The Art of Communicating Ideas

Spent much of Thursday at the library. I was hard-pressed to find many design and desktop publishing books newer than about 1995. Just about every newer title I looked up in the online catalog was unavailable. So, I decided to grab a selection of books that I'd never read or didn't have in my personal collection to see what pearls of wisdom I could find.

One book which I found quite enjoyable was Great Pages, A common-sense approach to effective desktop design by Jan V. White (compare prices). I was familiar with the author but this is one of his books I'd never read. It's from 1990 but almost everything in it is pretty much timeless. Several otherwise good books I browsed through spent way too much time covering antiquated details on $8000 desktop publishing systems ir espousing the virtues of PageMaker vs. Ventura Publisher but this one focuses on just page layout and the principles of good design.

The following quote from the book reminded me a blog I wrote a few years back entitled "Are You an Artist?"

Page makeup is commonly called design. It is therefore thought to be an art-form intended to create beauty. It is nothing of the sort. Design is a lubricant for ideas. -- Jan V. white

White reiterates the idea that design isn't just about making things look pretty (although we do aim for pretty, even beautiful pages much of the time) but about creating pages that communicate the message effectively. The list, below, paraphrases his list of 10 ways to intrigue and attract readers. He focuses on creating pages that lead readers into the material.

1. The first page or the front of whatever you are creating should arouse curiosity by putting interesting information right up front.
2. White advocates having an inviting Table of Contents that is more than just a plain list -- make it inviting and exciting.
3. The organization of the Table of Contents should also reflect the structure of the publication.
4. The designer should "lead the viewer's eyes around the page to the text" using the Z layout.
5. Break up text using subheads, pull-quotes, and other techniques that make the text less daunting and provide the reader with several opportunities to dig in.
6. Use artwork as "emotional magnets" to pull viewers into the information.
7. Use captions on photos.
8. Use charts and graphs to present statistical data.
9. Provide "user-friendly" services such as lists, call-outs, and an index.
10. The last item on White's list: White Space. Used properly it "exposes the valuable material printed on the page."

Design is about calling a reader's attention to what you consider important. Comments, anyone?