Visual Design Solutions

386 Pages·2015·45.94 MB·English

by  Connie Malamed

VISUAL DESIGN
SOLUTIONS

VISUAL DESIGN
SOLUTIONS
Principles and Creative Inspiration
for Learning Professionals
C O N N I E M A L A M E D
Coverdesignandtypography:MichaelJ.Freeland
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Copyright©2015byConnieMalamed.Allrightsreserved
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CONTENTS
List of Figures and Tables vii
Preface xix
Introduction xxi
PART 1
The Big Ideas
CHAPTER 1: LIKE A HAND IN GLOVE 3
CHAPTER 2: THINK LIKE A DESIGNER; YOU ARE ONE 11
CHAPTER 3: WORK LIKE A DESIGNER 23
PART 2
Building Blocks of Design
CHAPTER 4: ORGANIZING GRAPHIC SPACE 45
CHAPTER 5: SELECTING AND CREATING IMAGES 66
CHAPTER 6: WORKING WITH TYPE 102
PART 3
Power Principles
CHAPTER 7: USE COLOR WITH PURPOSE 133
v
vi
Contents
CHAPTER 8: ESTABLISH A VISUAL HIERARCHY 157
CHAPTER 9: UNIFY THE DESIGN 171
CHAPTER 10: CREATE CONTRAST 181
CHAPTER 11: GROUP FOR MEANING 194
PART 4
Practicing Design
CHAPTER 12: SHOW THEM WHERE TO LOOK 211
CHAPTER 13: ADD SOME EXCITEMENT 229
CHAPTER 14: ENHANCE MEANING 253
CHAPTER 15: TELL STORIES WITH VISUALS 282
CHAPTER 16: MAKE NUMBERS INTERESTING 310
References 339
About the Author 343
Index 345
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURES
1.1 Howweprocessvisualinformation 5
2.1 Adesignprocessthattakesyoufromideatoimplementation 16
2.2 Smallthumbnailsketcheshelpyouvisualizeideas.IllustrationbyKevinThorn,NuggetHeadStudioz 19
3.1 Inmostcases,adigitaltabletprovidesmorecontrolandgreateraccuracythanamousewhenworking
withgraphics 26
3.2 Designtitlescreentemplatestograbattention.TemplatesdesignedbytheeLearningBrothers 30
3.3 Contenttemplateforprovidingexpertopinionsintextoraudio.CutoutpeoplefromtheeLearningBrothers 31
3.4 Exampleofatemplateforadrag-and-dropinteraction.TemplatedesignbytheeLearningBrothers 32
3.5 Sampletemplateforaquotescreen 33
3.6 Transparencyinformationstoredinanalphachannelallowsgraphicstoappearnon-rectangular 38
4.1 Propertiesofgraphicspace 47
4.2 Spaceconveysmeaning.Inthisgraphic,itcreatesasenseofloneliness 49
4.3 Noticetheshapeofthewhitespacebetweenelements 51
4.4 Whatcatchesyoureyefirst?Athree-levelvisualhierarchy 53
4.5 Randomsmallareasofwhitespacelookunplanned(left).Trytomovethespacetotheoutside(right) 54
4.6 Partsofagrid 56
4.7 Typesofgrids:columnar(upperleft),modular(upperright),andhierarchical(bottom) 57
4.8 Comparisonofaphotousingacentralfocalpoint,ontheleft,withonethatusestheruleofthirds,onthe
right.Viewerstypicallyfindtheoff-centerplacementmoreinteresting 58
4.9 Asymmetricaldesignconveysequilibrium.CutoutpersoncourtesyofeLearningArt 61
vii
viii
ListofFiguresandTables
4.10 Anasymmetricaldesignisdynamic.CutoutpersoncourtesyofeLearningArt 63
4.11 Useastockphotowithalinearperspectiveasabackgroundtoaddrealismtoastoryorscenario.Cutout
peoplecourtesyofeLearningArt 64
5.1 Photographsareversatile.Theycanrepresentsomethingconcrete,tellastory,orconveyanabstractconcept 69
5.2 Illustrationsarecompellingbecausetheyoftenhaveauniqueanddistinctivestyle 71
5.3 Youcanbreakapartvector-basedclipartandmodifyittomeetyourrequirements.Here,thebusinesssuitin
®
theupperrightisplacedonthetwocharactersinmilitarygarb.IllustrationsfromtheMicrosoftOffice clip
artcollection 73
5.4 3-Dgraphicsarerenderedfromawireframemodel 74
5.5 Silhouettesareasubtlecommunicationdevice.Theyaresuggestiveratherthanliteral 76
5.6 Iconsareaminimalistandpowerfulwaytocommunicate 77
5.7 Dingbatsareasourceoficon-likedrawingsandsymbols 78
5.8 Informationgraphicsareawaytomakeabstractconceptsconcrete 80
5.9 Oneuseofshapesistostructureascreenorslide 81
5.10 Designingwithfoundartcanenhanceyourmessage 83
5.11 Atreeseenonthecontinuumfromrealistictomoreabstract 84
5.12 Simplevisualsliketheoneontherightareofteneasiertounderstandthanphotographs,asshownontheleft,
becauseunnecessaryinformationisfilteredout 85
5.13 ThisscenewasformedfromsimplegeometricshapesinPowerPoint 89
5.14 Beforeandaftercropping.Noticehowthecroppedphotoontherightismoredramaticandfocusedthanthe
uncroppedphotoontheleft 91
5.15 Useanarrowbutrecognizablesliceofseveraldifferentphotostoconveyyourmessageinanunusualway 92
5.16 Breakafull-screenimageintothreeseparateverticalpiecesforaneye-catchingeffect 93
5.17 Changethebackgroundofconventionalphotographstoaddmeaningandatouchofsurprise 95
5.18 Comparisonofanimageclichétorepresentteamworkontheleftandamoreoriginalapproachontheright 96
5.19 Useoneconsistentstyleofillustration,asshowninthisjobaidteachingHIV/AIDSpatientshowtocarefor
themselves.IllustrationsbyAlexeyTerekovandCrisWysong,Kwikpoint 98
5.20 Usethestylenumbertofindclipartwiththesamelook 99