Design Research Dissertation : Visual Design Publication Final Dissertation
Design Research Dissertation DIS60304
NAME: Sea Hirayama
I.D: 0347596
COURSE: Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's Design School
●Instructions
●Lecture
Week 7 :
In this week, we got the instruction of this visual design publication.
layout
The important point when creating a layout that is easy to read and understand is not just to place words and pictures in the dark, but to place words and pictures in line with the logic and relationships between matters in the presenter's mind. This can be as simple as placing things that have a strong relationship to each other close together, using the same colours, connecting them with a line, or placing important points in a prominent colour or in a prominent place. It is important to "lay out the theory and the story."
Trying to do a proper layout requires a lot of knowledge and experience. However, trying to take shortcuts and copying flyers or magazines with cool layouts will never produce good posters or slides. That's because you don't understand the rules of layout. Here are some basic rules that are easy to follow. Just by following the four main rules presented here, your presentation materials will make a big difference. They are: align, summarise, margins and contrast. The way they are laid out can make a big difference to how easy they are to read and understand.
Rule 1: Use margins.
Important! Take margins around slides, around diagrams!
Now, margins are also important in the 'overall layout' of slides and posters. Look at the example slide below (top left). It is good that the text and figures are at the same height, but there is too little space in the area marked with the red triangle (top right). This makes the slide very cramped and very difficult to read. Instead of making the text unnecessarily large, make the text size such that it can be placed comfortably. Make sure there is plenty of space between 'text and slide edge', 'text and text' and 'text and diagrams'. If the space is beautiful, so will the slides (bottom left). Also, depending on the condition of the projector, the edges of the slides may protrude from the screen, so it is important to create space around them on the slides. Slides should have a margin of at least one letter of the text (about the margin shown in light red in the diagram below right); a margin of about two letters will make the material much more spacious and certainly easier to read. Although this may not be necessary in a research presentation, the more margins you have, the more stylish it is likely to look.
Avoid near misses by arranging the margins.
Often words or sentences are placed within a frame. At this time, it is important to be careful of 'near misses'. If the text is right at the edge of the frame, the words near the frame will be very difficult to read. This is because the text is a line element and the border is also a line element, so when they are close to each other they interfere with each other. There is no such thing as "just barely but it fits." Place the text within the frame with plenty of room to spare. When placing text within the frame, it is advisable to leave a margin of about one character at the top and bottom.
The same applies to short words as well as sentences. Keep the frame large. These little details can make a big difference to the overall readability.
Let's look at a more concrete example. If the text in the frame is too cramped, it is not only difficult to read, but also gives a bad impression. If it is not possible to make the frame larger or reduce the number of characters, then sometimes it is easier to read the text if it is made a little smaller. Try to avoid near misses unless there is a good reason. Incidentally, the smaller the volume (number of lines), the smaller the margins within the frame (meaning that the entire slide should have a margin of one character, but the title section or flowchart section can have a margin of 0.5-0.7 characters).
For beautiful margins, make the frame and text separate.
In PowerPoint, you can write text directly inside objects such as squares and circles, or you can set the background colour of a text box to make it look like the text is inside a frame. However, this approach should be used with caution for the following reasons. The first is the problem of too narrow margins. As you can see from the example on the left, a text box does not have sufficient top, bottom, left and right margins, so simply adding a background colour will make it too cramped (although this can be solved by changing the margin settings). Another problem is that the top, bottom, left and right margins of text are not even. Some fonts (e.g. Mayrio) may be more centred than others.
The easiest way to solve all these problems at once is to create the frame and the text box separately. This means creating a frame object and a text box without a background or border colour, as in the example below. Of course, you can also set margins inside the object or text box and write text directly inside, but for presentation materials, it is recommended to use the idea of 'layering' objects and text.
Rule 2: Align
Align everything that can be aligned.
The first trick to making things easier to read is to organise them. It doesn't take much effort, but it has a big effect. In the example below, the text and diagrams are arranged in a disjointed way at the beginning. If you can arrange the text and diagrams so that they are perfectly aligned with the red dotted lines, they will be much more organised. If they are slightly out of alignment, the impression is not good and readability is reduced.
The same applies to the following example: the lines of text are too short for the three lower figures, and the right and left sides of the text are not aligned with the figures. Be aware of the invisible lines and adjust the length of the lines to match the length of the diagrams. Only in this way can it be seen and read without discomfort. Try to align the top, bottom, left and right sides of the text, even if you have to make the text a little smaller.
Look at it repeatedly, as it is important. The same applies if you have subheadings or figure captions that are a little more complex. Align as much as possible, after all. At least the left side and the top should be aligned. Depending on the structure, the right side or the bottom may not be aligned, but that is fine as it is (for example, if you force a line break in a paragraph, the right side will not be aligned).
Do not write content above the title.
People's eyes usually move from the top left to the bottom right. Therefore, if you put a title (subheading) in the top left-hand corner, the content related to that title (content) should be in the 'bottom right-hand corner' rather than the title, so that it is easier to read. In the example below, the area enclosed by the dotted line is the area that can be used to write the 'content'. Of course, if you want to create a dynamic layout, you may want to extend beyond this area, but it is usually better to keep it within this area. Never write 'content' in the space directly next to or above the title. This rule is the same for any small subheading.
Just because there is a space next to a sub-heading (in the example below, results), this is not the place to put text or diagrams. Failure to follow this rule will result in an unclear overall structure, as in the example on the left. If you improve it as shown on the right, it becomes clearer and easier to understand that the title 'Results' contains experiments 1 and 2. Thanks to the space (margin) next to the title, it no longer looks cramped.
It is also important to align 'by eye' and not trust the computer
As mentioned above, left-alignment is very important. But relying on the computer to left-align (or, in some cases, right-align or centre) is not always a good idea. What can be problematic are symbols such as [ ], for example, which are used to emphasise sub-headings. ｜The same is true for symbols such as [ ], ( ), etc. and for punctuation, but if these symbols are at the beginning of a line, even if they are left-aligned with the paragraph below (see the blue line), the left side of the line will be unaligned. This phenomenon often occurs in word processing software. This is something that cannot be helped due to the letterforms of the symbols.
There are various ways to solve this problem, depending on the software: in PowerPoint and Keynote, the quickest way should be to make the heading and body text in separate text boxes and then match them by eye. As in the example above, trusting your eyes and not relying on the computer to align them is the easiest and most beautiful. This way, it is by far the easiest to read. It is truly functional beauty.
Now, let me give you another example of how different font sizes can cause inconsistencies. In the example below, the two text boxes (subheading and body) are properly left-aligned, but the subheading appears to be closer to the inside than the body. This is because the font size of the subheading is larger. In these cases, as in the example above, if you want a 'beautiful left-alignment', it is wise to align by eye rather than using the alignment function. Sorry for the detail. God is in the details. Don't make fun of the details.
Use squares to enclose ill-fitting illustrations and graphs.
As explained in the 'Layout' section of the 'Easy to read' section, it is easier to read text, photographs and diagrams if they are aligned as much as possible. However, it is also true that there are figures and text that are difficult to align, or that do not appear to be aligned even if they are. Alignment is very easy for objects with clear contours, such as photographs, because they can be aligned with other objects (text and photographs) by following their contours, but the tricky ones are illustrations and graphs that do not have clear contours (or have complex contours). Such objects do not fit well when aligned with other objects, and can appear to be floating in the margins or strangely to the left, making the layout look cumbersome. It may be possible to take the time to revise the diagrams and prepare an easier layout, or to redo the layout from scratch to make it less cumbersome, but usually there is no time to spend on such things.
If you have this problem, you can force a clear outline of the object in question by enclosing it in a light grey rectangle or something similar. If you align the other objects with respect to this outline, the objects will appear to line up neatly with each other, no matter what the objects inside look like. The same effect can be achieved by surrounding the objects with squares or other objects of a light colour other than grey (preferably a similar colour to an existing colour). Short sentences or words that are difficult to place may also be laid out beautifully by enclosing them in a similar way.
Rule 3: Summarise.
Bring related items closer together relative to each other.
When considering the layout of items on slides and posters, the concept of 'grouping' is important, as in the bulleted example above. Even if a monotonous layout is difficult to understand intuitively, grouping items in line with their content makes it easier to understand the overall structure and logic. Placing strongly related text and photos close together (i.e. grouping them) makes it easier to intuitively understand the content. Weakly related items can be placed slightly further apart (i.e. with more space above and below) to emphasise the grouping.
Grouping using colour
Suppose you have two things and two corresponding diagrams. In such a situation, grouping the corresponding things together makes it easier to grasp the situation. As mentioned earlier, you can group corresponding objects by placing them close together, but here we will introduce a method of 'relating by colour' rather than distance.
In the example below, let's say that the diagram on the top left corresponds to the text on the top right and the text on the bottom left corresponds to the diagram on the bottom right. In such a case, for example, if you put a frame around the diagram and make the frame and the sub-headings the same colour, the relationship between text and diagram becomes closer, which aids understanding.
Let's look at a more concrete example. In the example below, the colour of the text and the colour of each part in the diagram are unified to facilitate the correspondence between text and diagram. You could draw a line out from each part of the diagram to indicate the gene name, but this would make the diagram cluttered and also make it difficult to match the text and diagram.
Use spaces to group longer texts.
This also applies to posters for conference presentations, which are made up of sections such as "Introduction", "Methods", "Results" and "Discussion". People naturally perceive close items as related, so if the space between items is shorter than the space between the title and text, as in the example on the left, it is difficult to recognise the group and grasp the overall picture. In this situation, the items must be grouped together as shown on the right. One way of spacing can make such a difference to the ease of viewing.
Rule 4: Contrast.
Increase jump rate and contrast.
The 'jump ratio' is the ratio of the text size of titles and headings to the text size of the main text. A low jump ratio gives a calm impression, while a high jump ratio gives a lively impression. Titles are usually very important in posters and slides. This is because the title condenses what you want to say. As in the example below, the higher the jump rate of the title, the more emphasis is placed on the title. It is not the absolute size of the title, but its relative size to the text that determines its prominence and dynamism.
Eye-catchers make it even more attractive!
In order for any poster to be seen, the content must first catch people's attention. It is said that it takes only 0.3 seconds for a poster to catch the eye of a person walking by. If you make your poster so that you don't miss this split second, you will make it more effective. While standing out in terms of content is the most important thing, it is also important to some extent to stand out in terms of appearance. However, it is not enough to just stand out. If the colours are too loud, the poster will be difficult to read when you try to read it.
Therefore, you need a material that instantly catches the eye without compromising readability. Such materials are called eye-catchers. Text, graphics, illustrations and photographs can be effective eye-catchers. For example, you can catch people's attention by including large pictures in the background to the extent that they do not interfere with the text, or by placing larger photos or pictures that are representative of the research. Large text is also a great way to grab people's attention. Larger titles are effective. Large or jagged circles are even more effective eye-catchers. You can see these eye-catchers on magazine covers and TV commercials. You may want to try to place your favourite eye-catchers with reference to such items.
Rule 5: Repeat.
Repeat patterns to create a sense of unity.
Repeating a similar pattern throughout the entire piece will create a sense of unity. For example, this means repeating the paint and surround in the title section, the illustration next to the title and the outer frame of the slide. By preparing these materials and 'placing them in the same position repeatedly' when creating slides, the slides become more complete. If the slides are designed differently from page to page, the audience will feel uncomfortable without realising it, and will not be able to concentrate on the content. By using the 'repeat' technique, you can create slides with a sense of stability. This consideration should subconsciously put the listener at ease and allow them to concentrate on the content. Of course, it is not advisable to be too obvious, so design from the listener's point of view. The slides below are practical examples.
Conclusion.
Follow the rules and your readers won't get 'lost'
The figure below shows a typical lost poster. The reader feels as if they are reading from the top left to the bottom, but then they are at a loss as to where to go. Not only that, but you don't even know which diagram the text corresponds to. This is the lost poster, where the reader loses track of the goal. By simply following the rules of alignment, summarisation, margins and contrast, you can significantly reduce the number of people who get lost.
Week 9 :
Make the finished product look much better! 5 key points for cover design
About the elements on the cover
The content of the cover consists of the following four main elements
Title
The author (circle name)
Photographs and illustrations
The title, author(s) (circle name), photograph(s) and illustration(s).
Title.
Indicates what the book is about.
The design of the title depends on the size of the letters and what font is used. It is eye-catching if the text is not just placed, but if it is modified, handwritten or designed with a title logo.
Authors.
Many books will list the author so that you know who wrote it.
The author's name is generally placed smaller than the title. In some magazines, the author's name may not be listed, while in some foreign books the author's name is placed at the top. In the case of doujinshi, it is common to list the circle name instead of the author's name.
Photographs and illustrations
Photos and illustrations that match the content of the book should be included. They may be more eye-catching than the title and play a major role in making people want to read the book.
When using photographs, pay attention to the quality of the image quality and angles to create a higher quality feel.
You can also change the impression you give by changing the placement, size or processing. Even if you use the same photo, you can change it in the following ways: 'simple', 'luxurious', 'modish', etc.
5 key points for cover design
Here are five points to bear in mind when designing a cover.
Point 1: Clarify the purpose and audience (target audience).
There are many different types of booklets, including those that are sold, distributed free of charge or given out to fellow readers. If you include photographs or illustrations that do not match the purpose or content of the booklet, it will not convey what kind of content the booklet is about. Define the intended purpose and target audience, and organise what you most want to convey to them and what image you want them to have.
Point 2: Match the image of the cover and the content.
Even if the design is eye-catching, it will not lead to a purchase if it is too flashy or eccentric, but not in line with the content of the book. This is because the cover is only an opportunity to get the reader interested in the content of the book. It is the content of the book, such as the contents and information, that ultimately determines the reader's decision to buy.
If the cover matches the image of the content, the content will be easier to get into the reader's head and they will be more interested in the book. The cover should match the image of the content, with the aim of letting the reader know what the content is about through the cover.
Point 3: Be aware of the readability of the text.
When you pick up a book, you probably naturally choose one with easy-to-read text, even if unconsciously. For example, for the cover of a photo book, you want to include not only great photos, but also promotional text to convey the appeal of the book. However, depending on the placement and modification of the text, it can get in the way of the main attraction of the photographs.
Point 4: Imagine when the book is placed in a shop.
Bookshops are lined with numerous books. Among them, is your book designed to catch the eye? Even practical books tend to be chosen for their good appearance. Whether in a bookshop or online, it is important to design your book in such a way that it will not be overshadowed by other books.
Point 5: Make a memorable point.
Even if readers are interested in a book, they may not be able to buy it on the spot.
If you create a memorable point of interest, it will make it much easier for them to find the book the next time they see it in a bookshop or when they are shopping.
Make your motifs memorable, for example, "the background was pink", "it was a close-up of the protagonist's eyes" or "the text was British."
This will make it easier for people to find the book, even after a long time, and will make them want to buy it.
Week 10 :
Week 11 :
●Visual Design Publication
Week 7 :
This week, I prepared a framework for make it clear. Also started to create Ebook in Adobe Illustrator.
Week 8 :
After I prepared the script from google document, I also added some elements to make it better.
Week 9 :
This week, I tried to re-create the E-booklet in InDesign after I got the feedback. So far I just made it in Illustrator that is why I got a lots confusing.
Week 10–12 :
These week, I tried to improve the booklet design and re-check draft dissertation for final project.
●Final Visual Design Publication
●Feedback
Week 7 :
I tried to create a framework and kawaii Yokai character as a learning process of Yokai culture with modern society. Also I finished with a draft dissertation, conclusion and project recommendation design. I can continue with the draft dissertation, but I need to write down the project recommendation design with a framework.
Week 8 :
This week, I created an animation of a kawaii Yokai character in Adobe Photoshop and After Effect. Also I prepared the Ebook.
Week 9 :
So far I just created it in Illustrator. This is why I have a lot of issues with it. After I got the feedback, I tried to recreate it and edit more details. It took a lot of time, so I felt kind of tired. But finally I could prepare a good design for it.
I should create with InDesign in order to avoid issues such as distort image quality. Also I don’t have to create any design, character design which I made.
Week 10 :
After I tried to re-create the e-booklet design in InDesign, I also tried to design it between photoshop to express a kind of Yokai, Japanese mood. I can do the design but I also need to do it in InDesign. It means that I can edit just the title, element and then combine it in InDesign.
Week 11-12 :
So this week, I also tried to design tables, figures and some elements to make it more clear. And think about the design again just because I wanted to create it clearly to see.
●References
>Experience
This project, I could learn about booklet design. Especially I learned how to use InDesign again such as font type, the expression of concept.
>Observations
From this experience I just realized the importance of designing with good blank space, balance. It looks simple but it was kind of difficult to think about, I guessed.
>Further readings/references
Textbook of layout and design.
This book is especially recommended for designers who want to learn design in earnest or want to improve their skills, as it provides a comprehensive study of layout, from the basics to application and background knowledge.
The book is worth reading because you can compare good and bad samples, and there are specific explanations such as 'why a layout is bad'.
Basic layout 'keys'.
This is a book by designer Naoki Sato (Agile).
The book explains the basics of layout that a designer should know in an easy-to-understand manner with logical explanations and stylish illustrations.
I recommend it because it has a lot of content that can actually be put to use in practice, such as how the reader's eye moves and how to divide up a composition!
This is a book in which you can also learn together with it tips on lettering and colour schemes, which are closely related to layout.
Composition and layout of one-page designs.
This book is a reference book for designing posters, flyers and other attractive one-page paper media.
It's the kind of book you learn by sight rather than by reading and understanding!
There are plenty of examples of attractive designs, so it's fun just to look at them.
It is useful to have a copy on hand as a book of ideas.
I especially recommend it to those who don't like books with a lot of print!
Layout Design Sample Book
The title of this book is "Sample Book", so you might think, "Is it just a book of design examples?" However, there are chapters that explain the psychology and behaviour of those who look at the designs, which is interesting.
There are also many design examples in the book, so it's a book that will help you to increase your design skills!
Kempuku, Yohaku.
This is a famous book, so you may think many people have read it before.
The book is a dialogue between a new designer and a veteran designer, so it's easy to put it into your own head and the content is right in your head!
The title suggests that you will only learn about layout with a focus on 'margins', but in fact it is an instructional book on the whole layout area!
Recommended as a first layout book for designers and non-designers alike!
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