OUGD404 - 10 Things People Should Know About Graphic Design

1. How to use the Pantone Matching System                                                                             Pantone have a Pantone Matching System, I found out that when you find a colour that you like and use it for your work, you then send it to the printers with the pantone chip so that they also have the colour information. Then the printer finds the colour in a formula guide, and it is then sent to the press. The formula on the pantone chip is for them to create the mixture using ink. So if a colour is made up of three different variations of other pantone colours, they will mix those three quantities together to create the desired colour, and it will then go to print. 

2. Readability and legibility between the typeface family in bodycopy

There are four different typefaces that we refer to: gothic; roman; block and script. The readability and legibility between them differs quite dramatically because of the characteristics of the letterforms, and affects how we read.

This is a gothic font in 12pt, and it can be argued that sans serif fonts are easier to read because they don't have any serifs, and are therefore simpler. Sans Serifs were widely used by designers part of the Bauhaus movement.

 However, it can also be argued that roman fonts are easier to read because of the serifs as they help guide the eye along the line, and are almost always used in books and novels. The serifs help shape the letterforms, so we can read them easier.

This is a block font, and it is harder to read in bodycopy because the space between the letters are too condensed, so the eye has to concentrate more on what it is reading.

This is a script font, and they are made to be display fonts, not bodycopy, so this is very illegible to read. Because it is at a small point size, the letters are hard to read because they join up to others too closely.

3. Readability and legibility between using colour in bodycopy

This is the most effective way of displaying bodycopy, because there is a high contrast and black stands out most against white, making the legibility really clear.

This is yellow on white, and it is illegible because the contrast of hue. As they are both light colours, they blend in together.

The same works with darker colours, the type is barely legible because the colours are too close to each other on the colour wheel. Choice of colour can really affect how we understand a message, so it is important to choose colours which are really clear to read when put together.

Using complimentary colours together also compromises readability and legibility and almost makes it hurt to read, therefore making it unreadable for people to understand. Other complimentary colours include blue/orange and violet/yellow. 

4. Visual literarcy is an international language

Pictograms are an international language, and simple illustrations are used in places like airports, where there are a lot of international people so that everyone can understand a language. Examples include:

5. How many points are in a pica

This is just basic terminology that should be known:

Point is the size of a letter:

1 point = 1/72 inches =
               25.4/72mm =
               0.3527mm

12 points = 1 pica

6.  Optical and Physical mixing

There are two types of mixing, optical and physical. Optical mixing is where a colour is made up of four plates, CMYK, and if you use a linen tester you can see the dots which make up the colour. The sparser the dots are, the lighter the colour, and the more close together the dots are, the darker the colour. Physical mixing is when a colour is pre-mixed and is called a 'flat' colour because when you look through a linen tester there are no dots, and so it only uses one plate to print.

7. How semiotics are important for how people interpret things

Semiotics are so important in design, as they are how people understand things. There are three fundamental things to be aware of: sign, symbol and signifies. 

Sign for Pizza Hut
Signifies a red roof
Symbolises comfort, friendliness, shelter

8. The difference between Typeface and Font

Typeface

A collection of characters, letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation etc which have the same distinct design.

Font

The physical means used to describe a typeface, be it computer code, woodblock, lithographic film etc.

Typeface is the whole font family, but the font is the specific weight.

9. The seven contrasts of colour
These are all happening at the same time to greater or lesser impact.

Contrast of Tone
Formed by the juxtaposition of light and dark values. This could be monochromatic which means single colour.
Red is the midtone, blue is the darkest tone, and yellow has the highest contrast.

Contrast of Hue
Formed by juxtaposing of different hue. The greater distance between hues on a colour wheel, the greater the contrast.

High contrast means something stands out, low contrast blends in.

Contrast of Saturation
Formed by the juxtaposition of layout.

Contrast of Extension
Formed by assigning proportioned field sizes in relation to the visual weight of a colour, also known as the contrast of proportion.

When using high contrast colours, like purple and yellow, a small of amount of one should be used on the other to make the weight in proportion.

Contrast of Temperature

Formed by juxtaposing colours that are considered either warm or cool. Warm colours consist of reds, oranges and yellows, and the cool colours consist of blues, violets and greens.

Complimentary Contrast
Formed by juxtaposing complimentary colours from a colour wheel or perceptual opposites.

Simultaneous Contrast
Formed when boundaries between colours perceptually vibrate.

10. Visual metaphors, metanyms and synechdoches
A visual metaphor is when an image transfers the same meaning to another image eg. a London Guard for London.

A metanym is when part of something is used to represent a whole of something eg. Big Ben for London.

A synechdoche is a symbolic image which is used to make reference with something for a more literal meaning eg. the Black Cab or Red Bus for London.