Fake it Til You Make it: Visual Literacy for Accidental Designers

March 23, 2015

Charrosé King KC Sledd

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Collaboration Notes: http://po.st/design-16NTC

Twitter: #16NTCdesign

Your Team

Charrosé King @charroseckSenior Social Media Specialist American Psychiatric Association

KC Sledd @kcesleddSenior Manager of Strategy Atlantic Media Strategies

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Agenda

• True or False• Why Design Matters to Your Brand• Design Elements and How to Use Them• Small Group Design Critique

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True or False: Design Edition

Art and design are the same.

Art and design are the same.

FALSE

Good art says something different to everyone.

Good design says the same thing to everyone.

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Art is a talent.

Design is a skill.

Different is always better.

Different is always better.

FALSE

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Originality exists.

Originality exists.

FALSE

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“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.”

David Bowie

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“You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us.”

Maya Angelou

Remember this:

1. Look for problems, then solve them

2. Always use the company style guide

3. Design is CRAP - contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity

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What Brand Has To Do With It

Brand is perception.

It creates:

• Positioning of your organization in the marketplace

• Awareness among your target audiences

• A relationship between you and the audience

Image: SSIR

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For nonprofits, this can translate to donations.

Donors gave 38% more through branded donation pages than through generic ones.

Your logo is not your brand.

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–Jeff Bezos, founder of amazon.com

“Your brand is what other people say about you when you're not in the room.”

Define what makes you different.

Actions + Values

What choices would your brand make on a journey?

What emotions best represent how your brand feels?

Voice

How does your brand convey its message?

What words and language will you use?

Look and Feel

How will visuals convey your brand?

How does your strategy support your visual choices?

Characteristics

What qualities would your brand have if it was a person?

How would you describe your brand at a cocktail party?

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Create your own Teen Magazine quiz to figure out who you are.

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Design can express your brand to the public.

GlobalGiving is:

Engaging Accessible Hopeful Curious Human Substantive Forward-thinking Smart Enthusiastic

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Imagery, fonts, and logo play a collective role in activating your brand.

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Design Elements and How to Use Them

Layout

Alignment

Always use a grid

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Hierarchy

Gutenberg F formation Z formation

Primary Optical

Area

Strong Fallow Area

Weak Fallow Area

Terminal Area

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Balance

Symmetry Asymmetry Unbalanced

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Typography

“Typography exists to honor content.”

-Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style

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Choosing a Typeface

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Choosing a Typeface1. Well-designed

2. Designed for intended use

3. Accommodating

• Numbers

• Italics

• Glyphs

4. “Sympathetic to the theme”

•Lean

•Strong

•Swift

Font Types

A T A TSerif Usually more formal, classical Varying strokes Good for body text in print, long reads

Sans Serif Usually more casual, modern, simple Uniform strokes, geometric lines Good for small text Good for electronic body text

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Choosing a Typeface

Instructions written in a sans serif typeface?

Or instructions written in a serif typeface?

Which instructions are easier to understand?

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Choosing a Typeface

Instructions written in a sans serif typeface?

Or instructions written in a serif typeface?

Which instructions are easier to understand?

90.7%

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Choosing a Typeface

The documentary using a sans serif typeface?

Or the documentary using a serif typeface?

Which documentary is more in-depth and well-researched?

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Choosing a Typeface

The documentary using a sans serif typeface?

Or the documentary using a serif typeface?

Which documentary is more in-depth and well-researched?

78.3%

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I love you.

I hate you.

Creating Contrast with One Typeface

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Color

The color wheel is your guide.• Primary

• Red

• Blue

• Yellow

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The color wheel is your guide.• Secondary (made from primary colors)

• Green

• Violet

• Orange

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The color wheel is your guide.• Tertiary (made from one primary and one

secondary color)

• Red-Orange

• Orange-Yellow

• Yellow-Green

• Green-Blue

• Blue-Violet

• Violet-Red

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Color Wheel: Complementary Colors• Complementary colors are directly across

from each other in the color wheel.

• High contrast

• Eye-catching

• Can also be difficult to look at, vibrates

• Primary-Secondary or Tertiary-tertiary

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Color Wheel: Analogous Colors• Three colors next to each other on the color

wheel

• Typically one color is dominant color, which tends to be a primary or secondary color, with two tertiary.

• Harmonious

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• Stands for Red, Green, and Blue

• Used for digital communications

• Additive color = mixing colored lights

• Lack of color = black

• Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black)

• Used for print

• Subtractive color = mixing pigments

• Lack of color = white

Color Codes: There are two different systems to express color in digital and print formats.

CMYKRGB

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Use 2-3 colors per piece to avoid overwhelming the user.

Use tints and shades to add variation without adding extra colors.

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Selecting colors for your brand should be part of your overall design strategy.

Black: Powerful and sleek

Blue: Trustworthy and secureGreen: Relaxing and easy to view

Purple: Calming and soothing

Yellow: Youthful and optimistic

Red: Energetic and urgent

Orange: Creates a call to action

Pink: Romantic and feminine

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Images

Decide what you want your brand to represent, and consider your audience through this process.

Is your audience international?

Will they need accessible features?

Where will you use the colors?

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10%

Images are critical to your visual strategy because of the Picture Superiority Effect.

Cat

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10%

Images are critical to your visual strategy because of the Picture Superiority Effect.

65%

Cat

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What do you want people to remember?

• Use:

• Hopeful, smiling faces

• Personality and character

• High-quality, high-resolution images

Not:

• Poor quality

• Obviously posed photos

• Constituents as victims

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Consider the Rule of Thirds when selecting images.

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The Face-ism Ratio is key when deciding how you want to portray your subject.

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Use memorable iconography to give clear context to your audiences.

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Apply it IRL

Powerpoint

• Ask “Does this serve a purpose?”

• White space is your friend

• Big text, fewer words

• Go big or go home: 60 point headers, 36 point font body text

• Test your Powerpoint - make sure that people in the back can read it

• Use a grid

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Good slides make it easy on the viewer to consume information.

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Newsletters

• Start with a strategy

• Use system fonts, even if it’s not your brand

• Have a header image, such as your logo

• Write out your organization’s name just in case

• Use two to three typefaces max

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Simple newsletter templates are easy to create and easy to read.

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Social Media Shareables

• Make sure info is accessible within 2 seconds or less

• Use icons that are familiar and recognizable by people

• Contrast, contrast, contrast

• Maintain a visual and message hierarchy

• Use words that your audience will recognize

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Social media shareables should give the user an identity to demonstrate to their networks.

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Small Group Activity

Thank You!

Thank You

KC Sledd @kcesleddSenior Manager of StrategyAtlantic Media Strategiesksledd@atlanticmedia.com

Charrosé King @charroseckSenior Social Media SpecialistAmerican Psychiatric Associationcking@psych.org

Please complete session-specific feedback survey through the: • http://po.st/YkbWaV • Mobile app • Website listing

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