a focal point
Another way to distinguish a focal point that we talked about in class is by making it a different color. Especially if it is text, however it is important not to overdue the use of colors as this article says white space is important for usability.
One of the key approaches to achieving layout nirvana is a clear sense of structure and hierarchy.
A possibly useful way to show hierarchy that was not talked about in this article but was employed in the headings was the use of numbering.
One of the most effective ways to provide a sense of balance is to choose a single focal point for your layout. A good example of this in practice is the use of a large image as the biggest single element on a page.
This somewhat reminds me of the Dragga article about ethics because by choosing one image or point to be the most important or take up more space than it somewhat deemphasizes everything else. In most cases that is okay like in headings but if like in the article said if you are working with a warranty and making the details of it harder to read then that is not ethical.
A good page composition should be both pleasing to the eye, but also communicate those key messages clearly to the intended audience.
From all the design articles we have read in this class, it seems like it would be impossible to have a clearly communicated message without it being at least somewhat pleasing to the eye.
Many designers approach this process organically, feeling their way to a pleasing end result.
Probably after having experience using grids then a seasoned designer would be able to just tell if the organization is off by looking at a page. But yes, a beginner designer (like myself) should probably stick to using grids.
One of the easiest ways to ensure your page has a degree of balance is to use a grid system
Using a grid helped me when working on my service learning project, because I was making Power Point slides and a grid made the organization of my images and text make more sense.
So in the Purdue presentation I noticed they also used what I assumed was Latin as filler text when designing something. I did not know that this was a common design practice until seeing Latin text again being used in the picture below. Here is an article that explains a commonly used stand in text for design called Lorem Ipsum and how/why it came to be used for this purpose: http://www.k-international.com/blog/what-does-lorem-ipsum-mean/ Here is a website that uses the exact same Latin text used in this example picture and for whatever reason left the filler text in the post: : http://betakit.com/fusce-dapibus-tellus-ac-cursus/
repetition can provide a strong sense of connected design and balance to a composition.
The importance of consistancy when makin gdesign choices was also mentioned in the Purdue article
On the web, simply providing plenty of breathing room around elements can help make the layout feel composed and balanced.
Also, leaving a lot of white space makes it easier to read text.
a good display headline can offer as much visual interest as an image,
This ties into the Kliever article on Fonts. Specifically how display fonts (such as Pinewood, Curlz, and New Rocker) are good for grabbing attention but should be used sparingly, not for body text, and with purpose.