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Graphic Design

Graphic Design

• Audience Analysis

– Who is the audience?– What are their demographics?– Where are they located?– How long do they have to read the message?– What is their anticipated level of interest?– Trends?

Demographics

• Age

• Sex

• Social status

• Religion

• Education level

• Economic level

• Interests

Location

• Where are they in reference to the Message? – Distance

• Where are they? – Describe Location

Time

• How long do they have to read the message?

• What is in competition with the message for reading time?

Interest

• How interested is the audience in the subject of the message?

• What do they like or dislike?

• What interest can be exploited to get the audience to read the message?

Human factors

• Values

• Beliefs

• Attitudes

• Character

• Temperament

• Outlook

• Perspectives

• Incorporates Message Analysis

Message Content - concise but complete

Size and Shape - how the message is to be delivered

Readability – typography

Needs the Audience - understands demographics

Use of proven Design Principles and Elements

Effective Graphic Design

• How do you get the target audience, or the prospective consumer’s attention?

• How do you encourage the desired response?

Message ContentSupply all of the information expected

• Many ads only display the essential information but indicate where the rest of the details can be obtained. i.e. Dealership location and phone number.

• Textbooks have all or most of the information on a subject area depending on what grade level the book is intended.

Understand the format and know what is expected.

Size and Shape

• The size and shape of the design are a function of all the items included in the audience analysis.

• The design must be the appropriate size to get the job done.

Readability/Typography

• Style of type, font• Size of type, point• Font enhancements,

– underline, shadow, word art

• White space• Line length and justification• Color of the text and color of the text background• Page layout

Style of Type• Fonts – There are seven different font groupings, each

with their own intended purpose.

Old Style used in the body of text where legibility is important.

Sans Serif used for display, headlines, and captions.

Modern much like old style in purpose but has higher contrast on the lettering

strokes.Square Serif used for display, headlines, and

short blocks of text.

Occasional for special effects, and should be used sparingly.

3

Text used for special occasions like wedding invitations.

Cursive used for special effects.

Type Nomenclature

ThyAscender Line

Waist Line

Base Line

Descender Line

Ascender

Descender

Fillet

Serif

Thick

ThinFont Size

Old Style TypeOld Style typefaces have slight differences between the thick and thin strokes, rounded serifs and fillets. These features allow for an eye pleasing amount of white space thus making the fonts easier to read and good for blocks of text.

Century

GaramondGoudy Old Style

Modern Type

Modern Type is very similar to old style. The major difference is there is a much larger contrast between the thick and thin strokes. Modern is light and airy, it is considered a stylish type, and it is very readable in a block of type.

Bodoni

Times New Roman

Century Schoolbook

San Serif TypesSan Serif Types San means without. San serif types have no serifs. There is little or no difference in the thickness of any of the strokes of the letters. Their primary use has traditionally been for headlines and captions. But these typefaces have gained popularity for their use in blocks of type. The lack of serifs allows the letter to be closer together allowing more words to be on the page. The readability is decreased but the cost is reduced.

Arial Franklin Gothic

Lucinda Sans

Square Serif Types

Square Serif Types have square serifs and even stroke width. The common uses for the seldom used square serif types are for display, head lines, and occasionally for a short block of text.

Rockwell

Occasional Types

Occasional types are used for special effect and create high contrast but should be used very sparingly. These types should never be used to set a block of text. Chiller

AlgerianBroadway

Playbill Stencil

Text Types

Text Type and Old English are very difficult to read and are reserved for formal events such as weddings. Due to the ornate nature of the capitol letters, text type should NEVER BE SET IN ALL CAPS.

GothicE

Cursive TypesCursive Types are also occasional types and should be used for special effect. They have the ability to show style and class when used in advertising. They can be hard to read and should not be set in all capitol letters.

Commercial Script

White SpaceWhite space can add or detract from the

readability of a design depending on how much is used. Too little and the design is cramped.

Too much and the design is disjointed and

unorganized which makes finding what

information goes together difficult.

Line LengthA long line length with small font size allows for a lot of words to be placed on a page which saves money but makes the

information very hard to read. It is for that very reason that contracts use this format. It is hard to stay on the correct line because readers have to reposition their eyes several times as they read down the length of the line.

A short line length with a large font size results in exactly the opposite situation.

Audience

Fully understanding the audience allows the designer to select the appropriate design elements and principles to deliver the information.

Color

Color can add or detract from a design by making it easy or hard to read.Color can add or detract from a design by making it easy or hard to read.

High School Play Poster

Unity- All but the title are in the same font.

Emphasis- Art work and a contrasting font are used for the title.

Rhythm-The diagonal placement helps the reader’s eye move down the page.

•This has a good use of emphasis and rhythm. • The viewer is drawn in.

But •The use of three fonts lacks unity and the font gets lost in the background.

Chao

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Additional Design Sources

• Templates– Most software for print documents has

templates which are designed by professional designers. They are well done, BUT they do not take the user off the hook.

– Selecting the appropriate format still must be done based on the needs of the audience and the intent of the design.

!!!!!Attention!!!!!Engineers and Engineering Technologists

• Technical reports and presentations are not advertisements.

– The audience:

• Is looking for information.

• Does not want to waste time.

• Does not need to be entertained.

– The message should be:

• Clear

• Concise

• To the point

• Well-organized

There should be a reason for every element placed on a

design.