PR TipsGraphic design rules to keep
Creating printed materials can be fun for the person who is comfortable with the process of page design. But it may be a source of stress and uncertainty for those who do not think and work visually. However, when information needs to be presented in a good, clean, professional manner, knowing a few simple rules can make the job easier. Rule #1: Keep it Easy to Print. Planning for printing should be one of the first steps in graphic design. The first choices to consider are in-house copying and printing or sending the work to a copy shop or commercial printer. Use of color or black and white printing, and the type of images involved can be decided early in the process. Once the printing method has been chosen, page formatting choices will naturally follow. Paper size, margin sizes, folding and mailing considerations can all be set up at this point. Doing it early in the process will simplify sending the project for printing when it is ready. Unless a project has an unlimited budget, printing costs are crucial to its success. Knowing how the piece will be printed and the considerations of the printing method will save time and money. Rule #2: Keep it Consistent. Today, computer software offers many different typestyles and their variations for use in printed information. Clip art is also readily available. It is tempting to showcase all of the fun stuff that comes with a computer. But consistency of typestyle and other visual elements will create a more professional appearance. Don't keep changing the typestyle for different areas of the page. Choose one family of type and use it in its variations (bold, italic, point sizes) for emphasis. One style for text and a second, contrasting style for headings can add interest and still look fine. But limit the page to just those two families for a professional appearance. And use the same treatment throughout the page. Rule #3: Keep it Interesting. It is the job of graphic design to make a reader want to read text on a page. Interesting images and type styles can make reader want to know more. Readers will be interested in photographs that include people, especially faces. Captions are very likely to be read. Selective use of color attracts attention. Attractive display typestyles for headings can reflect the style of information in text that follows. There is a lot of room for creativity in these choices, while maintaining a professional consistency throughout the page. Rule #4: Keep it Organized. Use of design can let the reader know the relative importance of information. By showing information in appropriate order and size relationships, a page will appear more organized. The most important image can be the largest on the page. Headings and type size relationships can separate and organize text. The use of one well-placed, interesting image on a page can be more powerful than including several smaller but unorganized pictures. If several images need to be shown, grouping them together to give the overall appearance and weight of one element will often help to organize images with text. If two elements of equal size are competing for attention, choose which is more important and enlarge it, reducing the size of the lesser important element. Or, remove the least important element. Rule #5: Keep it Simple. Clean and simple page design is contributes to readability. Lots of competing visual information will only confuse the reader. Make it easy to read by limiting the number of elements, keeping text line lengths short, and editing text down to only what is essential. Organized white space on a page allows visual “breathing room.” Limiting the number and placement of colors will simplify the reading experience. These five rules can be followed when designing just about any printed material, for more attractive, professional-looking results. |
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By Arlene Kelley, Graphic Artist, Nancy Marshall Communications