English 12 Guide to

Portfolio

Vocabulary of Design

Graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication. Today's graphic designers often use desktop publishing software and techniques to achieve their goals.

Page layout (verb) is the process of placing and arranging and rearranging text and graphics on the page to produce documents such as newsletters, brochures, books, etc. Page layout (noun) refers to the actual document page and its composition.

Color is also called hue. There are warm colors, those we associate with fire and sunshine: reds, yellows, oranges; and cool colors, those we associate with water and sky: blues, greens, and violets.

Lines are points in motion, with only one dimension - length. Lines serve to define shapes and surfaces, to move our eyes, to join and separate, and to create mood.

Mass is a solid body or a grouping of visual elements (line, color, texture, etc.) that compose a solid form.

Negative space is the area between design elements (also called “white space.”)

Texture can refer to the physical surface of the work (that is, the medium, the paper, the paint, etc.) or to the textures created or suggested by the work (for example: paper that is made to look like stone)

Type, also known as typography, is the font of your text.

Adapted in part from “The Principals of Design” by Jacci Howard Bear, about.com.

Five Elements of Design1.  Backgrounds & Colors 2.  Text Attributes 3.   Images 4.  Layout5.  KISS

 

 

  Backgrounds & Colors 

Color is an important part of design. Color can create a mood, convey an idea, or draw the reader’s attention to something.

 Background images and patterns are nice but often make the text hard to read. Be careful not to overdo it. 

Be sure that any background image compliments your text and graphics.  

Text AttributesJust because you have 20 fonts doesn't mean you have to use all 20. It is better to choose 1 or 2 fonts per page than to incorporate a great number. Too many fonts on one page looks messy.

 Format the text to that it can be seen by people without their bifocals.

Space your text for readability

Use lines or colored/textured line graphics to separate ideas or parts Do not overuse any type of emphasis (boldface, italics, special formatting) or else you ultimately lose the effect

 Always have someone else read the pages and check for errors.

 

Notice how the content of the poem on the left becomes lost in the clutter of fonts.

Images 

Do not overuse graphic elements or images. Sometimes less is more. Clip art is wonderful, abundant, and fun to use. It can spice up flyers, newsletters, and posters. Yet too many pictures on a page make it hard for the reader to concentrate on what the document says. There are no hard and fast rules on how many images on a page is too many, but unless you're dealing with a product catalog or a yearbook, chances are that if there are more than three or four images the page is too graphics-heavy.

Use images that reflect the content of your writing, or embellish the writing with simple design motifs.

 

Consistency is important in page design. Use images that complement each other. For example, if you want to make your page look fun and cartoon-like, use cartoon images, but do not combine different types of art on the same page. This looks inconsistent and sends conflicting messages.

 

This is a poem in memory of a dog. The cartoon picture on the left makes it seem silly and trivial; plus, the differing styles of the pictures make the page look inconsistent.

Layout 

Space (Negative space) We all pay attention to the amount of space that we use on our projects. What about the space that you don't use? Do you notice that? Well it's just as important. Stand back and squint again. Notice the percentage of items filling up your project. What is the percentage of negative, unused space? While you want to make the most of your space available, you don't want all of it used up either. Using too much space makes a page look busy; using too little space makes it looks empty.

BalanceTry walking a long distance with a two-pound bag of rocks in one hand and a 10-pound bag of marbles in the other. . After awhile you’ll want to shift your load around, putting a few marbles in the rock bag to balance your load. This is how balance works in design. Visual balance comes from arranging elements on the page so that no one section is heavier than the other…or, intentionally throwing elements out of balance to create tension or a certain mood.

You can create balance with the three elements (text block, graphic, vertical text) here but in the first example they appear to be just random elements with no unity or balance. In the second "Balance" example the text block and graphic are resized to bring them closer together and better balance each other. To tie the elements together, move them closer together (resizing helps accomplish this). Notice that the graphic (one of the marbles) slightly overlaps the box enclosing the vertical text, unifying the two elements. Reversing the word "balance" out of the blue box also adds more contrast to the composition. The increased leading in the text block redistributes the white space in a more balanced manner.

KISS: KEEP IT SWEET AND SIMPLE

All emphasis is no emphasis.

Do not overshadow the content by the flash of your page.

 

Look at the designs of the pages below. Which designs do you like the best? Why? Which are the most balanced? Use images the best? Are too “busy”?