Okay guys…lets be honest. We have all had those uncomfortable moments where we think, “What were they really thinking when they designed that?” There is a reason there are millions of memes, gifs and jokes about the poor architecture of what we thought could be the simplest things. Some designers really just needed a second opinion. Therefore, questions enter our head such as, why did they choose to put all of the bathrooms on the perimeter of the mall? Why do most T.V. remotes, that aren’t Smart T.V.’s consistent of 20 buttons I will never know how to use or avoid like the plague because I am convinced clicking them will crash my T.V? Or why is the Nike swoosh, the one label a sorority can’t be caught dead without, be so simple and yet we’re seriously just paying for an over priced design?
All of this relates back to design and how creators have used or failed to use the four basic principles of design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. When creating a design people have to be aware of the values their design will offer, which needs to have simplicity, minimalism, clarity and unclutteredness. We have all at one time or another picked up an interesting book or newspaper and saw the tiny cluttered text and immediately got a headache and put it away.
All of this relates back to design and how creators have used or failed to use the four basic principles of design: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. When creating a design people have to be aware of the values their design will offer, which needs to have simplicity, minimalism, clarity and unclutteredness. We have all at one time or another picked up an interesting book or newspaper and saw the tiny cluttered text and immediately got a headache and put it away.
I mean come on… fonts matter just as much as all of the other elements of design.
Or maybe that’s just me… Designers have to decide if using all of the blank space is necessary or not. They have to be aware of their color wheel and spatial décor so the average person does not have the outraging question of, “But why?” This goes for fonts too. Just like the picture above. The spacing between letters, font, kerning, etc. all matter. No designer wants someone to not understand a logo, text or art because of the creator’s lack of knowledge of these concepts. Let’s take a look at some “Hot and Not Designs!”
NOT
Clearly there is some major design flaws going on here. Then again, some people can get it right. Here are some known designs, text and logos that utilize proximity, the four design principles and were made for us to remember positively.
HOT
Alright Alright, yes I learned about all of this design stuff in class, but I have some real world examples of font and design "Hots" that I found walking around campus today.
And that's my design and font recap of the week guys!
Always with Love,
Heather Gilbert
Always with Love,
Heather Gilbert
