1. Visual Literacy Robert Braden “Visual literacy is defined as the ability to understand and use images, including the ability to think, learn and express oneself in terms of images.”

2. Technocentric Thinking Technology drives the design Learner-friendly Instruction drives the design Information drives the design Information Design

3. When designing Know the design rules Break the design rules Play around Revise Find inspiration

4. When designing with text Not all pictures are worth a 1000 words Numerous fonts Beautiful design in fonts

5. When laying out text Alignment –Centering is far from best –To unify and organize text –Sets the mood (fun, serious, formal) –Use one type of alignment –Align all elements on a page

6. When laying out text Proximity –To organize information – Crump similar information –Avoid too many elements –Avoid corners and the middle –Vary white space

7. When laying out text Repetition –To unify and add interest – Be consistent –Notice eye movement –Avoid over repetition –Enhance existing repetitions

8. When selecting text Contrast –One of the most effective ways to create visual interest – If it’s not the same, make it very different –Don’t be a wimp –Use typefaces, line thickness, colors, shapes, sizes, space, etc for contrast –Avoid similar typefaces

9. When working with text Summary: – C ontrast - – R epetition – A lignment – P roximity

10. More about selecting text W. A. Dwiggins “What type shall I use? The gods refuse to answer. They refuse because they do not know.”

11. More about selecting text Typeface families: –Oldstyle i.e. Times - abcefg –Modern i.e. Baskerville - abcde –Slab serif i.e. Courier - abcde –Sans serif i.e. Helvetica - abcde –Script i.e. Handwriting - abcde –Decorative i.e. Blackletter - abcde

17. The Assignment –Decide what message you want to convey –Carefully consider who will see your message and how you want them to respond –Design an informational document to convey your message

18. The Assignment –Critique your informational document –Design a second informational document with the same intent better than the first

19. The Assignment Write an explanation /rationale discussing –the intent of your message, –the intended audience and characteristics of that audience, –how the different elements of your document fit the intent and the characteristics of the audience, –why you chose the design in your document, –what elements in the first attempt could use improvement and how you improved them in the second attempt