Design:Part II

This is a continuation to my previous post, Design. Please Read this first blog entry here...

Gutenberg Diagram
navigating dense information
 The Gutenberg Diagram is a diagram that describes the general pattern followed by the eyes when looking at any media, such as artwork, webpages, newspapers, magazines, and advertisements. This principle is based metaphorically on reading gravity, like how we as americans have learned to read from top left to right and down a page of information. Designers will complement this principle by placing important graphic elements starting at the top left and along the pathway of the eye toward the end area.

http://blog.maxincube.com/marketingtwo/?p=379

Legibility
good typographic practice
 Legibility is the visual clarity of text, whichis based on the size, typeface, contrast, text block, and spacing of characters. For example, when choosing a font to use for a text that is featured in a  design, you would probably not choose a font that is difficult to read, or too small. A bad use of legibility is using the color yellow in front of a white background with a small font.

Rule of Thirds

A Technique of composition in which a medium is divided into thirds, creating aesthetic positions for the primary elements of a design.

To put the rule of thirds in effect, you basiclly divide a piece into thirds both horizontal and vertically so that there is a grid. At every intersection of the lines indicates a good focal point to make the piece interesting. The rule of thirds is so popular, that Photoshop has a grid you can place on your canvas that follows the rule of thirds. Here is an example of the rule of thirds in effect.

http://www.sgawne.com/blog/2009/02/14/rule-of-thirds/

Again, I highly recommend you purchase Universal Principles of Design by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, and Jill Butler. This book features all of these, plus many more design principles. It can be bought at Amazon.com using this link here.

-AA