Design Survival Guide 2007

Design Survival Guide Compiled by David Edwin Meyers

Design Survival Guide . Compiled by David Edwin Meyers TYPE SPECIFIC: 1. No misspellings. 2. No hyphenated words. 3. Absolutely NO widows! 4. NO decorative ALL CAPS - ever! 5. Keep type at least 1/2 inch from the edge of the page. 6. All type that is meant to be readable, MUST be legible and the figure must be of high contrast to the ground (no conflicting backgrounds). 7. No body text larger than 11 pt. 8.F  onts that are not allowed in any of my classes: Brush Script | Curlz | Mistral | Papyrus GENERAL TYPOGRAPHICAL PRACTICES THAT NEVER FAIL: • Use decorative text WISELY in logos and display text, RARELY in secondary text and NEVER in body text. • NEVER track “out” body text. • Visually kern ALL display text.

DESIGN SPECIFIC: 1. There should be a clear visual hierarchy in your design. 2. All layouts MUST have structure, every element used MUST have some relationship to other elements in the layout. No random placement allowed. All elements should be strictly controlled and consistent. 3. No repositioning of navigational area throughout project keep consistent. 4. NO BEVELING of design elements. 5. No “DEEP” drop shadows. GENERAL DESIGN PRACTICES THAT NEVER FAIL: • Never use borders or rules thicker than 1 point. • When placing elements near the edge of the page, make a commitment - either bleed it off the edge, or as stated above, keep it at least 1/2 inch from the edge of the page. • When selecting secondary colors for text or borders, use a color “pick-up” - an existing color already present in your artwork or photography.

Design Survival Guide . Compiled by David Edwin Meyers

What is Visual Hierarchy? The order in which the viewer sees and digests the elements on the page: 1. Graphic/photo 2. Name/logo 3. Sub head 4. Body text You create hierarchy by adjusting and controlling: • Size • Color • Proximity • Contrast • Placement (T to B, L to R)

Primary Text Secondary Text Body Text

Design Survival Guide . Compiled by David Edwin Meyers

What is Structure? As you will see in this sample every element has some relationship with another element on the page. No items were placed randomly. This adds to its organization and overall structure. When we design with structure and consistency, it is much easier for the user to digest the information because it is ordered and logical. And when combined with a conscious visual hierarchy, it becomes a very strong and successful piece.

Logo and secondary text is aligned - centered on horizontal plane

The margins are consistent on all four sides

Logo and secondary text also aligned vertically with the left and right side of the main graphic

Body text is flush-left to logo and graphic

The samples provided within this document are done so with a focus on the treatment documents (design docs). We will explore more creative and cutting-edge design options in regard to interface design, Web design, game aesthetics and interactive design in the near future. But these fundamental rules remain true across all mediums and media.