Week 8, Deadline 2: Top Ten Design Principles

Of all the design principles we have covered thus far in the semester, the top ten that I chose are: 

1. Hierarchy
2. Highlighting
3. Readability
4. Consistency
5. Color
6. Alignment
7. Chunking
8. Storytelling
9. Picture Superiority Effect
10. Recognition Over Recall

I chose many of these because I feel that a polished design can be the main persuasive factor that gives credibility and if the design is not polished, the reader may lose attention fast. 

1. Hierarchy

Hierarchy is structuring items in order of importance with the most important information at the top or beginning and in descending order. I chose this principle because when presenting information or trying to catch a reader’s attention, the most important information should lead as a hook.

A good example comes from Jenna, she puts the most important information at the top and the words we should be reading first are in the largest font.
A bad example is shown in which the words we are supposed to read first are the smallest and can be confusing to the audience.

2. Highlighting

Highlighting is a technique used to bring more attention to certain words, graphics, sentences, pictures, etc. This is very important because it can show emphasis on certain words in a phrase, it can mark the beginning of a paragraph, and it can show hyperlinks that a reader may not know are there without it being separated by highlighting it.

A good example is by Jenna, she uses effective highlighting to provide emphasis on specific words and phrases and to separate different paragraphs. 

A bad example is shown where everything is high lighted in several colors. This makes it hard for the reader to know what is actually important and actually needs emphasis. 

3. Readability

Readability is the extent to which something can be understood, such as using vocabulary appropriate for the audience or terminology relevant to a specific field of work (i.e. medical terminology in the medical field, legal terms in a lawyer’s office). I chose this for my list because for example in my DCP, I have a lot of medical, specifically veterinary terms, that I use and they need to be explained in terms that anyone can understand – making my content readable and therefore easily understood. 

4. Consistency

Consistency is keeping different parts of a design similar. I chose this for my top ten because consistency across a web page, for example, can also add to credibility. Inconsistent design loses credibility and can send the wrong message about your cause. 

A good example is Laykynn's color palette. She uses a consistent palette across her blog of white, black, and greens.
A bad example is shown with inconsistency in font and color. 



5. Color

Using Color in design is meant to attract attention, make the design more aesthetically pleasing, and can be used to emphasize. I chose this for my top ten because I often do, and like when people use color to emphasize specific words in word documents. Having a complimentary, analogous, or another type of color scheme can make the whole web page or blog look more professional and easier to look at. 

A good example is from Vincent's blog, his color palette blends with his background image. This use of analogous colors is aesthetically pleasing.
A bad example is shown with very mismatched color combinations that are difficult to read. 



6. Alignment

Alignment is the placement of objects where the edges line up in rows or columns or in the center. I chose this for one of my top ten principles because having graphics aligned properly gives credibility to the writer and is more aesthetically and professionally pleasing. 

A good example comes from Parker's blog, the images align up and are roughly the same size, this makes for not only consistency but because they're aligned makes it aesthetically pleasing and seem organized.
A bad example is shown with the words not aligned with any rhyme or reason and makes it seem less polished.

7. Chunking

Chunking is the practice of putting similar pieces of information into individual units. In a design sense, this is useful and important when organizing aspects of a DCP. For example, I would put all of the information about shelters and adoption together, all of the information about cancers together, etc. 

8. Storytelling

Storytelling is the use of fundamental storytelling elements (setting, characters, plot, invisibility, mood, and movement) to effectively create an experience between audience and author to tell a story. This is important because all of our DCPs require some storytelling to persuade the viewer. 

9. Picture Superiority Effect

Picture Superiority Effect is the principle that pictures are more easily remembered than words are. This is important because if you want your reader to remember what you’re discussing or trying to persuade, using a picture to help the narrative can have a longer-lasting impression on the viewer. The audience may not remember every detail of something said, but they will likely remember an impactful picture and remember key points when thinking about this impactful picture. 

10. Recognition Over Recall

Recognition Over Recall is the ability to recall something from experience is easier than recalling something from just memory. This is helpful in some DCPs where the information in interactive – the audience will be more likely to remember this experience instead of just reading about the content because they interacted and experienced it in some capacity. In my experience, I studied all of my vet tech skills before getting out in the real world in a clinic and tried so hard to remember all of the information, but once I was in a clinic and could experience these skills, they were much easier to remember.