In this book, I will highlight four basic concepts that apply to almost any well-designed piece of work. This book is not meant to replace our design school years.
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JOS ua tree epiphany
Which is exactly my point: Once you can name something, you are aware of it.
3ood design
The four basic principles
Contrast
Repetition
Proximity
Mermaid Tavern
You'll understand where to start reading the message and you'll know when you're done. It's not clear where to start reading the map, and it's not clear when you'll finish.
FROM THE COCKPIT
Take some time to decide which items should be grouped closer together and which should be separated. Accessories Cables Input Devices Mass Storage Memory Disk Drives Printers and Supplies Video and Sound.
By using the principle of proximity to organize the information, we can immediately communicate who, what, when and where. You probably already use the principle of proximity in your work, but you may not take it as far as possible to make it truly effective.
HOW 'BOUT IT, PARDNER?
If there are areas on the page where the organization is not completely clear. see if there are any items nearby that shouldn't be. There seems to be more space on the page, so the mini poster isn't as busy.
GALARIARESTAURANTSAND50
As you become aware of the importance of relationships between types of letters, you will begin to notice their effect. The remaining three principles are intrinsic to the design process, and you will typically use all four.
Never before
The simple principle of proximity can make web pages easier to navigate by grouping information into logical groups. Days that moved more slowly, allowing each of us to experience our lives more fully.
Summary of proximity
The basic purpose
How to get It
What to avoid
Alignment
None of the elements are related to any other element on the card. But if the text is aligned left or right instead, the invisible line connecting the text is much stronger because it has a solid vertical edge to follow.
Robert Burns
Check each element to make sure it has a visual connection to something else on the page. Can you see what made the difference between this example and the one on the previous page.
Center Alley
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Summary of alignment
How to get it
When you get to the end of the information, your eye just wanders off the map. Is mulct oiler caws a traded otter staples, shackles control, a dammed upper larder internal check-horse toe gadder oiler pains, a wen darn tutor vestibule guardian toe pe£koiler bogs and warns offervestihules, a watched a earned yooredosing,anfetterhearsesan.
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Repetition helps organize information; helps guide the reader through the page; it helps unify the different parts of the design. In addition to having strong repeating elements that make it very clear exactly what is going on here, this person may also want to incorporate one or more of these elements into their cover letter design.
II Part 1: Design Principles
Grand Opening Sale
Pick Wick Papers!
II part 1: Design principles
Mom & Pop
Today's Special
Catuh ' em while yon uao
Summary of repetition
Contrast is one of the most effective ways to add visual interest to your page—a striking interest that makes a reader want to look at the page—and to create an organizational hierarchy between different elements. If the two elements are slightly different, but not really, then you don't have contrast, you have conflict.
II part 1: Design Principles
ANOTHER NEWSLETTERI
And because the titles are so strong now, I could add a dark band across the top after the title, again repeating the dark color and boosting the contrast.
Beadline
II Part 1: Design principles
Note that not only is the page more attractive when contrast is used. but the purpose and organization of the document is much clearer.. and footballco_at St, Joseph HighS If you use a hairline rule between columns, use a strong 2- or 4-point rule if you need another rule. Do not use a half-point rule and a one-point rule on the same page. If you use a second color, for accents, make sure the colors contrast; dark brown or dark blue do not contrast effectively with black text. If you're using tall, narrow columns in your newsletter, include a few bold headlines to create a contrasting horizontal direction across the page. THE CONSTRUCTION NETWORK Don't be afraid to make some items small to create contrast with larger items and allow for empty space. When you draw readers in with a focal point, they'll read the fine print if they're interested. Which of these two ads would you be most likely to take a second look at. This is the power of contrast: it gives you "more bang for your buck:" Just a few simple changes and the difference is amazing. How'bout it, Pardneril Bunbefore you hit those beautiful Northwest trails with your(our-legged friend, Hikeon overto woo/for foodanddgear Dog Day Packs..perfeclforraftemoonromps. Besides the center alignment, lack of proximity and repetition, and boring font, this ad seriously lacks contrast. Find your salesperson after the good old days - before technology made us all move and talk and think twice. Thank God humans can't yet fly and lay waste both heaven and earth. Summary Of contrast Review Don't be a wimp What Goes Around By placing the title and subtitle close together, we now have one well-defined unit instead of six seemingly unrelated units. It is now clear that these two topics are closely related. Repetition also helps strengthen the reader's sense of recognition of the entity the design represents. I added a bit of contrast in the type by making the subtitle italic vs. the novel in the title and by-line. Then move that paper around and trace the individual elements, rearranging them into a more professional, clean, direct ad. 34;CONTRACTORS' PRICES TO THE PUBLIC" TILE. LINOLEUM Summary Don't use a 12-point font or your card will always look plain. People can easily read 8's. Tips on designing business cards Letterhead and envelopes Don1t do this! TipS on designing letterhead and envelopes Flyers Don't do this! Booth #alf is the rattie~ There's a Rat in Booth #~1? TipSon designing flyers Newsletters III Part 1: Design Principles Get on the Internet and do something,C V15itUr\'sln_c.rcon1be WorldWwleWebandmcctail1he akrqWan:Browscr.1bcMI- Moodod NeI-Howd; LiIe. After the initial strong greeting on the cover panel, the reader is introduced to the company's mascot on the next panel, before finally opening the inside of the brochure. III part 1: Design principles Tips on designing brochures That's what you usually say when you realize hoiidays are here and you haven't done a shopping squat yet. 34;Ratz!” remember url Ratz and his internet cafe full of unique gifts developed just for internet enthusiasts like you and your screen-beamed friends and relatives. Tips on designing postcards And when the sudden impulse to buy a lab coat strikes, we've got them right here. Don't stuff the sJ?ace fuii! I know you paid for it, but white space is just as valuable and well worth the money. Tips on designing newspaper ads Don't force the visitor to scroll sideways. Keep your page within the maximum Boo-pixel width. In particular, don't make the table wider than 600px or people will get very angry with you when they try to print your page. It is often irresistible and sometimes absolutely necessary to design a page with more than one font. A consistent relationship occurs when you use only one type family without much variety in style. Concord Bello! I MynameIs I I Mythemesong Is I I WhenI growup I wantto be I Conflict There is no quality in this world that is not what it is simply for difference. I In this example it is very clear that the phrase "full of sound and fury" is supposed to be in a different letter. It is fundamentally related to the organization and clarity of information on the page. If you're having trouble seeing what's wrong with a combination of letters, don't look for what's different between the faces—look for what's similar. Categories> Oldstyle Modern There are rarely any distinguishing features that get in the way of reading; they don't draw attention to themselves. Like a steel bridge, the structure is strict, with a radical thick/thin transition, or contrast, in the lines. In the 17th century, smoother paper, more sophisticated printing techniques, and a general increase in mechanical devices led to typing becoming more mechanical as well. There is no evidence of pen inclination; the stress is completely vertical. Slab serif Memphis Memphis Extra Bold Sans serif Antique Olive Formata Folio Franklin Gothic Faces like Optima are very difficult to combine on a page with other fonts. They have similarities to serif faces in the thick/thin strokes, and they have similarities to sans serifs in the lack of serifs. Sans serif Optima Decorative JtJNIPER Improv Be conscious Little Quiz #3: categories of type Little Quiz #4: Thick/thin transitions Giggle Diggle Higgle Jiggle Piggle Wiggle Little Quiz #5: Serifs Diggle Riggle A simple exercise for continuous improvement of visual skills is to collect samples of categories. It is this visual awareness of letterforms that will empower you to create interesting, provocative and effective letter combinations. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you become aware of these broad categories of types. As you work through the next chapter, it will become clearer why this is important. Descenders are the parts of letters that are below the baseline (the invisible line on which the type stands). Eurostile Bold Condensed A reader should never try to figure out what is happening on the page - the focus, the organization of material, the purpose, the flow of information, all should be instantly recognized at a single glance. Weight StrUCture You can't compare a 12-point font to a 14-point font; Most of the time they will just conflict. A contrast of size doesn't always mean you have to make the type large - it just means there has to be a contrast. RainlishN c 0 R p 0 R A T D sometimes the contrast between large over small can be overwhelming and overwhelm the smaller type. Ironically, when type is set in uppercase, it can be up to twice as long as the same words in lowercase, so you need to make the point size smaller. If you make the text lowercase, you can actually set it in a much larger point size, plus it's more readable. If you are combining a type from two different families, one face will usually be bolder than the other - so emphasize it. If you are combining a species from two different families, use two families with different structures. Have you read Mac is not a typewriter or PC is not a typewriter. (If you haven't, you should.) In that book I say that you should never put two sans serif typefaces on the same page, and you should never put two serif typefaces on the same page - until you've had some typography training . The law is, however, that you must draw two faces from two different categories of type. You can see that the contrast of the structure alone is not enough to effectively contrast the type. Instead of trying to combine two sans-serif letters, build contrast in other ways by using different members of the same sans-serif family. Putting two sans serifs on one page is always difficult because there is only one texture monoweight. If you're extraordinarily clever, you might manage to put out two sans serifs if you use one of the rare ones with a thick/thin transition in its strokes, but I don't recommend even trying. In addition to each individual uppercase form being different from its lowercase form, the form of the entire all-cap word is also different. If you can consciously say that the lower readability is worth the design look, then go ahead and use all caps. Sometimes you can argue that the "look" of your part's design justifies the use of all caps, and that's fine. Roman, in any typeface, simply means that the type is straight up and down, as opposed to italic or script, where the type is italic and/or flowing. Be far flung away Since all fonts and italics have an italic and/or liquid shape, it's important to remember to never combine two different italics, or two different fonts, or an italic with a font. While we're changing it, we could also make the structure of the new font very different, instead of a thick/thin contrast one. Each type of element has a direction, although it can run straight across the page. It is these more sophisticated directional movements of the type that are fun and interesting to contrast. If the letters were all up and you could run your fingers over them, any contrast of text would also give you a contrast of texture. You can visually 'feel' this texture. Different textures will automatically emerge if you use different contrasts, but it's good to be aware of the texture and its effect. Our eyes are very attracted to warm colors, so very little red is needed to create contrast. You can get away with larger areas of cool color; you actually need more of a cool color to create effective contrast. But typographers have always referred to black-and-white type on a page as having "color:" It's easy to create contrast with "colorful" colors; it takes a more sophisticated eye to see and take advantage of color contrasts in black and white. 34;color;' then readers are more likely to stop at the page and actually read it. Daze worm war hairy wicket a shellfish ministers, spatially dole stop-murder, how it does not lack Center Alley and, infected, word. Daze worming war hairy wicket a shellfish ministers, spatially dole stop-murder, how it does not lack Center Alley and, infected. Uombine the uontrasts Little Quiz #6: Contrast or conflict FANCY Little Quiz #7: Dos and don'ts An exercise in combining contrasts So, do you The process An exercise Repetition already exists in headlines: reinforce that repetition by making headlines bold and black. The strong black impression in the spheres is now repeated and reinforces the strong black in the titles. The two faces are the same size. the same structure and the same Roman form. Even though they are exactly the same size and from the same family (the Formata family), the other contrasts are strong: weight, shape (roman vs. italics and uppercase vs. lowercase), structure (of the weight contrasts), color (although are both black, the weight of the "dance" gives it a darker color). Design TYpography Now, when someone (especially; font vendor) tells you~ that there are<'certain'fumber' of fonts, they include all the variations of a font - that's the regular version. Extra Bold New Century FAJITA W.I,.I) GLASG9.W CJ\rlf II 08*OTA Index The Non-Designer Online Book (with John Tollett) The Scan andPrint Non-Designer Book (with Sandee Cohen) The Robin Williams Design Workshop (with John Tollett) The Robin Williams Web Design Workshop (with John Tollett and Dave Rohr). Robin Williams DVD Design Workshop (John Tollett and Dave Rohr wrote it, and I helped a little) A Blip in the Continuum (a celebration of ugly typography, . with illustrations by John Tollett).The Rules ot: Lit:e
BATHS * KITCHENS * DECKS *
Construction
Be a cowbovl
Take a hike!
Comes Arouud
What Goes Around Comes Around
Ancient City
Business cards
Brochures
Postcards
Newspaper ads
Tips on designing web pages
What's up?
Hello!
Slab serif Sans serif
Bodoni Times Bold Onyx Walbaum
Futu ro, Condensed Syntax
Miggle Tiggle
Eurostile Bold 18 paint Eurastile Bald
Extended
Color
Dewsletter
MERMAID TAVERN
Travel Tips
You can't let the seeds
MAXIMIZE
WEALTH
Work Rard
MARY SIDNEY
COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE ::~
FLORENCE
Ladle Rat Rotten Hut
Okay-redesign this!
Tile and Linoleum
Ideas and concepts
J1JNIPER
E INDEX