, not as decoration
• consider readers when selecting colors
• use color to unify series of documents
Document Design
Chunking & White Space
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Chunking: elements that are related (like a heading with
its paragraph) are grouped and look like they belong
together.
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White space is the empty space on a page. Use it to:
• frame elements in the page that belong together,
• add emphasis to tiles and headings,
• and separate items that do not belong together
• help with chunking
Document Design
Headings
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Headings: Most common device to “chunk” with
• use no more than 4 headings
• use more space above your headings than below
• have at least 2 lines of text below a heading before a
page break
• use differences (size, color, style, font) to indicate
levels of headings
International connotations of
Color
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Green:
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Positive (US): growth, clean, fresh, environmental, “go”
Negative (US): mold, nausea, and jealousy
Historic Europe: fertility (wedding gown color in 15th century)
Has political connotations in Ireland (Republic of Ireland)
Egypt and Saudi Arabia (and middle east?): Islam and scared
China: infertility or adultery
Countries with dense green jungles: disease (Hoft)
France, Netherlands, Sweden: cosmetics (Hoft)
Thailand: least favorite color (Hoft)
Blue:
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Positive (US): serenity, the sky, infinity
Negative (US): sadness (feeling blue)
“Safe” in almost every culture (Morton)
Hopi Indians: sacred (Hoft)
Egypt: truth (Hoft)
Iran: negative consequences (Hoft)
International connotations of
Color
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Black:
Black
• West: mourning, death
• France: the unknown, death, night, work
• East: bad luck
• Malaysia Indian population: evil (Hoft)
• Malaysia Malay population: courage (Hoft)
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White:
• East: mourning, death
• India: “Inviting widowhood” if a woman wears (Kolin178)
• West: purity (color of bridal gowns)
• France: monarchy, royalty
• Christianity: purity, faith, innocence (Hoft)
• Hinduism & Muslim: purity, peace (Hoft)
International connotations of
Color
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Red:
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West: courage and love
China: happiness and good fortune (preferred for wedding gowns)
France: masculinity (Hoft)
Africa: blasphemy or death (Hoft)
US flag: blood
Traffic signal color “stop”
Yellow:
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China: imperial color, revered
US: people’s least favorite color but a happy color
France: jealousy
Many countries: femininity (Hoft)
Australia, Europe, Canada, New Zealand: positive, happy (Hoft)
International connotations of
Color
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Purple:
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Historical West: royalty, mourning
France: religion, sacredness
US: magic, lavishness, homosexuality
Catholic Europe: death and crucifixion
Middle East: prostitution (Morton)
Latin America: bad luck, death, and funerals
China: barbarity (Hoft)
Culturally “unsafe” color
Pink:
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East India: feminine color (Morton)
US: baby girls get pink, innocence, sweetness, soft, gentleness
Japan: pastels are neither masculine nor feminine (Morton)
France: homosexuality
The End
Have fun and Design well
Information from Sims 10, Guark & Lannon 8, Web Typography,
Morton, & Kolin
Cool Websites: http://www.colormatters.com/
Great Color PDF: http://www.tec.ufl.edu/~kdtn/effcol.pdf
Jennifer Bowie, for Business Writing