10 things 'people' should know about graphic design
1. Choose your type wisely.
Just as an image can be blurry and you can’t really make out what it means, choosing the wrong type for what you’re trying to
communicate can confuse your readers by either giving out the wrong vibe, or affecting it’s readability/ legibility.
Legibility is the degree to which glyphs (individual characters) in text are understandable or recognisable based on appearance.
Readability is the ease in which text can be read and understood. It’s
influenced by line length, primary and secondary leading, tracking, kerning & point size.
T R A C K I N G is pulling the letters apart,
kerning is bringing the letters together.
**NEVER EVER KERN ON BODY COPY - IT EFFECTS READABILITY**
Minimal amount of typefaces usually increases readability:
No more than 3 fonts, even better if they’re from the same typefaces.
2. Know where type comes from and so understand the feel of a design.
Methods of production affect the shape, structure and appearance of the type.
For example:
- Carved out of Stone: Hand carved type out of stone is usually serif because one cannot cut directly into the stone, for it will chip.
- Using Sable / brush: Of oriental origin, wispy oriental script and structure of the letterform was formed because of the tools used.
- Using bone: calligraphic Arabic and Hebraic letterforms developed from angled edge of bone.
- Using woodblock type: Hard, straight edges of type using wood formed the style of letterforms in the Western world.
- Using lead type: An expansion and development for woodblock type enabled a large range of fonts to be designed.
- Using silicone: digital type made possible with precision of silicone type. Enabling a whole range of possibilities for type development.
Stone , Sable/ Brush, Bone (pre-industrial techniques)
"Calligraphic, Script, Roman, Classical, Rigid, Basic"
Wood, Lead, Silicone (post-industrial techniques)
"Modern, Cropped, Rounded, Playful, Expressive, Free, Bold, Retro Futuristic"
The four kinds of fonts/ typefaces:
- Gothic font: stripped down, sans-serif fonts.
- Roman font: serif fonts.
- Script font: sweep of a brush/ stroke of a quill-like fonts.
- Block font: woodblock printed style fonts.
Once you understand the kind of eras they came from, you can determine where to use them in a design and what type of design.
3. The Golden Section
The golden section, is both a mathematic sequence and a natural occurence.
For example, say you were to cut a length of rope into two sections. When the
proportion of the larger piece to the smaller piece is equal to the proportion of the full length to the
larger piece , this re-occuring
ratio IS the golden ratio. And it occurs in lots of natural
‘architecture’, such as the
curvature of a shell. The
spiral proportionally and perfectly descends. When this was observed, greek mathematicians saw that this formula could
generate beautiful things. Rules of the golden
section can be seen in Greek
architecture, such as temples and buildings and even in Renaissance paintings such as the Mona Lisa resulting in the ‘divine proportions’.
4. The Vaan der Graaf
The Vaan Der Graaf
A Vaan De Graaf is a historical reconstruction of method that may have been used in book design to divide a page into pleasing proportions. A gridded page is a lot like scaffolding for a building.The canon is also known as the ‘secret canon’. The symmetrical layout has a fundamental
important border used to accomodate your hands while holding the book.
Leading
Column width is more than just design or format. It is also based on legibility.Printed collateral (text) is read by the eye of a distance 30-35cm.
According to emphirical rule there should be seven words per line for a text of any length.
To keep the type area light and open (in appearance).
Overlong text line tire the eye, as do overshort ones.
Wrong column widths lead to wasted time and energy. A column is easy to read when it is wide enough to fit on average ten words per line.
The key is ease of reading. The text must not impair the rhythm of reading. This rule does not apply to advertising, titles & subtitles etc as they are designed to stand out an not necessarily be read smoothly.
Margin Proportions
Margins can have an influence on the overall feel of a page of print. Too small margins looks over-full and too large margins looks overexaggerated. Well balanced margins on the sides and head & tail can create an agreeable impression.A Vaan De Graaf is a historical reconstruction of method that may have been used in book design to divide a page into pleasing proportions. A gridded page is a lot like scaffolding for a building.
The canon is also known as the ‘secret canon’. The symmetrical layout has a fundamental
important border used to accomodate your hands while holding the book.
5. You can control the way people read through hierarchy.
Yes, it’s true! you CAN disobey the Fibonnacci sequence, Golden Section and swiss grid if you want to! Who knew?!
Without the grid (or with it, if you want a challenge) you can open up a whole new range of possibilities for experiments of mind control: control the way people read! Utilise colour! Express with different typefaces!
But best of all, this opens up a range of possibilities for experiments of story telling. After all, type is only speech made visible. By experimenting with hierarchy, can SHOUT and whisper and create a cresendo, if you wish it.
6. Choosing colours of a design is vital.
Understanding Colour Types
Colour types include:
- Primary
- Secondary
- Tertiary
We were taught at a younger age that the primary colours were red, blue and yellow. This is because (when mixing paint) we cannot create these colours from other colours. Secondary were the colours that could be made by mixing together other colours.
Tertiary colours are those inbetween the secondary colours that create the continuous gradient/ spectrum. As shown in this colour wheel:
Colour in light & the Additive Colour System
There are millions of colours that we can recognize optically, but in reality our eyes can only perceive 3 different ranges:
- red - orange
- green
- purple (violet)
... and from these , we cross over these colours and interpret them as other colours.
For example,
red + green = yellow
in terms of light. This is because visionary colour is seen by waves of light being reflected off of the object into our eyes. Some wavelengths are longer/ wider /stronger depending on the colour.
For example : the sky is perceived to be blue because the blue wavelengths of the sunlight are not strong enough to penetrate the atmosphere and so are trapped in the sky, whereas other wavelengths are strong enough and so are not visible. If you fly up there, you will never be surrounded by blue, it is merely an optical illusion.
This kind of principle is applied to computer graphics in the colour mode setting RGB. The screen only uses the three primary colours of light :
- red
- green
- blue
but there are all kinds of colour onscreen created by crossing over these colours. This kind of colour system is called the additive colour system:
Because of this physiological response, the eye can be fooled into seeing the full range of proportional colours just through RGB modes.
Colour in Print & the Subtractive Colour System
In print, however, we work in CMYK as opposed to RGB modes, because it produces the most accurate chromatic outcome from a printer.
The same principles apply in that, CMYK overlays it's current colours to create other colours. This is called the subtractive colour system:
Notice how, in the additive colour system, the colours cyan, magenta and yellow are created and in the subtractive colour system the colours red, green and blue are created?
To really understand colours, and be in the confidence that you have the knowledge to pick the correct colour scheme, you must first understand the concept of the seven contrasts of colour. These can often overlap, but once you get the basic idea your design will become a lot more successful:
Contrast of Tone
In a sentence, the difference between the light and dark of colours.
Contrast of Hue
A higher contrast of hue means a higher contrast in colour shade. IE, the colours being discussed are far away from each other on the colour wheel.
Contrast of Saturation
Contrast of saturation describes the strength of colour next to another shade.
Contrast of Extension
Also known as the contrast of proportion, this is used when describing the proportional field sizes in relation to the visual 'weight' of colours. Darker colours = 'heavier colours and vice versa.
Lots of 'light' colour to a small portion of 'heavy' colour can almost balance the colour.
Hierarchy of text can be assisted when contrast of extension is considered.
Contrast of Temperature
What it says on the tin. For example, Scarlett Red is 'warmer' than magenta pink, because it is closer to a violet hue.
Complementary Contrast
complementary colours are those that are at complete perceptual opposites. A high level of most contrasts is found in complementary colours. This does not mean that they go together! It just means that they are at opposites, and so stand out the most.
Simultaneous Contrast
Formed when colour boundaries perpetually vibrate. If a colour is absent in a piece of artwork, if you stare at it long enough, a shade of this missing colour will appear.
Colour should not be chosen in natural light, even if this is the lighting it is intended to be viewed in when printed/ on show to the audience. This is because natural light is inconsistent and so the colour will constantly be in different contexts. It is best to view colour in none-natural light with no interference of other lights, and ideally, a bill over a matte-finish screen to ensure that the colour shown is the colour that will print. A note of a pantone colour will ensure that no matter what screen you are looking at, you can refer to the printed copy to envision what the printed version will definitely look like.
8. Pantone referencing is paramount for successful colour theory in design.
How do we determine colour? - The Pantone Referencing System
If all our eyes are unique as our individual selves, how can we agree on a colour? If someone simply says they want a title in 'blue' - what kind of blue do they mean? 'The blue-y-est blue' for example, is only determined by our eyes by the other colours around it and the light conditions. This is a problem for Graphic Designers, especially because lots of communication is done digitially and there is not an accurate way to describe a colour - other than the Pantone Matching System.
9. Visual literacy is an international language and is easily affected by colours and contexts.
What is visual literacy?
- constructing meaning from visual images & type.
- interpreting images of the present, past & a range of cultures.
- producing images that effectively communicate to everyone, a global audience.
What is visual communication?
- sending & receiving messages through type & image.
- understanding a common, shared communicative language.
- understanding your audience, context, media, and method of distribution in order to communicate effectively.
+ =
plus
+
to add
+ -
positive
+
first aid
+
the swiss flag
+
the english flag
10. Semiotics and Synedochs
Semiotics- the study of signs and sign processes.
Apple Mac logo:
- Symbolises an Apple
- Sign for Apple Mac Computers
- Signifies quality, creativity, lifestyle, independence.
- frame
- composition
- colour
- format
- visual dynamics
- layout
- figure/ form
- type
- legibility
- ground
- image
- readability
--------------
4th December session More Semiotics:
- (visual) metaphor
- Metonym
- Synecdoche
Visual Synecdoche: When part is used to represent a whole. When the main subject is substituted for something inherently connected to it.
EG; Statue of Liberty represents New York.
Visual Metaphor: Used to transfer the meaning from one image to another. Although the images may have no close relationship, a metaphor conveys an impression about something relatively unfamiliar by drawing comparison between it and something familiar.
EG; Apple logo next to Statue of Liberty signifies the 'big apple'.
Visual Metonym: symbolic image that's used to make reference to something with more literal meaning.
Publication development;
I chose one of my double page spread designs to begin. I wanted an example of how important it is to choose your type wisely, by contrasting the same article in a good and bad type.
I started to add more bodycopy text and include more text off of my blog to have a more explanatory article. I chose a really inappropriate font for the second page bodycopy, to amuse the reader.
To add a little humour, I included the phrase 'mum, where does type come from?' to show how it's as an important question as 'mum where do babies come from?' in terms of growing up as a designer and learning more about the design world. I chose a simple layout but with a large 2 page title.
F0r the golden section page, I wanted to integrate my layout with the golden section diagram;
I turned the opacity down of the drawing and drew the columns around the spiral shape.
Again, wanting to demonstrate what my article was about, I experimented with the hierarchy of the title text;
At first, I did the columns like this;
But decided to extend the columns to the edge of the title and include another image to balance out the design.
To demonstrate the contrasts of colour, I tried to show the titles contrasting each other by reflection:
At first, I wanted to keep the layout of this page minimalistic;
But as I added more information, I decided to balance it out with spots of colour. Again, demonstrating what I was talking about in the article.
The layout of this page was dictated by its content: IE the Van Der Graaf
For this one, I simply kept to the pre-set margins of the page and set out the columns according to the accommodation of the format of the text:
For this layout I just experimented with different titles:
When it came to printing my document, I wanted it to be printed on newsprint and stapled together, almost like a zine/ newspaper. I was going to print it down in reprographics and I was advised that newsprint is simply too thin and would get chewed up by the large printers. So I decided to print it on off white sugar paper, trying to achieve the same sort of rough effect.
It also happens that I forgot to amend the links to some of my photos in my document - (I'm still getting used to InDesign). Although the pictures were without links, they didn't turn out noticeably blurry but at least I now know what to do next time.
I had no problems cutting out and assembling my book except I stapled it a mm off the spine by accident. I wanted to re-do it but I also didn't want multiple holes all over my book, so I didn't remove it.
Overall though I am happy with my final design. It's my first real piece using InDesign and it went surprisingly better than I thought it would! The print is really nice and it gives it this really rough and edgy look. The print all matches up correctly too, so it has no problems with asthetics/ legibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment