Unit 4 Principles of Design

What is Design?

A design is a plan, a means to an end. When you selected your clothes this morning, you were designing. You made certain choices probably based on how you wanted to look, feel, and act today.

Choices must also be made to select and arrange type and illustrations that make up a printed product. Understanding the principles of good design will help you make intelligent choices.

Principles of Design

Certain principles are basic to understanding graphic design. These include proportion, balance, contrast, rhythm, unity and color. These principles provide guidelines for developing a successful printed product.

PROPORTION. Proportion refers to how parts of a whole relate to one another and to the whole.

Page Proportion. Before a job can be printed, its general size and shape must be decided upon. Usually the product itself will determine this. For example, a business card must be easily carried in a wallet or shirt pocket. A poster must be large enough to be read at a distance.

After approximating, the designer must decide upon a final size and shape for the product. Usually this final decision is based on how a product will look rather than on its use.

Generally rectangles are more pleasing to the eye than squares. Square shapes seem dull and unmoving; rectangles seem to convey motion and direction. A good proportion for a rectangular page is approximately two units wide and three units long. Business cards measure about 2×3.5 inches. Photographs may measure 4×5, 5×7, or 8×10 inches. And, of course, most business letterheads measure 8.5×11 inches.

Element Proportion. The size and shape of type and illustrations in a printed product must also be properly proportioned. Again, rectangular elements will usually appear more attractive than square shapes. The size and shape of each element and the surrounding white space must each be considered in relation to all the other elements.

One easy and quick way to reduce or enlarge illustrations or copy is the diagonal-line method. It is a valuable aid to making design decisions.

BALANCE. Balance is a visual effect. When type and illustrations are arranged in a pleasing way, a feeling of stability or equilibrium is conveyed. When elements are out of balance, the printed product may look top heavy or too heavy on the right or left.

There are two types of balance: formal and informal. Figure 2-7 shows a layout that is balanced formally. A center line drawn through this layout would cut each major element in half. Figure 2-8 is an informally balanced layout. Type and illustrations are not placed on a common center line. However, the layout still looks balanced. Elements appear to be in equilibrium.

Optical and True Centers. Printing located at the vertical center of a piece of paper appears to be too low. Major type or illustration elements should not be placed at the true center of a page.Instead they should be raised approximately one-tenth the distance from the true center to the top of the page. This position is known as the optical center.It is the part of the page that the eye sees as being the center. Figure 2-9 shows the relationship between optical center and true center.

CONTRAST. Contrast provides emphasis to a word, a series of words, or an illustration. Contrast can also be used to relieve monotony in a printed message. Several ways of providing contrast are shown in Figure 2-10.

RHYTHM. Eye movement across a printed page may be slow or swift, left or right, upward or downward,flowing or jerky.We call this motion rhythm.

It is possible to lead a reader's eye in a desired direction by placement of type and illustrations. Figure 2-11 shows how this is done.

UNITY. Unity is the harmonious relationship among the various type and illustration elements in a printed job.

Two or more typefaces should be combined in a single job only if they look right together. Typefaces with similar shapes and weights may be combined if done with care. Using several different type sizes and styles in a single layout distracts from the clarity of the message and should be avoided, Figure 2-12.

The use of illustrations of various sizes and shapes can also distract from the harmony of a job. Unity is achieved by using the same basic shape throughout, Figure 2-13.

COLOR. Selecting ink color and paper color for a printed job is part of the design process. You must have already seen how color can be used to emphasize a word, a series of words, or an illustration in some colored books. Color can do much more than just provide emphasis, however. Ink and paper colors can attract attention, hold attention, and even communicate directly with the viewer.

Color Attracts Attention. A visual message cannot be successfully sent if the intended receiver does not look at it. Color can be used to attract attention to the message. Bright colors, for example, will draw attention to billboard's and posters that are read from a distance.

Color Holds Attention. Color also holds a viewer's attention over an extended period of time. Imagine trying to read a book whose text is printed with orange ink on red paper. Your head would probably begin to ache after only a very short time. Colors that are easiest on the eyes include dark green, blue, and violet.

Besides colors that are easy on the eyes, there should be sufficient contrast between paper color and ink color. Black or blue ink on white paper are the combinations most often used.

Color Communicates. Colors are classified as warm or cool. Red, orange, and yellow are considered warm colors. They are the colors of sun and fire. Blue, green and violet are considered cool colors. These are the colors of nature: blue water, green grass, and the violet darkness of night.

People are affected by color. Warm colors tend to excite people; cool colors tend to calm them down.

Besides affecting emotions, colors can communicate directly with people. Red, for example, may say stop! Red may indicate danger. Green, however, may say that all is well; it tells the viewer to continue. Colors can be used to communicate, so choose them with care.

Key Technical Terms

design 设计

diagonal-line method 对角线法

optical center 视觉中心

page proportion 页面比例

formal balance 对称平衡

balance 平衡

true center 实际中心

contrast 对比

element proportion 单元比例

informal balance 不对称平衡

layout 拼版

unity 统一

reverse type 反白字体

rhythm 节奏

typeface 字体

screen tint 淡色

Notes

3．Reverse —— 指黑底白字的“反白”图文。

Supplementary Reading

Type Measurement and Typography

Type Measurement

Our linear system of measurement using inches and fractions of inches is not used to measure type. It is too cumbersome. Instead a specially developed system of measurement is used. It is called the point system of measuring type.

POINT SYSTEM. The basic unit of the point system is the point. One point is equivalent to 1/72 inch. There are 72 points in one inch.

Twelve points equal one pica. Six picas, then, equal one inch. A half of a pica (6 points) is called a nonpareil. There are 12 nonpareils in an inch.

In addition to points and picas, newspaper printers commonly use a measurement called an agate. One agate is equal to 5.5 points.

Typography

Typography refers to the overall design of the printed page. It deals mostly with the selection and arrangement of type elements. A designer or printer skilled in typography is called a typographer.

A typographer must understand several terms relating to type, typefaces, and type measurement. In addition to those already covered above are the terms font, series, family, legibility, readability, and appropriateness.

FONT. A font is a complete assortment of characters of one size and style of type. A font of type includes capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. An example of a type font is 20 point century schoolbook bold, Figure 2-14.

SERIES. The term series is used when a type style is available in several sizes. All available sizes of the font shown in Figure 2-15 make up a type series.

FAMILY. A family is a group of related typefaces. Each member of a type family has the same basic name. Members also have the same general design characteristics. They differ, however, in the weight of the face, the amount of space allotted to each character, and the angle of each character. Members of a typical family are pictured in Figure 2-16.

LEGIBILITY. Legibility refers to the speed with which a type character can be identified by the reader. Some typefaces are more legible than others. For example, roman type characters are generally easier to identify than are square serif characters.

READABILITY. Readability refers to the ease with which a printed page can be read. Some typefaces are easy on the eyes. They can be read for long periods of time without tiring the reader's eyes. The readability of a page also depends upon the arrangement of type used and the amount of white space on the page.

APPROPRIATENESS. The appropriateness of a typeface for a particular job is determined by the intended message and the intended audience. Some typefaces are said to talk; others shout. Some faces make us think of antiquity, others convey the impression of newness. In addition, characteristics such as masculinity, femininity, and formality can be suggested by the typeface used.

Exercise

Q&A

1．Define design.

2．Identify the six principles of design.

3．Explain three factors that influence the size and shape of a printed page.

4．Use the diagonal-line method to reduce and enlarge an illustration.

5．Identify layouts that exhibit formal and informaI balance.

6．Locate the true and optical centers of a piece of paper.

7．List twelve techniques for emphasizing a portion of a printed image.

8．Demonstrate how to control eye movement across a printed page.

9．Define unity.

10. Give four reasons for including color in a printed product.

Complete the Sentences by Filling in the Blanks

1．A design is a________ ,a________ to an end. When you ________your clothes this morning, you were________ . You made certain ________probably based on how you wanted to ________, ________, and________ today.

Choices must also be made to select and arrange ________and ________that make up a printed product. Understanding the principles of________ will help you make ________choices.

2．________ink color and paper color for a printed job is part of the________ . You must have already seen how color can be used to________ a word, a series of words, or an illustration in some colored books. Color can do ________than just provide emphasis, however. Ink and paper colors can________ attention, ________attention, and even ________directly with the viewer.

Put the following into Chinese

FAMILY. A family is a group of related typefaces. Each member of a type family has the same basic name. Members also have the same general design characteristics. They differ, however, in the weight of the face, the amount of space allotted to each character, and the angle of each character. Members of a typical family are pictured in Figure 2-16.

LEGIBILITY. Legibility refers to the speed with which a type character can be identified by the reader. Some typefaces are more legible than others. For example, roman type characters are generally easier to identify than are square serif characters.

READABILITY. Readability refers to the ease with which a printed page can be read. Some typefaces are easy on the eyes. They can be read for long periods of time without tiring the reader's eyes. The readability of a page also depends upon the arrangement of type used and the amount of white space on the page.

APPROPRIATENESS. The appropriateness of a typeface for a particular job is determined by the intended message and the intended audience. Some typefaces are said to talk; others shout. Some faces make us think of antiquity, others convey the impression of newness. In addition, characteristics such as masculinity, femininity, and formality can be suggested by the typeface used.