ENG 301 7.T: Design Crash Course

Today’s Plan:

  • CRAP
  • What Not To Do
  • Works Every Time Layout
  • Homework

As I said last class, I do not consider myself a designer. But I am someone who, when the occasion arises, can design something. While I might not think of myself as a creative genius, nor as someone who knows the fine minutia of the discipline, I know enough to create something that will look nice, communicate its purpose clearly, and not ended up being mocked in front of a class like this one.

What I have always liked about Rhetoric and Composition as an intellectual field is that our analytical tools, the ways of seeing we develop, are methods for generating, creating, composing. That is, we look at things to learn how to (and how not to) make them. Flyers. Speeches. Video games. Societies.

Today we work with flyers.

Basic Principles

My first foray into design was Robin Williams’ Non-Designer’s Design Book. In it, Williams lays out the basic C.R.A.P.:

  • Contrast
  • Repetition
  • Alignment
  • Proximity

What Not to Do

Golumbiski and Hagen’s layout sins. How many sins does your image have?

Examples.

Works Every Time Layout

First, let’s talk Canva (and templates in general).

Homework

Redesign your poor visual, using G+H’s Works Every Time Layout as a guide. You can use any technology you are comfortable with for your redesign.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.