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Design 3: Visual Organization and Information Design

Information Hierarchies 1

Design is...

...a system of organization and a hierarchy of information intended to establish priorities.

...a method for capturing a viewer's attention.

...the power to express the significance of ideas and concepts.

Below are some examples of modular typographic grids employed in various projects. Notice how each of the examples uses an modular typographic grid as a foundation to organize the type and graphic elements into a hierarchy of visual information to convey a message to the reader.

Birth of the Cool, designed by Cornel Windlin, 1997	Atembogen, for Baltis und Rüegg, designed by Hug + Söhne, 1979	Pla Gra Des (Plakate Grafik Design), by Georg Staehelin, 1999
Medea M, for Opernhaus, designed by Ruedi Rüegg, 1972	n/a	n/a

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. "Cubism and Abstract Art (New York, 1936) book jacket, with 8 arrows revised here in accord with Barr's 1941 unpublished manuscript on the art chart.

Below is a discussion by Edward Tufte of the famous art chart of Alfred Barr.*

"This graphic was prepared for the exhibition Cubism and Abstract Art in 1936, and the chart serves several purposes; a dust jacket for the catalog, a table of contents for the show, an organizing history of modern art displayed throughout the museum itself, and a symbol of the entire enterprise. Its use as a catalog cover is particularly imaginative, replacing the usual typographic jacket with a didactic genealogy of interacting isms.

Nouns (schools, artists, places) are mapped on a grid of time (moving downwards, 1890 to 1935) and type of art (somewhat geometric at right, less so at left). This rich visual space in which to locate the words. Like names of cities of different sizes on maps, these nouns vary in size, in proportion, to artistic relevance. Set in appropriately modern Futura type, the nouns only name influences internal to art itself, even though creative work is also shaped by external ideas from science, society, philosophy, and current events. Nor does the chart recognize individuals: the only named artists are 6 deceased greats (Redon, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Cezanne, Seurat, Rousseau) at the top and a lonely Brancusi in the middle."
- From a draft of Edward Tufte's book, Beautiful Evidence.

Notes about hierarchy and the typographic grid

Using a grid system for page and screen layout makes it easy to organize and balance all of your elements. Graphics, text, photos, navigation elements, anything that is going to be visible on a printed or web page can be organized using a grid. Grid systems have been in use for a long time and are strictly adhered to in the magazine and newspaper publishing industry, but graphic designers use them for all types of printed and on-screen media. Anyone who creates documents or screen designs should use this device to make a visually pleasing and balanced layout.

Grids are used to emphasize the most important parts of your content, organize it into categories, and make it visually interesting and not static. Generally speaking, the larger and more dominant or unique the element, the higher it's ranking in the visual hierarchy.

A carefully crafted grid will facilitate the mind's attempt to create order from chaos by providing a logical structural system to which every sensation relates. Within this structure a hierarchy of sensations can easily be controlled with a systematic use of the Gestalt principles of proximity, similarity, and closure. An established hierarchy will reveal the relative importance of one sensation over another in a series of dominant, sub-dominant and subordinate relationships.

When creating your hierarchy, consider the cultural habits of the viewer. For example in the United States viewers (readers) typically scan from left to right and top to bottom.

Examples of three different designs using the same grid.

In Class

1. Discuss examples of structure and hierarchy
2. Create a modular typographic grid*

A typographic grid organizes text and images across the pages of a document. A grid can consist of a single column framed by margins, or it may have multiple columns. When you design a grid, you typically begin with vertical divisions (columns), and then add horizontal divisions.

Once you establish a focal point, create a hierarchy of elements to guide the viewer through your layout, from major to minor sections. For example, beginning with the headline as a focal point, perhaps the viewer will be led to a subhead, a pull quote, a logo, then the body copy.

• For the source copy choose an index entry from any of the Harpers Index monthly statistical listings for this exercise.http://www.harpers.org/subjects/HarpersIndex
• Create a new document using Adobe InDesign.
  Use one of the five grids that you documented last week as a starting point for this assignment.

• Create four different designs on four different pages, all using the same underlying grid.
• Do one layout using 8-pt type and one other size of type. The second layout should use three different sizes of type, a third layout which uses four sizes of type and a fourth layout which combines images and text in a modular grid.
• You may use up to two type families on each of the four different designs. For one of these designs you may only use a type family designed in Switzerland such as Helvetica, Frutiger, Univers, Sabon.

Three examples of student work interpreting this assignment.

Designed by Matthew McBride a student at the Art Center College of Design in California

Things to consider as your work on your designs.

• Keep in mind the flow of the text on the page, consider the various types of structural organization principles that we have discussed in class.
• What are the relative “levels” of importance?
• What should the user see first? Second? Third? and so on...
• What are the relative “levels” of importance?
• Every element in an interface should have a reason for being there. Make that reason clear!
• Less is more. aka White Space
  • Leads the eye
  • Provides symmetry and balance through its use
  • Strengthens impact of message
  • Allows eye to rest between elements of activity (increases legibility)
  • Used to promote simplicity, elegance, refinement
• Remember to apply a clear over arching structure and use the Gestalt principles, especially Proximity. Items close together appear to have a relationship. Items further apart implies -- less or no relationship
• Consider how upper case, lower case, title capitalization and small caps are used in the composition. Characters and symbols should be easily noticeable and distinguishable. AVOID HEAVY USE OF ALL UPPERCASE. Using mixed case allows readers an easier, faster reading comprehension of text.
• Use contrast to guide the user through a hierarchy of information; it can add focus; and can energize a design texture.

Mounting and presentation

• Choose two of the four designs to mount on illustration board. And bring the other two with you to our next class.
• Mounted vertically on an 12x14" piece of illustration board. Provide for a 2" margin on the top, left and right and a 4" margin on the bottom. Protective flap and naming conventions as per syllabus presentation guidelines

Assignment

Complete your in-class assignments and include them in your journals and save the electronic files for your final portfolio.

Collage grid compositions

Create a series of four compositions. For three of these compositions use the same grid system as a starting point and see how far you can develop each of the designs in different directions.

1. The first composition will be 60% imagery and 40% typography.
2. The second composition should be 50% imagery and 50% typography.
3. The third composition should be 40% imagery and 60% typography.
4. The last composition should also contain both typography and imagery but may contain what ever proportions of these element you choose. NOTE for this last composition do not rely on a grid system.

• Each design should be 60x90 picas (approx. 10x15")
• The typography should be cut from magazines. OR if you choose to, you may also set your own typography, but in all instances consider the type as an "image" within the larger composition of images.
• At least 5% of that typography should be considered "headlines".

Things to consider as your work on your designs

• You may do this assignment by hand or on the computer.
  • If you use collage as a means to create your composition do so with Rubber Cement, a rule, a straight edge, a sharp matt knife and/or xacto blade and glue this on a sheet of 4-ply bristol paper.
  • If you decide to use a computer scan in your images from various printed sources, and create your variable compositions. Print the final product out in color.
• Once you establish a focal point, create a hierarchy of elements to guide the viewer through your layout, from major to minor sections. For example, beginning with the headline as a focal point, perhaps the viewer will be led to a subhead, a pull quote, a logo, then the body copy.
• Gather all of your different elements and decide which parts are most important within the visual composition.
• Sketch out a rough drawing of a grid system and experiment with placement of your content.
• Begin to organize your grid. Grid layouts can easily be adapted to fit any items by "merging" columns, or cells. If you decide to move elements around or if your content changes, just rearrange it. The grid system is very flexible.
• Consider carefully your use of color and typography. Think about sequencing and rhythm; revealing information over time. Utilize the entire space very carefully. You may wish to consider content and meaning in reference to your chosen theme.

Mounting and presentation

There is no need to mount these designs on illustration board for presentation; instead make sure they are printed on clean quality paper, OR collaged onto a hotpress medium to heavy weight paper, and trimmed to the edges of the design. As always indicate on the back of each design your name, class and assignment information also include the corresponding number for each type of design as indicated above (i.e. compositions 1-4. Example Composition #1 60% Image 40% Type)

Research

Journal

Collect 3 examples of communication design which uses typography to suggest and/or enhance meaning within the message. Look at news papers, magazines, book covers, bill boards, signage, etc. Include them in your class journal and write about why you feel that these examples use typography to imply or enhance meaning. Also note how these designs use a hierarchy within a design.

Reading

pp 112 - 153 Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton. Princeton Architecture Press, New York, 2004

Related Information

• pp 10-13, and pp 133-156, Grid Systems, in graphic design, Revised 4th Edition (5.4 mb), Josef Muller-Brockmann, Arthur Niggli Ltd., Publishers 1996
• Notes about modular grids: http://papress.com/thinkingwithtype/grid/modular.htm
• Excerpt of a commentary by Edward Tufte, regarding Project Management Graphics (or Gantt Charts)
• Five Simple Steps to designing grid systems.
• Online source to generate Lorem Ipsum placeholder text www.lipsum.com

Bring with you to the next class

One designed object and take at least 20 different digital photos of that object.

Bring both the object and the photos with you to our next class.

When evaluating what object to bring into class with you consider it's...
...Function. What is it used for?
...Visual presence. Dose it have an interesting shape, color, line, silhouette, etc.?

Each of you will use this designed object as a visual reference through the majority of the assignments for the rest of the semester, so choose something you are truly interested in.

Also bring with you digital photographs (jpeg or tiff) of as many different angles and close ups of the object as we will be working with these images in class.

For example...

...a simple utensil such as a fork offers endless opportunities for creating and conveying compelling visual narratives. Image how we might evolve this fork into a logo, a political symbol, an element within a textile design, a directional element within a magazine layout, a device within an information graphic, etc.