By Tansa Ayazgok February 2018 Multimedia Design Principles
By Tansa AyazgokFebruary 2018
Multimedia Design Principles
Things to Consider
Organization
Design
Form and Content
Basic Design
Principles
Rules of Thumb
Things to Remember
• Your Audience• Time• Cost• Skill level• Equipment
Multimedia Design PrinciplesThings To Consider
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knowing your audience
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Things to Consider
Organization
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Form and Content
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Things to Remember
• Age range
• Grade level
• Education level
• Ethnicity
Things To ConsiderYour Audience
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How much time do you have?
Things To ConsiderTime
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What will the cost be?
Is it within the budget?
Can you lower cost but maintain quality?
CostThings To Consider
Things to Consider
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Are you a super-Techie?
Are you a beginner?
Things To ConsiderSkill Level
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Organization
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Form and Content
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What equipment do you have for?
Is it for Creating, Displaying, orTransporting?
EquipmentThings To Consider
Things to Consider
Organization
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Things to Remember
• Order of Information
• Storyboard
Multimedia Design PrinciplesOrganization
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making an effective presentation.
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presentation.
Things to Consider
Organization
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Form and Content
Basic Design
Principles
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Things to Remember
Make a detailed outline before the computerturns on!
Select an order for theinformation. It can beChronological, by development, according to topics, from general to specific, or from problem to solution.
Refine each section and subsection according to a consistent pattern.
OrganizationOrder of Information
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Organization
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Purpose: to allow you to collect your ideas, order the material, and make revision before investing a great deal of time and effort in the mechanics of creating the project. It is an essential step in the process.
StoryboardOrganization
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Organization
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When creating a Storyboard remember to be cryptic but complete. You must begin with an outline and “lay-out the macro order of the information. Next, put the pages in sequence and “sketch” each page, slide, and screen, indicating text graphics, color and sound. Now you will note any transitions and animations; be sure to make off-page notes where needed. Finally, review and revise.
OrganizationStoryboard
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Things to Consider
Organization
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Form and Content
Basic Design
Principles
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Things to Remember
• Form
• Content
• Balance
Multimedia Design PrinciplesForm and Content
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content.
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Organization
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Form and Content
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Principles
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Things to Remember
• Form should enable the content but not detract from it!
• Form can engage learners but it must not distract them from the content.
Form and ContentForm
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Content must have some form, but there needs to be a balance that
allows the form to focus attention on the content.
ContentForm and Content
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The balance between form and content is an age-old issue in art and incommunication.
For teachers:• Content is the material to be learned.• Form is the way in which that material is
presented.
Form and ContentBalance
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• Clean• Consistent• Contrast
The appearance of information (text or graphics) effects the way we perceive it. It impacts the content.
DesignMultimedia Design Principles
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design.
Things to Consider
Organization
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• Keep it uncluttered. Too much information in a space is confusing.
• The hierarchy should be easily seen. More important material should be at
the top and/or the left.
DesignClean
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The mind orders information based, in part, on the perceptualenvironment.
Constantly changing environments require constant mental adjustment. This can interfere with the content.
ConsistentDesign
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Variety within a consistent environment draws attention.
It emphasizes, Gives weight, & Creates interest in specific items.
DesignContrast
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• Alignment• Proximity• Contrast
The appearance of information (text or graphics) effects the way we perceive it. It impacts the content.
Multimedia Design PrinciplesBasic Design Principles
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proximity in design.
Click here for Basic Principles of Graphic Design
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Horizontal • Don’t mix alignments.
• Center = balance
• Left & Right = movement
Vertical - We read from the top down. Therefore the top is the most importantposition.
Basic Design PrinciplesAlignment
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Horizontal - TextBase line - the line that text and graphics sit on.
AlignmentBasic Design Principles
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Organization
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Proximity ties the various componentstogether
• Too close = cluttered, confusing.• Too far = weak, confusing
Basic Design PrinciplesProximity
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“White space” is the unused areas of a page or screen.
Graphic designers realized long ago that it is important for clarity and appeal. Don’t crowed your materials. Leave plenty of open space.
ProximityBasic Design Principles
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Organization
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• Guides the eye on ear.• Denotes important material• Creates focal points.• It can be accomplished with text, color,
shape proximity, size, location, or with any combination.
Basic Design PrinciplesContrast
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• K.I.S.S.• Typography• Color• Objects
Multimedia Design PrinciplesRules of Thumb
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design.
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Organization
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Form and Content
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Keep It Simple Stupid/Sweetie.
Most multimedia presentations can be improved by eliminating some elements or moving them to another screen.
K.I.S.S.Rules of Thumb
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Serif fontsA serif is a terminating mark at the end of a letter stroke.
Sans-Serif fontsFonts without terminating marks.
Studies in perception indicate that when blocks of text are used, serif fonts work best for the printed page and sans-serif are best for computer monitors and projection.
Rules of ThumbTypography
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• Use only 2 (3 at the very most) fonts in anydocument.
• Let size and style (bold, italic, underline) createcontrast
Avoid the use of all caps.• We read as much by the shape of the words as bythe collection of letters.
• All capitalized texts have no variety in shape. Therefore, they are more difficult to read.
TypographyRules of Thumb
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Avoid all bold.• Constant emphasis is no emphasis.
• Connect the style to the meaning of thetext.
Rules of ThumbTypography
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Things to Consider
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•Color helps make the foreground/background distinction. Light color indicates background while bold colors indicate fore ground.
• Avoid strong backgrounds. They put the background “in your face” and de-emphasize texts and graphics which needto be in the foreground.
ColorRules of Thumb
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Limit your pallet to 3 or 4 colors. Like fonts, too many colors will be distracting.
Some colors have inherent meaning.•Blue = comfort, “clear, blue sky”•Green = growth, “lush, green forest”•Red = danger, fire & red light•Blue is for baby boys.•Pink is for baby girls.
Rules of ThumbColor
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• Some colors work better together thanothers.
• More importantly, some background colors should not be used with certain font colors!
ColorRules of Thumb
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Rules of ThumbColor
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Too many graphics can be confusing.• They are inherently more attractive than
text.• Movement is even stronger.
• Balance objects on the page.
• Objects require much more computer memory than text.
ObjectsRules of Thumb
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It is NOT about you!Your students do not need to know what your favorite color is, or your favorite sport, animal, or flower. Nor is it important what you think is pretty, cute, or “cool”.
It is about the content!What your students need is a learning experience that is clean, clear and consistent.
Design for your audience not for yourself!
Things to RememberMultimedia Design Principles
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your audience engaged.