design like a pro: four principles of graphic design

FOUR PRINCIPLES OF VISUAL DESIGN

Design Like A Pro

The Four Principles

Design Like A Pro | Kelleher Web Design | www.kelleherwebdesign.com

Contrast

Repetition

Alignment

Proximity

Why Are These Principles Important?

Not just about looking pretty

Easier and more inviting to read

Easier to find important information

Communicates relationships between elements

Kelleher Web Design - www.kelleherwebdesign.com

Why Are These Principles Important?

Establishes credibility and trustworthiness

Guides the reader’s eye to important elements


No contrastNo contrast With contrastWith contrast


Our ServicesAcme Senior Consulting is a comprehensive geriatric care management company. Empowering older persons and their families is a vital component of our professional services. Our services include:Geriatric Psycho-social Assessment: A crucial first step to assist you in determining the care needed by your aging parents, it includes:an evaluation of the emotional, mental, social, physical and living arrangement needs of your parent or family member.a written report designed to organize all the current information gathered during this assessment to get you started in providing appropriate care.Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist you in coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:Housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, transportation, bill payment, medical insurance claims and medical appointments;Reassurance visits to ensure your parent's safety and quality of life;

Our ServicesAcme Senior Consulting is a comprehensive geriatric care management company. Empowering older persons and their families is a vital component of our professional services. Our services include:

Geriatric Psycho-social Assessment: A crucial first step to

assist you in determining the care needed by your aging parents, it includes:

an evaluation of the emotional, mental, social, physical and living arrangement needs of your parent or family member. a written report designed to organize all the current information gathered during this assessment to get you started in providing appropriate care.

Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist you

in coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:

Housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, transportation, bill payment, medical insurance claims and medical appointments;Reassurance visits to ensure your parent's safety and quality of life;

Principle# 1: Contrast



Establishes relationship between elements

Makes it easier to find information

Makes it more inviting to read



How to Add Contrast

Size

Weight

Color

Style

Negative Space

Principle# 2: Repetition






Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist you in

coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:




Creates a consistent visual language

Establishes relationship between elements

Easier to read

Establishes credibility



Limited color palette

Limited fonts (1-2 serif, 1-2 sans serif)

Repeat image elements and styles



Too many fonts & colors can make you look like a stalker

Principle# 3: Alignment






Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist you in

coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:




Makes text easier to read

Gives a less cluttered look

Easier to guide the user’s eye

Establishes credibility

UseUse AvoidAvoid


Left-align looks good and is easy to read.

Right-align is cool, too, and can create easy-to-read lines.

Centered is onlyfor wedding invitations

Fully-justified text creates awkward spacing between words


Uniform proximityUniform proximity Varied proximityVaried proximity



Geriatric Psycho-social Assessment: A crucial first step

to assist you in determining the care needed by your aging parents, it includes:


Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist

you in coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:

Housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, transportation, bill payment, medical insurance claims and medical appointments;





Geriatric Care Management: Ongoing service to assist you

in coordinating and managing your aging family member or parent's essential daily living needs, this may include such support services as:

Housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, transportation, bill payment, medical insurance claims and medical appointments;

Principle# 4: Proximity

Principle# 4: Proximity


Conveys relationship between elements

Makes it easier to find information

Additional Concepts


Color Models RGB (red, green, blue) – on screen CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellowyellow, black) – print

Fonts to Avoid Papyrus – overused, makes work look

amateurish Comic Sans MS –because it’s an ugly font!

Additional Concepts


Less is more (especially fonts & colors)

There are exceptions to every rule

Additional Concepts


Specific to Websites:

Navigation menus must be logical and intuitive (for users, not just you!)

Make design responsive to screen widths (increasing number of pageviews are on mobile devices)

Avoid deprecated technology (e.g. Flash)

Additional Concepts


Specific to Websites (cont’d):

To establish unique brand identity, avoid pre-made themes/templates (or your site will look just like 10,000+ others)

Limit web fonts (increases page load times & too many can look amateurish)

Resources


Books:Design for Hackers: Reverse-Engineering Beauty

by David KadavyNon-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams (not

the comedian)

Web:http://kuler.adobe.com – Color selectionhttp://www.google.com/webfonts – Web fonts

design like a pro: four principles of graphic design

Design

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aging parents

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startedappropriate care

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professional services

parents safety

ingeriatric care management