OUGD404: Design principles: Van De Graaf.

Van De Graaf Canon
- A gridded page much like scaffolding for a building, it is a structure in which elements can be organised.

- A grid will help continuity to be maintained.
Has been used in book design too divide a page into pleasing proportions.
In books the cannon is used to layout text so that our thumbs do not go over the text.

Notice in the image above the margins at the bottom of the page and outside edges are the largest of all the margins due to needing room for holding the book. 

- The text and margin proportions are defined by the original paper size. 

Leading

Column width is more than just design or format.

- It is also based on legibility.
- Printed collateral (text) is read by the eye at a distance of 30-35cm. 

- According to empirical rule there should be 7 words per line for text of any length.
- Text areas should be very open and not cluttered.  

-Wrong Column widths lead to time and energy wasted. 

-Sometimes when columns are too wide our eye will switch to the line below as this is where our eye naturally jumps.

- Match width of column with point size - Usually 10 words per line.

The key to creating good layouts is to promote the ease of reading.

- The text must not impair the rhythm.

We were asked a question in which we were asked to give our own opinion. 

Is it just about aesthetics?
In my opinion it is not all about aesthetics, however, they do play a part. I believe that the aesthetic of type come from the beauty in the ease of reading. When text is well proportioned in point size, leading and words per line this informs easy reading. When text can be easily read it is a pleasing aesthetic that evolves, thus backing the idea of form vs function.  However I believe that the way in which the text is positioned, for example, when working with a grid could be more for aesthetic purposes. The text may function properly in 4 different parts of the grid, however we can end up choosing the place which is aesthetically most pleasing. 

Margin Proportions 

Margins can have an influence on the overall feel of a page of print.

If the margins of a page are too small, the page can appear overly full, and if they are too big the layouts appear overly exaggerated.
Well balanced margins on the sides, head and tail can create agreeable impressions, whereas same sized margins can never generate interesting page design. 

A well proportioned page for items such as literature would have a indented inside margin. 

OUGD404: Week 4 - what is a book.

From the last design principles session, we were given the task of answering a Question.
To begin this weeks session we presented our research of this question to the rest of the class.
My groups question was, What is a pica, point, and pixel?

We decided to split into 3, and each individually find out what one of the measurements were:
I researched Pixel:

'In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, (picture element) is a physical point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a display device; so it is the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen. The address of a pixel corresponds to its physical coordinates. LCD pixels are manufactured in a two-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares.Each pixel is a sample of an original image; more samples typically provide more accurate representations of the original.
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Pixel.
'Short for Picture Element, a pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Graphics monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows and columns. The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.

The number of bits used to represent each pixel determines how many colors or shades of gray can be displayed. For example, in 8-bit color mode, the color monitor uses 8 bits for each pixel, making it possible to display 2 to the 8th power (256) different colors or shades of gray.

On color monitors, each pixel is actually composed of three dots -- a red, a blue, and a green one. Ideally, the three dots should all converge at the same point, but all monitors have some convergence error that can make color pixels appear fuzzy.

The quality of a display system largely depends on its resolution, how many pixels it can display, and how many bits are used to represent each pixel. VGAsystems display 640 by 480, or about 300,000 pixels. In contrast, SVGAsystems display 800 by 600, or 480,000 pixels. True Color systems use 24 bits per pixel, allowing them to display more than 16 million different colors.'

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The physical size of a pixel depends on how you've set theresolution for the display screen. If you've set the display to its maximum resolution, the physical size of a pixel will equal the physical size of the dot pitch (let's just call it the dot size) of the display. If, however, you've set the resolution to something less than the maximum resolution, a pixel will be larger than the physical size of the screen's dot (that is, a pixel will use more than one dot).
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image

Sophie researched point:

'The point is the unit of measurement used to measure the type size of a font, for example, 7pt Times New Roman. The measurement refers to the height of the type block, not  the letter itself. This basic typographical measurement is an absolute measurement equivelant to 1/72 of an inch or 0.35mm and its creation is attributed to French clergyman Sebastien Trucher (1657-1729). It was further developed by Pierre Fournier and Francois Didot in the nineteenth century, before the British/ American or Anglo- Saxon point was defined as 1/72 of an Inch.
Type sizes traditionally bore a relationship to the 72 point inch (six picas) but with digitalized PostScript typefaces, it is now easy to use irregular sizes such as 10.2pt. This Relationship is reflected in the old naming system for these common sizes, with 12pt type being referred to as a Pica. Some of the other names have a looser connection, and indeed the sizes are only approximate translations to the modern point equivalents. These names are no longer in common use, but the equivalent sizes are, with most software packages using these as the default sizes.
Before standardization, typefaces of similar names had varying sizes. A Pica from one type foundry would be exactly 12 points, while the same measurement from another could vary dramatically.'
(The Fundamentals of Typography, Gavin Ambrose/ Paul Harris,Ava Publishing sa Page 43)

Danielle researched Pica:

A pica is a measuring unit used in typography, and 12 points make up 1 pica, and makes up 1/6 of an inch.
The pica originated when Francois-Ambroise Didot, a printer, adapted the point system so that typefaces could be measured by width using a point which is 1/72 of an inch, and a pica is 12 points. It was later renamed Didot after him.

There are three types of picas used in printing:
French Pica: 12 didot points - 4.512mm
American Pica: 0.166044in (4.2175mm)
Computer Pica: Is 1/72 of 4.233mm

I also took down some notes from other groups presentations:
Grids - Organise balance on a page.
Margins - The empty space around a page, these can be used to initiate size of spread/page and its perimeters. 
Gutters - The inside margins, and spaces in between a grid to guide designers where to leave space between image/text etc. 
Columns - Separate images/ text, can be used to make reading easier and more efficient. 
Golden Section - Refers to page separation in proportional forms. 
I found some further information on the golden ratio/section which explained it more clearly:

Image

Pagination - Offers navigation through both digital and print.
Encompasses rules and algorithms and determines page breaks. 
For example: Splitting pages via numbers/chapters etc.
Subheading - Enables reader to find information quickly/ Establishes content of piece.
Caption - Used to draw attention to something in an image that Is not obvious/ relevant in the text.
Ligatures - Used to make type look more attractive.
Two letters joint together.
Used to represent specific sounds.

further research

Greeking - 'Greeking is a style of displaying or rendering text or symbols, not always from the Greek alphabet. Greeking obscures portions of a work for the purpose of either emphasizing form over details or displaying placeholders for unavailable content. The name is a reference to the phrase "Greek to me", meaning something that one cannot understand, so that it might as well be in a foreign language.'Greeked text is used in typography to evaluate a certain typeface's appropriateness, overall style or type color. Because a viewer can be distracted by meaningful content, greeking unimportant text forces the viewer to focus on layout and design.
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An example of this is the use of placeholder text such as Lorem Ipsum. 

Octavo format - The OCTAVO is a traditional book format that refers to the size for pages used in the printing of early books in which a large sheet of paper or parchment is folded three times to produce eight leaves. Today octavo format books include many rare, valuable, and beautiful objects.

quote and image

 

OUGD406: Communication is a virus - outcomes.

Self Evaluation.

As a group what problem did you identify and why? In response to 10,000 steps.

The problem we identified when given the subject 10,000 is that people are not incorporating 10,000 steps into their routine, trying to do this amount, or walking much at all with an average of around 6,000 steps a day. This was the most obvious problem that could be, being referenced when given the subject 10,000 steps, we also wanted to inspire others to improve their lifestyle and so this seemed like the most appropriate problem for us to provide with a solution. 

What methods did you use to gather your evidence to prove this was a problem and what forms did it take?

Most of my evidence was taken from the internet to try and ensure more accurate measurements, a lot of my quantitative data, which is most of my research talks about information such as step lengths, average amount of steps taken per day, amount of water drank per year, information for which i would need accurate data to ensure I provide the most genuine results possible. Experiments on the internet for these sorts of calculations has been averaged by doing experiments with tens or hundreds of people providing more accurate results than to do it myself with a smaller amount of around 10 people. These experiments/ discoveries have also been made by scientists who conduct such observations daily and so are far more likely to get genuine results than if I were to provide the measurements myself. The qualitative parts of my data conclude many of the quotes found or created for the project. 'Complain and you won't burn calories' many of the quotes voice personal opinions whereas some are fact. In order to incorporate primary research, I could have asked others myself for motivational quotes on walking, or asked what motivates you to walk? or what is un motivating. The small bit of primary research I collected revolves around layout design, looking at Paul Arden's book in particular, and researching which paper stock to use etc. And visiting google maps in order to plan out routes and directions etc.

What methods of research did you find useful and why?

Getting research from the internet was a quick, easy and effective and gave credible results that were accurate and genuine. The internet offers a broad variety of information and is available to access where ever and when ever. All the information that I wanted to attack/ solve the problem was also available on the internet. However I find that I work the best when I interact with research, such as interacting with people, composing surveys etc, which I found after completing the brief that I would have liked to have done more of. However I think this brief relied much more on quantitive data which was readily available through internet research. 

What research could you have carried out that would have proved more useful?

Going out and actually looking at current walking magazines to analyse their strengths and weakness and improve upon these for our own designs/concepts. Asking others what motivates them to walk, providing primary quotes rather than secondary. Read other motivational publications to grasp more of a well rounded sense of how our project should be portrayed (tone of voice/ use of language).

How did you manage workload as part of a group?

From the start we decided that whatever design concepts/ research we needed, we would all come to group meet ups with our own versions for example logo design, content, quotes. So that each person was putting in equal efforts and equal amounts of work and could provide evidence of this on their blogs. To attempt to keep workload equal we all agreed on jobs we would do. Roxie designed fliers, Vicky designed the website, Me and Sam designed the publication, Daisy designed packaging and Mel designed posters. I did feel like their was a difference in responsibility of the project and their were different levels of commitment, however this was reflected in the size of the job people chose to take on. I made sure that I was constantly involved in the design and concept process, inputting designs and ideas at every stage and took on the role of keeping the group together, conferring through facebook, phone and email, organising print sessions etc, whereas their were others jobs that were taken on which took a much shorter time frame to complete.