1.

Elements of Design

What are the elements of good design in media? How does the
particular medium influence the design of the communication it
delivers? Provide examples to illustrate your points. Respond to
at least two of your classmates’ postings.

A “good design” is one that will have an affect on its viewer and will conjure a certain
response that the designer has intended. To achieve this, a designer can look to the
fundamentals of design; balance, contrast, proportion, movement and unity. With
media, elements such as a visual anchor and the use of white space must be taken
into consideration. Furthermore, as time goes by, styles may change, but these
general principles are what ties everything together and will always act as guidelines.

Balance is basically how all of the elements in the design relate to one another. It is
the overall visual effect of how the proportions on a page are created (Friend,
Challenger, McAdams, 2005, p.376). These elements involve the size, shape, weight
and placement, and how each tie into each other to form a functional visual. For
example, a large image with illegible type will not bring balance to a design. If the
forms in a composition appear to be out of balance, the design will be viewed as
unstable. Other forms of the design can counterbalance individual forms. A large
form can be balanced by a group of smaller forms.

Contrast is used as a comparison that is making clear differences in a design. There

are many ways to display contrast, with size, darkness, texture, direction, position,
type and color. Balance needs to be maintained between having too little contrast
and having too much contrast. Too little contrast will result in a design that is flat
and lifeless. Too much contrast will result in a design that is chaotic and hard to look
at. Heavy-weight type forms can be balanced by a group of light-weight type forms.

Proportion involves taking the size and shape of the elements on the page into
consideration. As stated above regarding balance, having proportion will assist in the
viewer to see the design with a pleasing affect. Keeping in mind the imaginary axes
of vertical and horizontal, a design can seem top-heavy or images can seem to be
too much on one side of the print design.

“Unity within variety talks about how the piece has many different components but
makes up one piece or work/design, so the design is “one” piece with many
components” (Engle, 2010). Harmony and unity is about bringing together order and
association with the different components. This can be accomplished with a headline,
a story lead, a photo all coming together to compliment each other.

The visual anchor is the first step in creating an appealing, reader-friendly page
(Friend, Challenger, McAdams, 2005, p.374). Most likely accomplished by a photo, it
can also be a headline that will give the viewer a point of reference and will draw the
attention of the viewer to that focal point.

White space refers to the open space on a page. Too much white space will create
the appearance of a floating affect, whereas, lack of white space will create the
appearance of the elements being trapped against one another. Contrast and
proportioning can help in creating a visual relief with white space.
The medium used will reflect the design elements. For example, the color and
proportion used for a newspaper will be a lot different than the layout used for a
magazine article. Also, the magazine article may give more of a story than the
newspaper that will give more of direct points of what is important. Headlines will be
similar online and in newspapers than what you would view in magazine articles.

References:

Engle, Chad. (2010, March 23). The Lost Principles of Design. March 23, 2010.
Retrieved June 8, 2010 from http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/the-lost-
principles-of-design/

Friend, C., Challenger, D., & McAdams, K. (2005). Contemporary Editing (2nd ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill.

2. Audience and Message in Design

How does the audience and message of a communication

influence its design? Provide examples of specific designs for
particular audiences and messages. Respond to at least two of
your classmates’ postings.

Knowing the audience and message of communication will assist in how the page
design and layout will be created. Consideration should be taken regarding the medium
used to convey a message and knowing your target audience is key. For example, a
newspaper has a traditional page layout and design. They are uniform and orderly to
communicate control and stability. The coloring was continually black and white. Then
scan through the newspaper and take a look at the section that applies to “Lifestyle”,
which is what we have in our Pocono Record newspaper. There are color photos and
the stories are packaged in a non-modular design. The typography or more creative and
more artwork is added. Although the same people that are reading the news stories with
its traditional display, while reading the Lifestyle portion, it is meant for a more leisure
type of reading and not so serious.

Magazines are also different based on the targeted audience and communication. Take
a look at National Geographic. The photos are brilliant, but the page layouts are more
traditional than what you would find in a Teen Magazine. The designs will differ in color,
type, and balance.

As stated by Marshall McLuhan, “the medium is the message” (Berger, 2008,

p.92). What this means is that there should be consideration taken regarding
the medium used to convey a message and knowing your target audience is
key. Whether it is a television commercial or a billboard, the medium will
influence on how the message is perceived.

For example, watch a Nascar race and take a look at some of the sponsors
that are on the race cars. I doubt you will find a sponsor for feminine hygiene
products or the face of a Barbie doll going around the corners. This is a sport
that is considered to be viewed by people that are interested in extreme
racing and sponsors such as Budweiser, Miller Lite and Target will be
displayed. In retrospect, you will not find a commercial for ESPN during
daytime Soap Opera programming.

Another example is a Super Bowl ad that is shown on the television during

the game. Any other time that this commercial may have been played may be
lost on the viewer, but society expects to see new commercials during the
Super Bowl game. In print and over the radio, the ad may be lost altogether
but for a few minutes, these ads have a chance to grab the attention of all
viewers at that one point in time.

Berger, A. (2008). Seeing is Believing - An Introduction to Visual

Communication (3rded.). New York McGraw- Hill Learning Solutions