We process data to create Information that has meaning. Information is a core ingredient in all designs and is part of all communication goals -whether to inform, persuade, educate, or entertain. We must have information In order to create a design. Information design arranges chunks of data to inform the viewer. Information- focused designs communicate to us each day as we stop at a stop sign, read a train schedule, or watch the weather report on the evening news.Information designs are seen In newspapers, calendars, timeliness, charts, corporate reports, news Web sites, and Instructional materials.
Information design must have high fidelity In meaning and visual strength in execution-because it guides the viewer during action. When reading a newspaper, people must navigate through various articles and sections in order to find information (stories, box scores, and ads) meaningful to them. Structure Is the key component In Information graphics (or Informatics); achieving the proper gestalt (unification of the parts) leads to understanding on the part of the viewer or seer.Edward Tuft's principles to escape flatland and build meaningful designs for information: Micro/macro readings represent information that is rich in detail and in overall structure. Micro refers to critical Information that is read carefully to extract meaning.
Macro refers to the larger whole that contains the micro components. We frequently see micro/macro readings in maps, flowcharts, blueprints, timetables, and monuments. Layering and separation represent an Informational structure through overlapping elements, grids, margins, and white space.We frequently see layering and separation n Web pages, charts and graphs, catalogs, ads, magazines, newspapers, books, and brochures. Small multiples represent information using repetition, consistency, mimicry, and iconic representation. We frequently see small multiples in instruction manuals, road maps, posters, computer interfaces, data tables, and charts.
Color provides hierarchical value, sensation, contrast, and visual texture. Color is a fundamental component of all design. Two-dimensional designs have width and height.They are built with line, shape, texture, value, and color; they thereby gain Influence and achieve a gestalt through unity and variety in forms and color. They consist of flat visual patterns and still 1 OFF rational thought. Two dimensional designs encompass all print communications, including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and graphics.
Virtual three- dimensional designs created using computers have height, width, and depth. Three- dimensional designs that exist in reality include sculpture, product design, and architecture.These are not flat-?as are screens and paper-?but have mass, which requires them to occupy physical space. Four-dimensional designs are time based. They contain images with height, width, and depth that are performed over time. This means that the art and design project is not a still experience, as with print media, and not a physical experience, as with sculpture and architecture.
This type of design is seen in films, television shows and commercials, performance art (like plays and ballets), animations and cartoons, and interactive Web sites.Four-dimensional designs utilize storytelling and focus on setting, duration, tempo, intensity, scope and for Web designs, interactivity. Type, image, and space (ground) are the broad components in a visual design. The way they are arranged is composition.
Originally we start with space / negative space / ground IEEE. A blank piece of paper or a document representing that piece of paper on the computer screen is made of negative space. We fill negative space with type and images to try and create a gestalt.Compositions can be formatted for landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) layouts and can contain elements that are positioned horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Arrangement and rearrangement of elements changes the meaning and the gestalt of the design piece. Using various techniques-such as unity and variety, balance, call and proportion, emphasis, repetition, alignment, grouping, overlap, collage, and proximity-?contributes to the visual impact of the composition.
Text and image are arranged in relationship to space using a grid.Grids The grid is a skeletal guide used to ensure design consistency. Type and Typography Visuals draw the reader to look at the page, but type delivers the message. The term type stands for typefaces (also known as fonts), which we use to set text (also known as letters and words). Type has a font name and then a style. Each typeface has its own styles that create a font family.
Styles include roman, regular, bold, semisolid, italic, book, oblique, heavy, black, condensed, thin, and bold italic. Combinations of each vary by font family.Categories of Typefaces Serif typefaces have tails (cross lines) at the top and bottom ends of the letter strokes. Serif fonts include old style fonts and slab serif fonts. Most body text (text type) is set in serif typefaces because the lines draw the eye along the type.
Serif and Goody. Typically used for body copy in the base style of roman (medium weight), serif fonts can be used for display (headline) type also, but they will not have the name visual strength as a sans serif font due to their flowing tails. Sans serif typefaces' characters without serifs have a modern, industrial style.Because sans serif fonts' geometric attributes are easily understood, they are frequently used for headlines, logos, and reverse type (white type on a dark background).
Some common sans serif fonts are Helvetica, Gill Sans, Future, Folio, Avian Garden, Swiss, Arial, and News Gothic. Sans serif fonts work well as headlines, or even as body copy in limited quantities. Because they create a heavier visual look, they are well suited to creating usual dominance through the use of type. Slab serif typefaces have a heavier stroke at the ends of letters.Slab serifs work well in headlines and intermediate type but not in large quantities of body copy, because the slabs clog up the spacing of smaller letters. Script and cursive typefaces are designed to look like handwriting and can provide a composition with elegance if used properly.
Cursive font letters do not connect; script letters do. The distinction is an important one. Script fonts are more fluid than cursive fonts and provide a more elegant option for announcements and invitations. These fonts are not, however, a first choice for corporate designs and advertising due to their low legibility.
Script and cursive typefaces are best used sparingly, for small quantities of text such as intermediate text. Black letter typefaces are also known as gothic or text letter fonts. They imitate the appearance of calligraphic letters and can give a composition of some Old English style. As with scripts and cursives, use them sparingly: these typefaces do not work well at small sizes or in large quantities.
Rely on these fonts to create the mood or style of antiquity. Old English and San Marco are common black letter fonts. Decorative typefaces are fonts with abstract or elaborate letters that create a look of novelty.These fonts are rarely used by professional designers because of their inconsistency and lack of serious aesthetic value. Do not use them without examining other possibilities first. Common decorative fonts are Comic Sans, Critter, and Stop.
Symbol typefaces are geometric figures and illustrations. Symbol fonts are typically sets of objects that are drawn but can be placed in a line of text; each character can then have its attributes manipulated Just as if it were a letter of the alphabet. They are useful for adding bullets and ornamental accents to text.Symbol fonts are also known as picture fonts. The font Symbol is one of the most commonly used symbol fonts. Type Attributes Using type in digital design requires us to use a tool or character palette to select different fonts and then apply different attributes.
The attributes that can be manipulated using digital tools include: Font: the name of the typeface and style (italic, roman, bold, black, etc. ). Not all fonts have the same style options. Size: the eight of the font in points.
There are 72 points in an inch; a 72-point capital letter is approximately one inch in height.Text type sizes range from 7 point to 12 point. Type larger than 18 point is called display type. Leading: the space between lines.
Leading typically needs to be 2 points larger than font size to avoid line spacing issues. The visual continuity and flow from one line to the next. Kerning: the process of adding or subtracting space between specific pairs of characters. Display type is kerned because at large sizes, certain letter combinations (an uppercase T and a lowercase , for example) do not sit next to each other correctly in certain fonts.
Kerning manipulates the space between letters by either closing gaps or adding space between letters. Kerning is measured in mess, a unit of measure proportional to type size. For instance, in a 10-point font, 1 me equals 10 points. Tracking: the process of loosening or tightening the spacing between all the characters in an entire block of text, creating incremental spacing between letters and/or words. Tracking allows you to manipulate how much type or how many words fit in an allotted amount of space. It is also measured in mess, which are proportionate to the type size.
Baseline shift: the shifting of type above or below its standard baseline. Type sits on a baseline. Type has descendent, which go below the baseline. Rotation: the manipulation of text or an individual letter or character from O to 360 degrees. Horizontal and vertical scaling: stretching letters horizontally or vertically by percentage. The only application for this technique is to display type elements.
Otherwise, it makes type look bad, distorting the letterman. Text type should not be scaled horizontally or vertically.
