Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity
Documents that utilize these principles are often aesthetically pleasing and overall successful. The technical writers and designers of the ads we have already looked at do a good job of employing these design principles as a means of successful design tactics.
(photo courtesy of marketingly.com)In this McDonald's billboard, the first noticeable C.R.A.P. principle at work is contrast. The contrast between the background and the text could only be more severe if the background were black, but this dark brown is very close to that.
Another principle at work is alignment. At first glance, the text of the billboard seems to be centered, but it is obvious by the second line ("now serving espresso.") that the text is left-justified. This alignment is successful because it is interesting and makes sense. As readers, we are accustomed to left alignment. Many amateur documents are designed around center alignment, and these documents often fail in the aesthetics department.
The alignment also sets up another design principle, proximity. Everything on the billboard is proximal--the only thing separated from the "main content" is the logo, which should makes sense as a separate entity.
Repetition is another C.R.A.P. principle present in this billboard. All of the text is in the same font, even the "i'm lovin' it" in the logo in the bottom right. Additionally, all of the text is in lowercase type, and in both lines of text in the center of the billboard, the final word of the sentence is in bold. With such a small amount of text, repetition like this is a wise design choice. A designer does not want to assault a viewer of the document too much. A billboard is seen from the road and should not be too distracting, nor do viewers have an extensive amount of time to read and analyze it. It is a quick, to-the-point message with visual appeal.
Each ad we have looked at thus far can be analyzed in this same way. The C.R.A.P. principles are just another piece to the puzzle of how technical writers and advertisers (very successfully) manipulate us without our even knowing. If something is pretty to look at, won't we look at it more? And perhaps even internalize the message instead of letting it bounce off our daily advertisement filter?
Another principle at work is alignment. At first glance, the text of the billboard seems to be centered, but it is obvious by the second line ("now serving espresso.") that the text is left-justified. This alignment is successful because it is interesting and makes sense. As readers, we are accustomed to left alignment. Many amateur documents are designed around center alignment, and these documents often fail in the aesthetics department.
The alignment also sets up another design principle, proximity. Everything on the billboard is proximal--the only thing separated from the "main content" is the logo, which should makes sense as a separate entity.
Repetition is another C.R.A.P. principle present in this billboard. All of the text is in the same font, even the "i'm lovin' it" in the logo in the bottom right. Additionally, all of the text is in lowercase type, and in both lines of text in the center of the billboard, the final word of the sentence is in bold. With such a small amount of text, repetition like this is a wise design choice. A designer does not want to assault a viewer of the document too much. A billboard is seen from the road and should not be too distracting, nor do viewers have an extensive amount of time to read and analyze it. It is a quick, to-the-point message with visual appeal.
Each ad we have looked at thus far can be analyzed in this same way. The C.R.A.P. principles are just another piece to the puzzle of how technical writers and advertisers (very successfully) manipulate us without our even knowing. If something is pretty to look at, won't we look at it more? And perhaps even internalize the message instead of letting it bounce off our daily advertisement filter?
No comments:
Post a Comment