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One of the many "hats" the average
DeMolay Advisor gets to wear is that of editor for Chapter
newsletters, flyers, brochures, websites, and other publications.
Although no one expects local Chapter publications to be overly
"polished" or professional looking, it's helpful
to know some basic rules of graphic design as they apply to
local Chapter publications. These aren't "hard and fast"
rules, but they can help keep your publications easier on
the eyes, which means people are more likely to read them!
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| RULE
1:
Keep
"white space" to the outside of the page ... |
| Blank space in between elements of your design
should be small and even. By grouping photos and other items
together, you can leave all of the blank space for the outside
of the page. Jamming text or white space in between items can
be disruptive to the flow of the design. |
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YES
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NO
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| RULE
2: Be aware of colors and contrasts |
| There are no "right" and "wrong"
colors for your design ... but the colors you choose can communicate
a lot. Have a look at recent advertising and teen media to get
an idea of what colors are currently "in." When you
put one color on top of another, especially colors of text,
be aware of CONTRAST. Keep in mind that (especially with a primarily
male audience) some of your readers will have difficulty distinguishing
colors that may look very different to you ... high CONTRAST
means high READABILITY: |
| YES.
Even if someone has difficulty distinguishing the colors of
this background and text, it is readable because of the light/dark
contrast. |
NO.
Although
these colors are very different, the contrast is low. Someone
with difficulty seeing colors will not be able to read this
well. |
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| Rule
3: Less is More |
| Be careful of "busy" designs. An article
on your recent fund raiser can't include every good photo you
have of it. Choose a few good items and save the rest. One good
big photo is better than 10 small okay ones. Usually, the best
designs are simple designs. |
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YES
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NO
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| Rule
4: Use variety in size of elements |
| Everything the same size can be boring. Vary the
size of items for a more interesting layout. |
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YES
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NO
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| Rule
5: Use uniform and readable fonts. |
| Avoid the temptation to show off your collection
of 753,000 fonts in one publication. Changing fonts too many
times in one publication creates a messy look, and is difficult
to read. Pick a font and stick with it. If you wish to use several
fonts, make them consistent by text element ... for example
all the headlines in the same font, all the body text in the
same font, all the captions in the same font, and so on (see
note below). Choose fonts that are most readable, not decorative
fonts, for large blocks of text. |
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YES
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NO!
NO! NO!
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| A side note on fonts... most fonts can be classified
as "serif" or "sans serif." A serif (pronounce
it to rhyme with "sheriff") font has the ends of its
letters decorated with small lines or flares (called "serifs"
- go figure). A common example is Times Roman. A sans serif
(also referred to as a "gothic" font) does not (sans
means "without" in French). A common example of sans
serif is Arial. Traditionally, you'll find that serif fonts
are more commonly used for body text, while sans serif fonts
are more commonly used for headlines. In any case, you'll find
that putting a serif element next to a sans serif element will
usually look better than putting two different serifs or two
different sans serifs next to each other. |
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| Rule
6: Choose backgrounds
and decorations that don't distract from the content |
| "Ghosting" design elements behind text
can create an interesting effect. However, be sure to choose
items that aren't distracting. Backgrounds with unusual or complex
images, text, or anything that makes the reader stop and say
"what IS that?" is a distraction. Shapes
and colors generally make better backgrounds than logos or pictures. |
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YES
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NO
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| Rule
6: Be aware
of FOCUS. |
| All of the elements of design (colors, contrasts,
arrangement and size of elements, and so on) work together to
create a FOCAL POINT. Look at each of the design examples above
... the ones marked yes clearly draw your eye to a particular
place in the design. The ones marked no do not have as clear
a focus. Look at your designs, or have someone else look at
them, and see where your eye is drawn first. Turn your design
upside down or sideways ... it may help you see where the focal
point is. Is the element at the focal point important enough
to be the first thing they see? Will it encourage them to read
or look at the rest of the design? If not, consider rearranging
the design or replacing the item at the focal point to correctly
emphasize your message. |
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| As
in most things, graphic design rules are
made to be broken. Breaking one of these rules intentionally
can serve, occasionally, to draw attention or create emphasis.
Breaking them all the time just makes a mess. Experiment with
designs ... using a computer instead of the old "cut and
paste" method makes it easier to design by "trial
and error." Nobody expects you to be a pro, but applying
some of the basics of design will help you create professional-looking
publications that people will want to read. Happy designing! |
