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running head: Critique Paper Department of Interdisciplinary Studies Rack Card1

Critique Paper

“Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Southern Mississippi,

Bachelor of Liberal Studies” Rack Card

Danielle Kellum

The University of Southern Mississippi

IT 567


Fall 2016

Design Evaluation

Overview

The critique item is an information rack card for the Department of Interdisciplinary

Studies at The University of Southern Mississippi. The information card is designed to promote

the Bachelor of Liberal Studies major. This

card is used as a recruitment tool within the

department and the university. The card

contains text and graphic information on

what is required to pursue a Bachelor Degree

in Liberal Studies. The rack card is various

shades of blue with white lettering across the

top as a title and main heading. The white

lettering is with black drop shading. The

subheading and body of the work are bold

black lettering. Italicized script is also used

sparingly. The font type varies. The graphics

are composed of test tubes, a globe,

stethoscope, and portraits. These are

dispersed on the front page in a cantilevered grid pattern. On the reverse side across the top is a

graphic of giraffes. On the bottom back is the academic logo for The University of Southern

Mississippi. The subheading subjects in the middle of the card are divided with thin solid black


lines. Different graphic design principles are used to produce this rack card design. These include

contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.

Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity

Contrast is the use of two elements that are similar in nature. One font in two very

different sizes, two different fonts, a fat and thin space, or thick and thin lines are all indicative

of contrast. Scaling an object to be larger or smaller than the surrounding elements creates

contract. It is important to make sure the element does not become disproportionate however

(Lupton & Phillips, 2008, p. 50). Even the use of color can emphasize contrast. Contrast is not

to be confused with the use of two similar objects. Contrast works only because of the strong

variations between the two elements (Williams, pg. 65). The rack card uses contrast to highlight

different sections of the card. White lettering in two different sizes heads the top of the rack card.

This is followed by very definitive sections divided by a diagonal line. The information on the

card is set up with bold headings in a block style. These sections use a larger heavier font for the

main headings which helps separate the different elements.

Repetition is the repeating of various elements throughout the page to make the concept

more cohesive (Williams, 2008, p. 51). Consistency is the key. A consistent use of font styles

provides the reader with visual clues. A bold sub-titles with a lighter font for the body, provides

repetition. As with the use of fonts, consistency and repetition alert the reader that elements

belong in the same publication (Brady, 1993, p. 6). There are several ways to use repetition. In

addition to font styles, another way is to use a repeated shape. The element repeats elsewhere

within the design helping to create unity. The card has pictures of beakers, a globe, and a

stethoscope. All of these have circular shapes to them. These are placed at the top (beakers),


middle left (globe), and lower right (stethoscope) of the page. The repetition of the shapes

throughout the page creates unity within the design (Clayton & Hashimoto, 2009, p. 33).

The bottom front of the card is divided into three sections, each containing a picture.

These are sectioned off with a moderately heavy line forming a border around each photograph.

This creates a repetition of picture frames for each photograph.

Alignment is the connection each element has with the next. This is done to provide a

clean neat visual effect for the elements on the page. If the items are arbitrarily placed, the design

will have a chaotic and disorganized look (Williams, 2008, p. 33). According to Graver and Jura

(2012, p. 46) grid lines can help align items from one section to the next in a design although it is

not necessary to use a grid pattern exclusively. It is not necessary for the grid to even show as it

does in the rack card.

On the front the major heading are flush left. The text outlines the globe and is

cantilevered within the tilted grid on the front. This makes the text slowly angle to the bottom

right of the card. The rack card text is aligned flush left on the back of the card. This gives a

neater appearance than the layout on the front of the card. The alignment of the front and the

back of the rack card are visually different. The front of the card, while aligned, gives the

appearance of being more fluid. The back is more ridged and formal.

Proximity is all about gathering similar or related elements together into a cohesive group

(Williams, 2008, p. 15). Spacing around a group of objects signals to the reader that these items

belong together (Brady, 1993, p. 31). The rack card has done this by utilizing space before the

sub-headings and after the body of each section. These sections are further broken up by lines.

On the front of the card a wider grid is used. On the back thin lines separate each sup-heading.

On the front bottom, the photographs are bordered by a dark line further separating the pictures.


A grid can be used to give the composition repetition and unit (Graver & Jura, 2012, p.

12). It can also be used as a mode to group like items. By turning the grid lines at an angle to the

page creates excitement as well as keeping the information organized (Clayton & Hashimoto,

2009, p. 46).

The graphics relate to each other and the subject of the card itself. This relationship pulls

the different elements together with proximity and the theme. The card is for a degree in Liberal

Studies. The graphics all have to do with the different subjects that can make up this degree.

There are the various sciences from psychology and biology to literature and political science.

Color and Typography

Color and type can enhance the design. The use of color can create contrast within the

design as well as establishing repetition and proximity. The card employs a monochromatic

color scheme of blues utilizing various tints and shades. This creates contrast throughout the card

with the darker shades being used for the grid and graphics, while the lighter tints are used for

the background. According to Brady (1988, p.3), using dark or black letters on a dusky

background are badly used signals. In this case a signal is an element that indicates something is

about to happen. An indentation at the beginning of a paragraph as well as the period at the end

of a sentence are all signals. In the case of the rack card the white lettering on the light blue

background is a bad signal because there is not enough contrast between the two. The readability

of the top titles is affected by choosing a white typeface with a dark drop shadow. The problem

is compounded with the use of the light background. The readability gets better with the black

font on the light background.

The university uses three different font families, two of which are used in the card. There

are other fonts used as well. The three fonts families are Ariel, Futura, and ACaslon ("University


style guide," 2016). The card uses a Futura font for the sub-headers and body. The main headings

utilize an ACaslon regular font with a stylized L. There is a Brush Script font used across the

middle front section of the card. The title uses a font similar to the Copperplate Gothic Bold with

a drop shadow. This font is with a black drop shadow.

Suggestions for Improvement

This card is used for recruitment. As such, it should be a good first impression. The card

has some drawbacks to reaching that goal. The card itself has a fairly good layout. It meets the

requirement of contrast with the different shades, tones, and tints of the blue color that are used.

The weight of the font changes throughout the card. This gives the different sections of the text

repetition and a visual ease of alignment. However, the use of the light font, at the top of the first

page, combined with the lightness of the background make reading the information hard. This

section would have been better if the background had been darkened or the picture changed. The

font could have been darkened or moved down or put elsewhere.

The use of the graphics is understandable given this is a recruitment card for a liberal

studies program. There is some issue with the choice of the photographs utilized on the bottom

of the front of the card. It took some time to figure out who these people where and what the

relationship was to the card. With a lot of digging it was determined to be Freud, Poe, and Alice

Walker, who is a civil rights activist. The older generation would have been able to figure out the

photographs given time, but the younger generation would have problems. It would have been

better to either forgo the photographs or use some other identifying graphics to signal the degree

program. The subtlety of the card relationships was not caught immediately.

The back of the card does not suffer as much as the front. However, at the top of the page

there is the issue of the lighter font against a light background. The font should be darkened


considerably to make it easier to read or put elsewhere on the top, possibly over the “Bachelor of

Liberal Studies” on the black background.

References

Brady, P. (1993). Using type right: 121 basic no-nonsense rules for working with type.

Lincolnwood, Ill: NTC Contemporary.

Clayton, M., & Hashimoto, A. (2009). Visual design fundamentals: A digital approach (3).

Boston, US: Charles River Media / Cengage Learning.

Graver, A., & Jura, B. (2012). Best practices for graphic designers, grids and page layouts : An

essential guide for understanding and applying page design principles. Osceola, US:

Rockport Publishers.

Lupton, E., & Phillips, J.C. (2008). Graphic design : The new basics. New York, US: Princeton

Architectural Press.

University style guide. (2016). Retrieved October 31, 2016, from

https://www.usm.edu/university-communications/writing#style-gulde

Williams, R. (2008). The non-designer's design book (3rd ed.). Berkeley: PeachPit.

http://www.usm.edu/university-communications/writing#style-gulde

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