INFORMATION DESIGN BASICS Wor king wit h Content Struc ture a nd Pla c e me nt

Your design is intended to communicate important information, in an orderly purposeful fashion, not SHOUT IT OUT!or at least not all of it.

Hier archy

helps readers scan a text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings

Consider emphasizing only one important word or sentence by trying one of the following: Using proportional scaling (big to small) Changing color/value Changing casing (caps, lowercase, etc) Changing typeface used Change styles (roman, bold, italic)

Hier archy and Grouping/Chunking

Create Order by organizing page by groups such as typography or elements Use Hierarchy to establish order and add visual interest to a page. Use proximity to separate distinct areas of information by spacing them apart from others Use proximity to group like items together and closer to one another Create visual connections by using similar alignment within related text

Consis tency
Use your grid and hierarchy to format and place like items in like places or in similar formats. Things people expect to see consistently: Style Use of color palette Page numbers Running headers/footers Hierarchy and styles applied to your Titles, Headlines, Heads, Subheads, Captions, Call-outs, etc., should be applied consistently.

Var ia t ion
Just because you are using a grid, and being consistent, doesnt mean you always have to place the same exact thing in the same exact location every single time. Varying from time to time creates can create visual interest if done well.

POSTER EXAMPLES Inf or ma t ion Design: Headlines & Content.

He adlines Unique Met hods

Cont ent Hier archy, Chunking/ Grouping

Image or Layout f low Incorpor a t ion

Use of block and Shapes

2009 CALL FOR ENTRIES

AMERICAN GRAPHIC DESIGN AWARDS

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