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.

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

Typography and Type Elements Document Design

__________________________________

Jennifer Bowie, for BW

Typography and Type Elements

Typography exisits to honor content

Typography exisits to honor content

Typography exisits to honor content

Typography exisits to honor content

#1 one thing to remember:

Typography and Type Elements:

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.

Font Classifications

Typography and Type Elements:

•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.

Font Classifications con.

Typography and Type Elements:

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

Do only use 2-3 different fonts per document, and only from each category

General Categories

Typography and Type Elements:

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

Type Setting

Typography and Type Elements:

Justified left: flushed left and jagged right, this is the most readable for long segments of body text

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.

Centered: ragged both sides. Use rarely and in small amounts, very unreadable.

Justification

Rivers?

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.

An Example

Document Design

Design should always be used to communicate, and not to (just) decorate

Communicate, not decorate

Document Design

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

Color

Document Design

Chunking: elements that are related (like a heading with its paragraph) are grouped and look like they belong together.

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

Chunking & White Space

Document Design

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

Headings

Have fun and Design wellThe End

Information from Sims 10, Guark & Lannon 8, Web Typography, & Kolin

Jennifer Bowie, for Business Writing