Visual Communications Ch. 1

Name:

Nicole Atterberry

Student Number:

X00105576

Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1

Answers can be found in the Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1 document, posted under CONTENT in D2L.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Answer all questions below, briefly but completely.
2. Change the color of the answer to BLUE.
3. When this sheet is complete, copy the information and images into a new blog post.

Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1

1.    Document design decisions: List 10 questions you should consider when designing a document that affect readability and visual appeal of the document:

1. What layout am I going to use?

2.  Am I leaving enough white space, or does it appear crowded?

3. Which font(s) will I use to make it visually attractive yet readable?

4. What color text should I use given background and readability?

5. Should I adjust my text lines according to my margins?

6. Does my text need centering?

7. Am I allowing enough space between lines?

8. How do I combine type styles?

9. What fonts should I use for my headings?

10. Where should I place my headings?

2.    Page layout considerations:

What is the size of the standard size/layout of most business reports, memos, and letters? A single 6 ½’’ column on an 8 ½’’ by 11’’ page.

What is the purpose of a grid in page layout design? It gives you a basis for following a set format in which will allow you to have a consistent placement of text and graphics within a multipage document.

Why would a designer choose a multi-column layout instead of a single column layout? It allows you to insert graphics within columns, and to use landscape orientation while keeping text lines to a readable length.

What is the importance of “white space” in page layout design? It allow spaces between text and images, to avoid crowding and allowing your document to be easily readable.

What is the optimum line length of a line of text? It is between 35 and 70 characters or between 8 to 12 words.

What happens to readability if the line is too short? It breaks up units of words that the reader expects to read together, thus making the reader work harder to discern the message.

What happens to readability if the line is too long? It requires the reader to move his or her head too much, causing fatigue.

Describe these text alignment terms: Fully justified:  Text that is flush left and flush right. Left justified:  Text that is flush left but not to the right, leaving the right margin appearing jagged. Right justified: Leaves the text flush with the right margin but not he left, which will appear jagged. Centered:  Displays the text lines centered over one another and both right and left sides are jagged.

3. Font/file  considerations:

1.     Describe the difference between serif fonts and sans serif fonts: Serif typeface has small, horizontal strokes that extend from the end of the vertical strokes; leading your eye quickly along a line of copy and easily processed. Sans serif typeface lacks those small horizontal strokes.

2. List three serif fonts and change them into their actual font (for example: Times New Roman): a. Georgia, Georgia b. Times New Roman, Times New Roman c. Garamond, Garamond

3. List three sans serif fonts and change them into their actual font (for example: Verdana): a. Franklin Gothic, Franklin Gothic b. Gill Sans, Gill Sans c. Verdana, Verdana

4. What is a PDF file and why are PDF files commonly used? It is a portable document format file created with a program such as adobe which captures the exact look of the doc. appearing the same on Windows and Macintosh systems; also printing form any system.

5. What happens if a font in the document is NOT installed in the computer? Then the program used to view the doc. will substitute the font, changing the font and sometimes making it unreadable.

6. With regard to font size: 1 point equals how many inches? It is equal to 1/72 of an inch.

7. What is the optimum point size range for good readability? A range of 9 to 12 points.

8. Define these terms with regard to font size: a. x-height: Help to decide whether your text will legible at a smaller size or whether it needs to be bigger by measuring the lowercase letters without any ascenders or descenders . b. ascender: Refers to the part of the letter ascending upward above the x-height. c. descender: Refers to the part of the letter descending below the x-height.

9. Explain why some fonts may appear larger than others even if they are the same point size. Because some fonts with a larger x-height and individual letter width can take up more space.

10. a. What is leading? (NOTE: This pronounced “led-ding” NOT “leeding”) It refers to line spacing between text.   b. Why is leading “set solid” not advised? Because it leaves  no space between lines and makes the reader have to read more slowly to avoid jumping lines.

11. When is it most appropriate to use type styles such as bold and italics?  When you want to single out or make emphasis to a certain word or sentence to grab the attention of the reader.

12. WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO READ BLOCKS OF TEXT THAT ARE ALL IN UPPER CASE? It can make it harder to read since the reader has to spend more time focusing and distinguishing between letters and recognizing words.

13.  Explain the basics of using fonts, font sizes, and styles to create a hierarchy of information in a lengthy document: It helps to break up the information into levels, for example headings and subheadings which tend to be larger and even smaller type for footnotes or captions.

4. Document design exercise: Follow the directions below to practice the design principles found in this chapter. You need to be in MS WORD to complete this assignment.   You may want to print these directions so you can more easily follow them as you work through this exercise. Go to the end of this document: CTRL END Insert a page break to create a new page: CTRL ENTER Type in this title: Document Design Considerations Select the title by dragging the cursor over the title text.  Try the following shortcuts to change the style of the title: ·       CTRL I        (italics, repeat to un-italicize) ·       CTRL U      (underline, repeat to remove underling) ·       CTRL B       (bold, repeat to un-bold—leave the title bold) ·       CTRL R       (right justify) ·       CTRL L       (left justify) ·       CTRL E       (center—leave the title centered) ·       SHIFT  CTRL  >  (increase font size, do this several times, then SHIFT CTRL < to decrease font size) ·       SHIFT   F3 (change case,  NOTE: F3 is one of the function keys at the top of the keyboard. Try this shortcut several times to cycle through the cases) ·       CTRL D    Design, opens FONT dialog box; change colors, fonts, sizes, styles; try many of these Body:  Press the ENTER key twice after the title. Press CTRL L to left justify the body. Change the font to CALIBRI and font size to 11 points (no bold or italics, etc.). Type in the following formula to create 3 paragraphs of “fill text” with 7 sentences in each paragraph: =rand(3,7)   then press the ENTER key to create the fill text Click in the middle of the second paragraph. TRIPLE-click to select the paragraph. Try these shortcuts with the selected paragraph: ·       CTRL M      (to indent or move the paragraph; SHIFT CTRL M to move it back) ·       CTRL 2       (double space, CTRL 1 to single-space—leave as single-spaced) ·       To create columns: On the ribbon: PAGE LAYOUTàCOLUMNSàTWO Save this file with CTRL S

5. BLOG: Create a new blog post and insert the information and images from this sheet in the new post.

^{Document Design Considerations}

On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look. You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly. To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab.

To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template. On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look. You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab.

Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly. To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab. To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template. On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.