a booklet prepared by
Joyce Rasdall and the Center for Teaching and Learning
funded in part by a Teaching Resource Faculty Program Grant
Western Kentucky University
Spring 1998

Introduction    Reasons for Applying Design Elements and  Principles to Visual Presentations     Design Process 10 Elements of Design 6 Principles of Design  Polish and Fine Tune    Physical Location of Display     Creating the Presentation - Materials Needed  Backgrounds -- surfaces, finishes Display Components -- papers, paints, etc.  Connectors -- staples, push pens, etc. Computers and Color Printers   Readability Checklist for your Presentation    Presentation Logistics: Transporting, Setting up, and Storing your Presentation  Planning Submissions for Competitions   and other Presentations  Photography Credits

 

 

I N T R O D U C T I O N

A number of factors contribute to the effectiveness of visual
presentations by faculty regardless of the medium—computer graphics,
overhead transparencies, slides, exhibits, poster sessions, display
cases, etc.  These design factors are pieces of a visual presentation
puzzle which faculty members can manage for successful results in
their respective academic units and professional competitions.
Use of a simple step by step approach can make the difference
between effective and unsuccessful visual presentations.  The purpose
of this booklet is to provide suggestions regarding these puzzle pieces.
 

 
 
 

Reasons to apply design elements and principles to visual presentations

1.  More effectively communicate your ideas.
2.  Enable presenters to be more competitive in the discipline and at confer-
     ences.
3.  Spur productivity among faculty.
4.  Support progression toward tenure and promotion.
5.  Serve as a catalyst for energy and excitement in the academic unit.
6.  Expand the visibility, reputation, and recruitment potential of your aca-
     demic  program.
7.  Add fun and enjoyment to the presentation process.
8.  Attract and motivate readers and viewers of visual presentations.
9.  Enable students to become more competitive in the career marketplace.
 
 

---

10 Elements of Design

1.  Line:

Perhaps the most basic organizational and most plastic element of design.

— Align components in a few simple horizontal and/or vertical lines.
— A series of dots, dashes, and curved or straight lines connect components
    and  lead the viewer’s eye up, down, or across to the next visual.  These
    lines modify movement of the viewer’s eye.
— Avoid leading the eye to the edge and out of the exhibit.  “Pull” the eye back
    with a closely spaced component.
 

2.  Color:

A critical element for getting attention and holding it.

— A few well-selected bright colored components on a less bright back-
   ground direct the viewers’ attention to the respective spot.
— Avoid color clutter—too many colors are too jumbled.
— Yellow on black background offers effective visibility.
— Contrasts of bright blue and orange, violet and yellow, or red and green
    pieces are attention getting.
— Contrasts of light to dark, including white and black, are attention getting.
— Warm colors (yellow, orange, red, and their variations) are more atten-
    tion-getting than the same brightnesses of cool colors (blue, green, violet,
    and teal).
— Too much brightness can overpower presentations.  Try bright colors in
   smaller areas.
— Backgrounds almost always should be quiet or neutral (black, grey, or
    white).
— Black is typically the most quiet background for displaying featured com-
    ponents.
 

3.  Space:

Consider height, width, depth, and location of exhibit area.

— Generally select a high traffic, visible area.
— Avoid excess crowding and thus loss of impact.
— Some “empty space” helps prevent a cluttered look.
— Add 3-D features with layers of foamboard (or foamcore) under selected
    components.
— Organize the display at the eye-level height of observers for optimum impact.
 
 

4.   Scale:

Consider the size of the font, paper, components, and background.

— Choose sizes that are easily readable and viewable.
— Choose 1 or 2 larger sizes to dominate smaller size components.
— Avoid too many sizes.  Simplicity is preferable over a jumble.
 
 

5. Shape:

The basic shapes are squares, circles, and triangles.

— Try variations of squares (rectangles), circles (oval, raindrop, egg, or half-
   circle), and triangles (diamond, hexagon, octagons, or pentagon).
— Generally select one or two shapes rather than 1 of everything.
 
 

6.  Texture:

To add spice, consider the possibilities of smooth, rough, coarse,
soft, grainy, ribbed, bumpy, etc.

— Three-D textures allow viewers to experience surfaces by touch, not merely
    by viewing.
— Visual textures, well selected, reduce monotony in an exhibit.
— Functional textures can facilitate (Velcro for adhering/replacing compo-
    nents).
 
 

7.  Weight or mass:

Actual and perceived weight influences exhibit success.

— Avoid having the right or left side of the display appear too heavy.
— Components that appear heavy can distract attention to “how in the world
   is this held up?”  Result: viewers can miss the overall purpose of the presen-
   tation.
 

8.  Light:

Critical element for attention-getting and attention-holding power.

— Light supports or destroys the effectiveness of an exhibit.
— The brightest pool of light is the focal point.
— Never use bare, unshielded light sources which attract attention to their
   unsightly or competing hardware, unless it is hardware on exhibit.
— Directing the light is the most useful lighting strategy.  Diagonal, up
    lighting, backlighting, and other positions eliminate the typical boring over-
   head   lighting effects and enrich the exhibit  with  varying shadow effects,
   etc.
— When appropriate, flashing lights are dramatic, effective attention getters.
   Flashing switches can be easily dropped into sockets.
— Consider 1 or 2 colors of light as a simple and usually inexpensive comple-
   ment to an exhibit.  Avoid garish, bizarre results.    Try soft yellow, pink,
   blue-white, or amber, remembering that warm colors are typically more
   people-friendly.  Avoid cool-white fluorescent lighting, the  most typical
   and most uncomplimentary lighting for warm surfaces  (skin, hair, wood,
   and most food).  Select tubes stamped with warm white deluxe.
 

9.  Sound:

An exciting mood setting and/or attention getting element.

— Sound can support an exhibit or destroy and annoy.
— How will sound be perceived by users in adjacent areas?
— Consider an exhibit’s competing background sounds when including
    sound as an exhibit component.
 
 

10.  Motion:

A much under used element for enriching exhibit and stimulating
interest.

— Consider a mobile, rotating fins with a fan below, a water fountain, a
    video tape, or technology in motion.
— But avoid excessive, distracting use of  “bells and whistles.”
 
 

---

6 Principles of Design

 
 

1. Unity and    2.  Variety:

Strike an optimum balance between unity (organized coherent whole) with variety (interest and stimulation).
 

• To achieve unity, limit the number of colors, line and letter types, shapes, sizes, textures, and/or the other design elements above.
• Excessive unity of design produces unappealing, boring monotony.
• To achieve variety, use more than 1 color, line, letter type, shape, size, texture, and/or other design element.
• Excessive variety leads to chaos, confusion, and dilution of the message.
• Rule of thumb: a margin or border width frames the visual presentation.
• Use a wider margin compared to the space between the components in the display.
• The border for a large display should be several inches wide.
• Generous is better than skimpy.

 

3. Rhythm:

Create an organized coherent whole vs. a disorganized presentation.
 

• Repeat a color, line, shape, size, texture, and/or other element.

 

4. Balance:

Stability of the visual arrangement.

• Exhibits will appear stable if balanced from top to bottom and right to left.

 

Three Types of Balance-

 1.  Symmetrical (mirror image):  the right side matches the left.
This is easy to achieve and a safe strategy. It is used often in formal
design.
 2.  Asymmetrical:  a) A few large or heavy appearing components
can balance several small items.   b) Try the strategy of  moving a few
large, heavy appearing components near the center to balance smaller
items on the opposite side.
 3.  Radial: Components explode from a center which could be in the
middle of the presentation or to one side.
        * Use lines or arrows as spokes from a central idea.
        * Usually need 4 or more spokes for a strong radial quality.

More on Balance-

 1. Balance of color value: Place a few dark colored components on
one  side to balance a larger number of lighter components of
the other side of the exhibit.
 2. Unbalanced exhibits: Use lack of visual balance (heavier on 1 side)
for attention-getting and holding power.
 

5. Proportion:

Does the size of the components fit the exhibit?
 

•  Compare the size of  two or more shapes or items to  judge the exhibit’s effectiveness.
• Viewers who are visually challenged or in a hurry will not see small fonts
• Lack of proportion: Excessively large components are dramatic attention getters, but they can overpower and appear repulsive.
• Small items which are out of proportion to the space or the need can be a nuisance,  an inconvenience,  or  even a safety liability  when messages cannot be easily seen.

 

 6. Emphasis:

Perhaps the most overlooked principle of design.
 

• A focal point is critical to the attention-getting and attention-holding power of the exhibit.
• In a special area, try 1 of the following strategies: simply change the color, increase/decrease the size of the component, contrast texture/shape/ line/font, change position or direction, or cluster motifs.
• Without emphasis, viewers may ignore the exhibit.
• A diagonal line is attention-getting.
• Manipulation of these elements attracts viewers to the exhibit.

---

P O L I S H   &   F I N E   T U N E

 

 3-D for a special touch:

Avoid the flat look.
 

•  Mount components on layer(s) of  foamboard or other medium.

• Consider folded, hinged papers or other slightly projected layers.

• Design a small easel by simply taping a V-shape support to the back of a panel.

Simple vs. complex: Professionals indicate that it is better to err on the side of simplicity than complexity. Neat vs. messy: Professional quality depends on neatness.  People judge books by the covers. Interesting vs. anemic: A bit of visual design spice overcomes tired, non-stimulating, soon forgotten or even ignored presentations.

---

 

P h y s i c a l   L o c a t i o n

o f   D i s p l a y

 
 
 

Fixed:

Try for a high traffic, high visibility location.

• Wall panels/sections
•  Bulletin boards
•  Display cases: vertical & horizontal
•  Locks can add security.

 

Portable:

How/where will equipment be stored when it is not in use?

---

Easels
      Light weight aluminum easels are sturdy enough for most presentations.
 Is the easel stable for the load expected during the presentation?
 Telescoping legs add convenience when transporting.
 Shelf, trough, or poster supports must accommodate the display’s  weight.
 Poster support should not twist.
 Table top easels often need some means to prevent them from sliding.

---

Folding panels
 Choose trifold panels, unhingeable for storage.
 Review a wide range of temporary to highly durable materials and
    panel styles--cardboard to metal edged panels--with a variety of prices.
 Use a carrying case to prevent damage to the exhibit.
 Panels are easily made with standard doors and hinges and easily
    fold for storage.

Creating the Presentation

---

 

Backgrounds:  surfaces, finishes

  Vinyl:  professional appearance; generally durable, long lasting; wide array of colors and  textures; choose quiet and rather neutral backgrounds.

Paper: can be as inexpensive as newsprint (End of rolls are often free
from local newspaper company); as thick as cardboard (lightweight);
useful for markers; easily defaced or marred.

 Cork: professional quality natural appearance but comparatively expensive;
porous surface effective with pins/tacks but must be thick enough for heavy objects.

 Fabric, burlap:  commonly used; easily stapled, glued, or pinned
on but becomes dated, tired and faded in appearance; easily and
economically replaced.

 Foamboard:  also referred to as foamcore (a layer of foam between
2 sheets of ordinary posterboard); affordable, sturdy, light weight; 1/8"
and 3/16" thicknesses typical; usually black or white; but not bendable;
“breakable.”

Illustration and mat board:  quality paper adhered to 1/8"
rigid board; professional quality and appearance, wide array of colors;
some variety of texture; but more costly than foamboard or cardboard;
limited bendability; “breakable.”

 Other:  experiment with alternative surfaces and materials appropriate
to the purpose.

---

 

Display Components:  papers, paints, etc.

 Papers:  Variety of colors, textures, weights including newsprint, cardstock,
illustration and mat board, poster board, and foam board; inexpensive to
moderate price range.

 Pens and markers:  Variety of color, angle, width, and fragility of tips
(.3 mm extra fine tip yields fine quality); as inexpensive as $1; water
soluble and permanent options; useful for underlining,  adding borders,
or check marks.

 Paints:  Acrylic, tempera, latex, and other water base paints provide
affordability, availability, and ease of cleaning; tempera available
as powder or premixed.

 Foam, illustration, and mat boards:  Provide thickness useful for
3-dimensional appearance; presentation becomes less flat and more
interesting; see prior section.

Correction fluid:   Fast drying; tight cap needed.

---

 

Connectors

 Staples:  Fast and easily used, need to align staples to edges, avoid
messy overuse in exhibit, amateurish appearance; unsuitable and unacceptable
in some professions.

 Push pins:  Available in a variety of colors to hold heavier materials.

 Tacks:  Wide variety of types; useful for light weight materials; avoid
bright colors and varid colors unless they blend with exhibit colors;
amateurish appearance unsuitable for most professions; avoid tacks
becoming the focal point.

 Tape:   Variety of types, widths, strengths, and colors.
 Double face tape: convenient, fast to use.  Drafting dots: precut
circles of tape on a roll; simple for adhering corners of paper to
smooth exhibit surface.

 Clips: Variety of types, sizes, strengths, and prices; avoid
amateurish use of paper clips.

 Joiners:  Cuttable plastic strips for inserting panels of 3/16" foamboard
for stand alone exhibit; easily disassembled and reusable, affordable.

 Rubber cement:  Fast drying; economical, especially with large containers;
cement leakage along edges of paper can be removed easily.

 Spray adhesive:  Sometimes called dry mount; very fast drying; must spray
in an exterior space or arrange components over wide background of newsprint/
plastic because aerosol “fogs” to perimeter of project; should outline/align materials
carefully before spraying, then spray back of top sheet; after positioning top to
bottom layer, quickly press from center outward to prevent bubbles (same
for wallpapering process); fogging of spray onto the hard floor surfaces leaves a
difficult to remove gritty texture which feels like sugar or sand on the floor;
spray in well ventilated space.

 Wax back:  affordable wall mounted clips; useful for light weight and temporary displays.

 Putty:  Similar to Play Dough; place behind paper and press onto surface.

---

 

Computers and color printers

 Software:   Features, options, and limitations vary with the software.

 Fonts:    Clarity and ease of reading is important; simple and useful font styles
include Rockwell, Times-Roman, Courier, and Arial .

 Pitch:   Can be discipline specific; usually 10 is minimum; no larger than
12 for text; titles and headings are often  larger.

 Graphics as competition guidelines permit:   simple horizontal or
vertical bars of customized length or width easily inserted with the WordPerfect
graphics icon; other options are commonly available for creative, customized visuals.

 Margins:   Check guidelines for submission; typically one or more inches
minimum on all 4 sides.  Generous is typically better than skimpy.

Landscape and portrait positions:   Some titles, headings, text, and graphics
are a better fit in landscape (11" horizontally) than portrait (11" vertically) position;
click format, page, and paper size in WordPerfect to get to the window where
you choose.

---

 Readability Checklist

Some Hints

Ease of reading/viewing :

• Large pitch and bold titles and headings often need at least 2 letter spaces between words.
• Simple fonts are faster and easier to grasp as are proportional letter spaces.

For instance:

• Helvetica and News Gothic are simple.
• Brush Script and Harpoon are more complex.
• Rockwell, Arial, and Times New Roman are proportionally spaced (each letter takes up as much space as it needs).
• Compare with a font such as Courier  (each letter takes up the same amount of space).

 

• If lines of text are too close, the line height prohibits ease in reading. (The space between lines of text is called leading.)
• To adjust space between lines for titles and headings in Wordperfect 6.1, click format, line, and then select spacing.  Other programs (such as Pagemaker) allow you to adjust the leading in a leading option.
• Use mixed caps and small letters for more readability.  “All caps” give fewer cues to the eye.

---

P r e s e n t a t i o n  L o g i s t i c s

Transporting, setting up, and storing visual presentations

1.  Murphy’s Law prevails too often and at the last minute.  A whole year of work and an entire project display can be marred, or worse, ruined in only a minute should rain, impact damage, scratches, smears, or a tumble occur.  Be safe, not sorry.

2.  Plastic tubes are commonly available, typically waterproof, affordable, sturdy, and handy for roll up sheets or posters.  See-through, opaque black, or cardboard tubes are options.  Whether for mailing, transit, or storage, always label contents with owner’s i.d. because of  lookalikes.  Place an identifying mark or sticker on it.

3.  Portfolios with handles, zippers, and other closures offer a wide range of prices, sturdiness, and professional sophistication.   Many can travel as luggage through flight connections and trips.  Portfolios should always be tagged/labeled because of lookalikes.

4.  Purchase foamboard, cardboard fold outs, posterboard, or other large surfaces upon arrival at the conference site.

5.  Take extra tacks, connectors, and correction fluid for setting up the exhibit.

6.  Protect the exhibit.

•  Glass:  Attractive, professional-appearing cover for exhibit; heavy thicknesses are more effective against impact (safety and security); can be expensive.

 

•  Plexiglas: Typically more impact resistant than glass; very scratch sensitive; heat build-up in exhibit cases can cause expansion (convex curve of surface).

 

•  Laminant: See-through pliable plastic permanently adheres to paper to prevent typical damage to exhibit items; very affordable; fast and convenient.

 

•  Contact paper: Remove opaque backing and stick see-through contact paper to the top surface of the presentation component; align the component and then press from the center out to the perimeter to avoid bubbles between layers.

 

• Acetate: See-through synthetic comes on a roll; attractive thick protection from smears, abrasion, and rips for more sophisticated appearance compared to laminants and contact paper; sold by the linear inch; thin enough to easily clip to sheets and illustration boards; can use electric iron on lowest setting to create neat, crisp folded edge (press acetate between paper towels); excess heat causes puckering or melted areas.

 

•  Spray fixative:  Aerosol protection useful for line drawings, renderings, and other original graphics and illustrations; useful protection for photographs, especially for preventing photos from sticking to glass (frames); must spray evenly with a regular back and forth motion about 1' above item to be protected (too far away causes fixative to dry midair creating white dots on the item; too close results in excess fixative in one area); recommend wide perimeter of newsprint around item to be sprayed to prevent “fog” settling undesirably; spray in well ventilated space; can be used to assure that dry items (flowers, seeds, and other small items) stay intact.

---

 

P l a n n i n g   S u b m i s s i o n s

for competitions and other presentations
 
 

• Follow the rules of the competition with regard to design and layout.
•  Refer to guidelines of professional organizations, juries, or sponsors.
• Clarify format, maximum size, deadlines, and other jury requirements.
• Label submissions appropriately (back side, attached, page 1 of 2, page 2 of 2, etc.)
• Pursue funding sources: academic unit, college, special university fund,  grants, foundations, student organizations, honor societies, etc.

 

Photography

—Photograph your finished exhibit for documentation and accreditation
    purposes.
—Use for press releases.
 

Credits

This publication was written by Joyce Rasdall, professor of Interior Design, Department of Consumer and Family Sciences during summer 1997. The project was made possible through a Teaching Resource Faculty grant awarded to Dr. Rasdall by the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101

Articles in this booklet	FaCET Booklet Index	FaCET Home page	WKU Home Page