Visual Hierarchy in Graphic Design: Basic Principles CAC Workshop, April 11, 2014. Morgan Room

Martin Holland mjholland@monmouthcollege.edu or martinjholland@gmail.com

Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and Composition, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2001, pp. 6-7.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:A_size_illustration2_with

_letter_and_legal.svg

Geometry of Design: Studies in Proportion and

Composition, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural

Press, 2001, p. 36.

Encourage students to create a

thumbnail sketch (example to

the far left of the page) that

includes all the information that

will be included in the final poster.

Notice, the underlying grid

structure that allows us to quickly

identify the most important

typographical information.

Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, pp. 35 - 36.

Grid Systems: Principles of Organizing Type, Kimberly Elam, Princeton Architectural Press, 2004, p. 45.

What’s wrong with this poster? Source: http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign

White space is as critical as the content

presented. Posters that are too text

heavy, will not be read.

A general rule of thumb that can be

applied to posters is that the text should

only be 20% of the entire board, with the

graphics using 40% of the space with the

white space also using the remaining

40%.

20% Text

40% Graphics & Images

40% White Space

Font Combinations:

Use no more than three fonts.

Aim for only using two;

one san-serif, the other serif.

A serif font contains thick and thin

strokes on each letter. (Garamond,

Caslon, Bodoni, Minion, Clarendon, and

Baskerville). These fonts are useful for

the title block as they are legible at a

further distance.

Font size: For the title use 75 - 85 pt.

Authors 48 - 56 pt.

Sub-heads 30 - 36 pt.

Body Text 20 - 24 pt.

Captions 14 - 18 pt.

REMINDER-

Test these as per software application.

Variations will occur.

Never, ever, ever use Comic Sans…

https://kuler.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/

Color

Yellow text disappears

on a white background.

Yellow text disappears

on a white background.

Red text appears blurry

on a green background.

Red text appears blurry

on a green background.

Just as green text

appears blurry on a red

background.

Keep in mind that 5 – 8 % of Caucasian men are color blind.

Resources:

Examples of Faculty Posters by Subject Area: http://f1000.com/posters/browse?docTypeSearch=Poster

https://www.flickr.com/groups/pimpmyposter/ http://betterposters.blogspot.com http://www.makesigns.com/tutorials/ http://colinpurrington.com/tips/academic/posterdesign http://www.scribus.net/canvas/Scribus

Poster Design Advice and Feedback:

Open Source Layout Application: