Basic Design

Principles
and some observations on how we see

Contrast Repetition Alignment ... Proximity

Technology Applications Standards 7.1s, 7.3s, 7.5s, 7.11s, 7.13s, 7.16s, 7.17s, 7.18s, 7.29s,
7.30s, 7.31s, 7.32s, 7.35s, 7.36s, 7.37s, 7.38s, 7.45s, 8.1s, 8.12s, 8.17s, 8.18s, 8.19s, 8.20s, 8.21s,
8.24s, 8.25s, 8.41s, 8.43s, 8.44s

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 I love this
movie poster
I also loved the sappy
romantic comedy.

...and the dog

But the designers of this poster
have created a masterpiece of
storytelling and of visual
manipulation. Not that this is bad,
only that you need to open your
eyes to see it.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Let’s look at
it

First: that’s not Reese

Witherspoon’s body.
She’s only about 5’2”.
That body belongs to a
6’ tall model.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
 The story of this movie is
fairly traditional: the female
grows up in a small town,
falls in love and gets married,
feels stifled, leaves town and
moves to the big city. She
becomes extraordinarily
successful in fashion design,
falls in love again but this
time with a fabulously
wealthy and socially
significant man, decides to get
married to him. But then
realizes she never divorced
husband one, so she returns
home to finalize the divorce.
There, she finds she is still in
love with husband one, and
the conflict resolves when
they reunite.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 So what is
going on?

The fake body for

Witherspoon and its style
of dress imply the success
she finds in fashion design.
Although I don’t endorse
it, I think Mark Twain’s
idea is illustrated here:
never let the truth stand in
the way of a good story.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 But there’s a
lot more...
First let’s look at the purpose of the
poster:

It is displayed at theaters where it has less

than 3 seconds to persuade you to watch this
movie. There are a lot of other posters. This
one is in competition with them and must
convey the essence of the film quickly and
effectively.
I don’t know how many people were
persuaded to see the movie because of this
poster, but so far this 2002 movie has grossed
almost $200 million worldwide. That’s a
successful romantic comedy. In fact, it was
the most successful movie ever released in
the month of September.
You can bet that nothing about this poster
is accidental.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Look for
contrast
Now that we have established the
background of the poster and its
movie, let’s look at it as a design.
What elements give a sense of
contrast to the poster? Color? Size of
type? Large things versus small
things? Things that are a light shade
versus things that are a dark shade?
Living things versus inanimate things?
Right. All of these. Did I leave any
out? There are some additional
content contrasts: the dog symbolizes
something that hunts and finds people
while the shopping bag symbolizes the
hunt for possessions.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 First basic principle is contrast
Contrast is the attribute of looking different
from something else. If the point is to look
different then it should be
really different.
Contrast is the single most important element in a Reese Witherspoon. We know immediately that this
design, usually. Properly done, it makes the design movie will be centered on her. All the attributes she
come to life. This means that the design is easy to see, brings to the theater will be showcased—cuteness,
the information is organized in a way that makes it sex appeal, lively manner, interesting problems, and
easy to guess what the important things are and what so on. So it is appropriate that the black dress is in
the not-so-important things are, and it leads the eye contrast with everything else in the poster. But this is
to the most important things. We notice contrast not the only use of contrast in this poster.
before we notice anything else. In our movie poster,
the first image that jumps out at us is the image of

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Black vs. White

Red vs. Black vs.

White

Large type vs. small

type

Stuff in the
foreground vs. blank
background (white)

Text without serifs

vs. text with serifs

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Repetition
Contrast is not the only design principle here.
Look at all the elements that REPEAT:
The blue color of the shopping bag (the
famous “Tiffany blue”) is repeated in the block
of text at the bottom and also in the line of text
at the top.
The red color in the center of the poster is
repeated in the red color of the text at the
bottom (and with slight change of hue in her
lips).
The brown hues in the dog’s coat are repeated
in the brown tones of the fancy luggage.
The black of the dress is repeated in the black
of the shoes.
Even the color of the sanserif text of “Reese
Witherspoon” is repeated in the color of serif
text of “Sweet Home Alabama”—showing that
repetition and contrast can work together

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 The second basic principle of
design is REPETITION
Repetition means using the same element or attribute in
more than one place in the design. Obviously there is
only one Reese Witherspoon face, but there are examples
of duplication for every other element in the poster.

The importance of REPETITION is this: it
reminds the visual cortex of the brain that there
is something similar here, and this suggests that
there is a kind of unity in the design. Things that
are similar belong together. Recognizing
similarities is one of the earliest intellectual
achievements developed by the human brain
during infancy, and it remains a critical function
for our whole lives.
Repetition ties elements together, allowing them
to echo one another. It is also important in other
ways. Music depends upon variation against
repetition, for example. Of all the basic
principles of design, repetition is the one that
requires cognition: we must both remember and
then associate two or more elements in order to
have repetition. Contrast, in contrast, is a purely
visual perception and is processed by the visual
cortex before it hits consciousness.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 This appears to be the center line of the
poster, but it isn’t

3rd: look for

alignment
This poster uses a center
alignment, usually the
weakest kind of
alignment technique.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 this is the geometric center line

In fact, the ALIGNMENT in this poster is

very subtle. It gives the appearance of
center alignment until you actually place a
line through the geometrical center point.
Her left eye falls directly on the center line,
and her feet are evenly bisected by the line.
But that’s about it. The curve of her body is
not aligned towards the center, with her
right hip cocked over the NYC trappings—
the luggage, the Tiffany’s bag. The dog
balances the stuff, but not in terms of space.
The title is centered on her body, but not on
the center line of the poster itself. Very
subtle differences, these. But your eye has
already registered these subtleties even
though you were probably not aware of
them. These variations against an expected
alignment give the the poster a sense of life
and excitement—a conflict—that could have
been killed by slavish alignment along a
center axis. Absolutely superb work by a
real master designer.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 While we’re on the subject, you should also note that
Witherspoon’s eye lines up directly with the “B” in
Alabama, and with the “in” in “in love.” If you look
at the arrangement of letters in Sweet Home
Alabama, the T is positioned directly between her
thighs, and her choice in the movie is whether she
wants the NYC side (side A) or the hound side (side
B). In other words, which guy is she going to be
committed to forever? The alignment tells us that the
guy we see second (who is actually her first
husband) is the one she is going to end up with.
I really love this poster. Subtle.
Another point about the alignment: while it appears
to be center aligned, there is more mass on the left
side of the poster than on the right. That poor
bloodhound is balancing all that fancy junk.
Finally, the block of blue text at the bottom is also
aligned.
Now: look at the title and tell me why it is aligned
the way it is, with Alabama crowding up into Sweet
Home, and some letters running together while
others do not. Any guesses?
A brief look at the horizontal alignment reveals that
the apparent centering of the title is not quite right,
either. It is actually a little above the horizontal
center. The dead center of the poster is located a
little above the “B”, but the optical illusion of the
design doesn’t look like it.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 The third basic element of design
is ALIGNMENT
Alignment is the attribute of arranging every
element in a design to conform to some kind of
horizontal and vertical visual relationship with other
elements in the design.
No element in a design can exist by itself, out of visual
relationship with other elements. Everything, including
text, graphics, images, and headlines, must have a
visual alignment with everything else in the design. I
chose to illustrate this principle with the most complex
example I could find—the Sweet Home Alabama
poster is subtle and its design is extraordinary. But
once you begin looking for alignments in it, you realize
that it is far more than just center-aligned. While every
element in the design is repeated (except the face,
appropriately), no one element stands off by itself
unrelated to the other elements. Everything is aligned
in some way, and the visual alignment connects them.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
We perceive that all of these elements go together, that
this is not a series of information statements about a
movie but a unified, whole description of it. We have
one elaborate communication here, not (as on a
newspaper page or the wall of a subway station) a
whole bunch of different communications with
different meanings and intentions. All of the basic
design elements contribute to this sense, of course, but
alignment is one of the most important. It is also the
one design principle most often violated by amateurs.
For more information on these principles, navigate to
the website below.
http://thinkvitamin.com/features/how-crap-is-your-site-design/
 4th: look for
placement
How items are placed in space
relative to one another is the fourth
d e s i g n p r i n c i p l e . We c a l l i t
“ P R O X I M I T Y. ” I s t h e r e a n y
significance to how the various items
in this poster are placed in proximity
to one another?

You bet there is.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 The first question to ask is
whether all of the different items
in the poster have a spatial
relationship with one another. If
they do, we need to be able to say
why they do.
All of the images are close together. We’ve already talked
about the symbolism of some of these images—the dog, the
expensive “stuff,” the female caught between the two. I
guess it’s belaboring the point to notice that she both rises
above this conflict, and puts it behind her. It’s probably also
appropriate to note that she doesn’t have on a wedding
ring, although (—guess what!?—) the hand that ought to
have the wedding ring is positioned on the “living” side of
the poster with the dog, the word “home,” the partial word
“MA”, and the “B” side of her life. The three images all
touch, crowded into the central space of the poster. This is
emblematic of the movie, but it also illustrates an important
design principle: they only make sense as symbols of the
movie if they are seen together. So they have proximity.
They are close together, they are not scattered out across
the white space of the poster.

All the names of actors and the legal stuff is collected into a
single text block at the bottom of the poster. Is this
information important? It’s standard—it has to be there.
The names are not scattered around, however, they are
collected together. This illustrates the principle of
proximity: stuff that ought to go together is placed together.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 The 4th principle of
design is PROXIMITY
Proximity is the principle that things must be
placed close to the items they belong with.
The headline of a story should be placed close to the
text of the story. The caption of a photograph
should be placed close to the photo. The names of
actors in the movie should be placed close to the
names of all the other actors. The price of a can of
beans at the grocery store should be placed close to
the can of beans. We expect this kind of
information. It is a design principle because it is one
of the ways we have learned to make sense of the
world. If you violate this principle in your designs,
or your posters, or your grocery store, then you
confuse your viewer. A confused viewer is one with
whom you failed to communicate.
The principle of proximity is perceived by the visual
cortex before the image rises to consciousness. It is
Sunday, July 12, 2009
a basic function of the brain. And we have even
abstracted this principle into a maxim: you are
known by the company you keep. If you are in
proximity to gangsters, then you are probably a
gangster. Whereas CONTRAST differentiates
between objects, PROXIMITY associates them. A
cop in a blue uniform contrasts with the disheveled
perp in handcuffs, so we don’t think of their
proximity as defining, only that they are associated
in a particular way. REPETITION is also a form of
association, but involves a higher level of cognition
than PROXIMITY. The visual cortex processes
PROXIMITY, but the prefrontal cortex processes
REPETITION. PROXIMITY is spatial.
REPETITION is cognitive.
 The four principles of graphic
design:

Contrast
Repetition
Alignment
Proximity
We call this the CRAP of
design.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Now let’s play

Identify the uses of contrast, repetition,

alignment, and proximity in this ad

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Some possible answers
Contrast: There is contrast between the sizes of the
type and also with the red color and yellow lettering
of the logo. The use of shadowing with the lure
contrasts it with the flat background. The display
font of the sanserif headline contrasts with the more
traditional serif font of the small text.
Repetition: the red of the lure eye repeats in the red
of the logo; all four sides of the ad are bordered with
the same line; there are two hooks in the image; both
the headline and the small text make complete
statements, with punctuation, and they are both
black; the background picks up some of the brownish
hues in the lure
Alignment: the two hooks align with one another; the
bottom text is aligned horizontally with the logo; Proximity: the logo is close to the explanatory text at
while this small ad is predominantly center-aligned, the bottom. The two blocks of text are equal
the lure itself is centered to the right of the center distances from the lure (alignment) but close enough
line, creating visual conflict and a sense of motion; to the lure to guarantee that you know they are
the angle of the hooks is the same, leading the making statements about it.
viewer’s eye to the eye of the lure, while the tongue of
the lure directs the viewer from the lure eye to the
logo in the bottom right--you’ve been hooked

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 More play....
The repetition is pretty evident here,
don’t you think?

Alignment: the male model is not exactly

on the geometrical center line of the ad,
and there are interesting things going on
with the lines and angles of his body—
they seem to be leading our eyes
towards the fragrance bottle.

There is contrast between the gray tones

of the background and model with the
bright gold of the headline and bottle.
Contrast is also shown in the sizes of the
type, and the difference between the
type on the bottle and the text

The bottle is proximate to the model,

etc.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Let’s play a little harder
The magazine page at left is part of a spread on
theatrical events. How do the principles of Contrast,
Repetition, Alignment and Proximity apply to this
page?

Contrast is obvious in the text in the upper right,

where the name of the play is in bold face, and the
actors against a blank background.

The images of the sword fight at the bottom are

repetitions intended to show action in time, while all
the character show costuming and makeup
appropriate for their roles.

There are some really interesting uses of alignment,

including the line of the fight scenes and the
pyramidal shape of the tableaux itself.

Oberon, on the right, is next to his queen Titania,

and actually holding hands with his impish elf, the
flying Puck, who is the vehicle for magic in the play.
One of Puck’s most significant achievements is
giving Bottom the tailor an ass’s head, and then
making Titania fall in love with him. I think most of
that story is revealed here, don’t you?

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 Sunday, July 12, 2009
Some answers—Contrast: White text on black background, white text on red
background, white text on maroon background, sizes of text, styles of text, bold vs.
regular faces of text, different shades of background for text. Repetition: maroon
color, white text, red color, strong white/black contrasts, use of italics, styles of text
in headlines and body text, same spacing between story units, all of the jump lines
(i.e., story continues) are exactly the same size and type style; every secondary
story headline includes a strong vertical bar and a short head giving the locale of
the story (China, The City, Crime, Cinema, etc.). Alignment: story units across the
bottom align beneath lead story on Wings, everything on the left and right margins
is arrow straight and aligned, the red banner is exactly the same width as the lead
story. Everything is aligned horizontally on the top and bottom. Proximity: the
headlines are close to the stories, the captions are close to the photos, it is obvious
that everything in a unit goes together with everything else in the unit.
answers:
Francisco.
The Examiner of San
in this front page from
proximity you can find
alignment and
contrast, repetition,
List all the instances of
Your turn....
 Okay, you’re
on your on
find five each:

contrasts
repetitions
alignments
proximities

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 more practice
Contrast:______________

Repetition:____________

Alignment:____________

Proximity:____________

Sunday, July 12, 2009

 okay, look for this cd
design on a quiz

Sunday, July 12, 2009