In this first ‘before and after’ assignment, organizing graphic space is the focus. I chose to use the Invisible Hand jpeg from the image pool for this task. This image was not balanced, with a set of balance scales to the right which were not offset with anything on the left leaving the graphic’s visual weight off. The viewer’s eyes are drawn all over the page and there appears to be no visual hierarchy. There was no consistency to the margins, and little detail to the white space is evident. There were large sections of the graphic with no detail which in itself was not a problem but the sections were not proportional which made the graphic appear lop-sided.
The revised graphic was planned using a grid to have a symmetrical layout with a set of balance scales obtained from the Microsoft Office Suite centered in the middle of the graphic. The text was added in balanced text boxes to maintain visual weight. A third text box was added to sum up the benefits and was placed at the base of the balance scales to continue the symmetrical design. The overall alignment of the graphic is center aligned as a play on the balance scales theme. Spelling errors were corrected and the text was written in an informal format using symbols for some words.
In the second ‘before and after’ assignment, selecting and creating images is the focus. Different types of images can be used for different purposes. In the ‘New World claimed by several European countries’ slide from the image pool, the image that was used is difficult to see and there is no connection to the text. The text placed randomly around the graphic leads to split-attention, making it difficult to connect the text to the map. The color of the map does draw the eye to the center of the slide, but gives no real information.
In revising this slide, I chose to use a simple black and white silhouette of the western hemisphere that was found in the Microsoft Office Suite. This choice was made specifically due to the lack of detail a silhouette affords. There are no extra colors or physical features displayed on the map to distract the learners. The text was added directly onto the map indicating which areas of the New World were settled by which nations with the exception of Spanish settlements which covered three different areas delineated by connecting lines. This was done to reduce the split-attention effect that placing the text elsewhere on the slide may yield. A small border was placed around the map in order to emphasize the white space planned in this graphic.
For the third ‘Before and After’ assignment which focuses on typography, I chose the 5 Rs of Notetaking from the image pool. The original graphic is very plain with a black sans serif font presented on a white background. The font is easy to read but with the small variations in font size and weight used for the headings and the text, it does not hold the reader’s attention. The use of a white background with black text does not offer a focal point to attract the reader’s attention either.
I chose to recreate this graphic using a notebook paper page with light blue trim background obtained from the background resources in the Promethean ActivInspire software suite. The lines of the page help to direct the reader’s attention. I chose to use the Rockwell serif family type in order to vary the display text and body text. I used a bright blue font in Rockwell Bold to enhance the R in the title and in Rockwell Regular to stress each of the 5 Rs in the body. Each first line of text was set left with each following line slightly offset to help reader’s continue to distinguish between the five different points. The citation was added vertically along the left edge so that it did not interfere with the five points of notetaking.
For the fourth ‘Before and After’ exercise which focuses on color, I chose to use the Stone Marine Enterprises flyer. On this flyer, the creator uses four different black fonts on a white background with a photograph. This flyer actually violates visual design principles regarding Typography introduced in Chapter 6 more so than color that was introduced in Chapter 7. I chose it specifically because of its lack of color. In Chapter 7, we are introduced to creating a color palette from within the photo itself. The before flyer chose not to do this but to use a plain white background and black font. The multiple fonts are distracting and written in all caps.
In recreating this flyer, I chose to use the color picker to pull out three of the warm colors present in the photograph. I used a tan from the dash of the boat for the background, the black from his jacket for the text and an inner border around the photograph, and a green from the trees for the outer border of the photograph. I used complementary fonts, Garamond for the main display text to catch the attention of readers and Gills Sans MT for the body of the text. The name of the business, website address and contact number were placed at the top of the flyer and centered. The photograph and description of services were balanced beside each other.
In Chapter 8, we began to study visual hierarchy. We learned that visual hierarchy is important in a design because it helps to tell people what we want them to look at first and how we want their eyes to travel across our design. For this before and after assignment, I chose to the Before 50 graphic. In this graphic, there is a graphic organizer depicting the roots of imperialism. The color of the graphic is neutral with somewhat of a spotlight effect by having a bright center. The center bubble is a different color which could draw the eye of the viewer but the surrounding bubbles also are different colors which negates the draw of the green bubble. The type within the graphic organizer is all the same font, size and weight. There are arrows coming from the center, however, they are also different colors and different sizes so the viewer is unsure of whether a specific bubble has more importance than others.
I chose to recreate the graphic maintaining the initial graphic organizer style but I changed the title to a bold serif typeface on a slightly darker ribbon than the neutral background so emphasize that the viewer should look here first. I chose to make the center of the graphic organizer larger than the other bubbles and to use a red boundary and type to draw the viewer’s eye to the center as they finish reading the title. From there, each bubble that stems off of the center are of equal size and uses a condensed version of the same sans serif typeface used in the center. This provides continuity throughout the body of the graphic organizer yet allows for differentiation of importance of the center point. Each attached bubble uses the same color boundary and same color for the text. All bubbles are approximately the same distance from the center giving balance and allowing the viewer to know that each is of equal importance. Placing the bubbles in a circular pattern allows the viewer to read the bubbles in a clock-wise or counter clock-wise direction.
Before and After Exercise #6 - Show Them Where to Look
In Chapter 12, we began to study how to give visual cues in order to show viewers where to look in our graphics. For this assignment, I chose to use the Before 38 picture from the images pool. In this picture, the only thing to grab a viewer’s attention is a picture of a space shuttle in the center with bright blue and red coloring. The typeface used is small and does not grab a viewer’s attention. The steps of using Newton’s Second Law are numbered but not in an attention getting way.
I chose to rotate the flyer 90 degrees so that is was in a portrait view rather than the landscape view of the original. I kept the original picture of the space shuttle but placed it along one side and lengthened it to span most of the page. The title was centered along the top using a bold serif typeface to draw the eye of the viewer. The point of the fuel tank adds a pointing effect aimed at the title. I used a complementary san serif typeface for the body of the text which skimmed the sides of the shuttle drawing the viewer’s eye down. Each step was still numbered but was in a bolder, serif typeface with a yellow highlight as a visual cue. The opacity of the space shuttle was reduced to prevent the red and blue from distracting from the yellow highlighted, numbered steps.
The ‘Before and After Exercise #7’ focuses on Visual Unity. In this module we look at how the layout of a graphic gives a sense of unity and wholeness. I chose to use the Before 06 graphic from the image file. In this flyer for a club, there is no sense of unity. The headliner font is difficult to read as each letter blends into the next. The list of disk jockeys is also difficult to read with the hyphens used as separators. The location of the club does stand out a little as it is in a slightly larger and bolder font than the other words on the flyer.
In order to bring unity to the image, I used a brick wall background in order to form a more natural grid. The title was accentuated with an opaque banner which was color-picked from the bricks along the top of the background. The gray font was chosen to match the mortar between the bricks utilizing a palette generated from the background itself. I used the grays in the mortar of the brick to form two opaque columns along implied lines. The font color within the columns was color-picked from the bricks above the title. Complementary fonts Palatino (main title) and Tahoma (columns) was utilized as well.
Before and After Exercise #8 - Contrast In Chapter 10, creating contrast was introduced. Contrast is important because it attracts the eye and helps to create a focal point. For this ‘Before and After’ assignment, I chose the slide of Jacques Cousteau. This slide has small areas of contrast but when you look at the slide as a whole, it can be very confusing to the eye. There is a dark colored wave cresting above the divers’ heads and their all black wet suits blend together making it difficult to differentiate between the three men. The choice of gold text was most likely meant to be complementary yet, it is difficult to read where it is overlaid on the wetsuit with gold trim. With minimal contrast between the divers, it is difficult to know which one should be the focal point, which one is most important. I choose to recreate this slide on a background composed of an underwater photo which was reduced in opacity to lighten it even more and create greater contrast with the black wetsuit of Jacques Cousteau. The other divers were also removed so that it is evident which one is Cousteau and the focal point of the slide. He is placed to the side of the text to provide even more contrast by enlarging the white space above the text. Black text was chosen to provide unity with his black wetsuit. A serif font for the title with a sans-serif font for the text yields a contrast between text types.
Before and After Exercise #9 - Grouping In Chapter 11, how to group for meaning was introduced. We began to look at how the groups that we see in pictures affects how quickly we figure out relationships, helps us to understand what we’re seeing and helps to reduce the cognitive load by helping us to chunk what we are seeing. For this ‘Before and After’ assignment, I chose to use the flyer about the Annual Recycling Day. This flyer is extremely busy and difficult to read. The important items such as the event title, the location, and a general statement of accepting any genuinely reusable item is scattered all over the flyer. It is difficult to understand which items that are more household items and those that are building/bulk items are acceptable to recycle because they are all mixed together with little to no whitespace allowed. I chose to recreate it using the recycling ribbon as the center focal point with recyclable items sorted into groups of general items used within the home and those used for construction and outside of the home uses. The titles were placed centered on the flyer with the recyclable item groups flanking the recycling ribbon. Generous white space was left surrounding the recycling ribbon adding to the grouping effect. The grouping of the titles in the center allow for them to stand out from the grouping of the recyclable item groups.
Before and After Exercise #10 - Add Excitement For the tenth ‘Before and After’ assignment, excitement needed to be added. I chose to use the Before01 picture from the image pool. This picture used a checklist type of bullets to highlight what is supposed to be 10 skills that you need for visual notetaking. The list is actually only nine skills so this had to be corrected in the title. The overall look of the picture is boring with it being black and white with no color to grab the viewer’s attention or to add contrast. They used three different fonts that mimic handwriting which did add a small amount of interest. I decided to redo this picture using irregular shapes instead of bullets to add excitement. The title is made up of a fun font in blue for the 9 Skills to contrast and grab the viewer’s attention. The rest of the title font is a simple serif font in black. The skills that were previously bulleted were typed in a fun font and placed inside of multi-colored irregular frames created using the custom shaped tool and they were skewed to create differences between them. They were grouped in a grid-like pattern and the complementary colors were chosen to follow across the rows making it easier for the viewer to read it.
Before and After Exercise #11 - Enhance Meaning For this ‘Before and After’ assignment, we were to enhance the meaning of a picture. In reading the chapter, several techniques, including using metaphors were discussed. I chose to use the graphic describing the recruitment process from the image pool. This graphic uses a pyramid theme yet the description of the recruitment process begins at the top of the pyramid and works its way down which goes against the viewer’s natural tendency to begin on the bottom and read up. Also when most people think of the hiring process, they note that you must start at the bottom and work your way up which the graphic does not convey. I chose to use a photograph of my steps as the main focus point as a metaphor to show that the hiring process begins at the bottom and works its way up. I used a sky background because for many people, they go into the recruitment process with the idea that the ‘sky’s the limit’. I used complementary serif and san-serif fonts all in a bold black in order to be read more easily.