Going into this unit, I did not realize just how many designs I see in a day. I thought that design was only the posters I see, or the images we use to discuss an object, like book covers. Design is more than that, though. Design is a translation of information into text and images. Within this unit, I learned about design, and then used that information to analyze design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This post<\/a> explains more about what The Vignelli Canon<\/em> says about design and my thoughts about The Vignelli Canon.<\/em> As someone who had never heard about the booklet, I didn’t know any of Vignelli’s views when I began to read it. I knew a few of the elements that he discussed from classes on disability studies, but most of the information was new to me. I already knew about the importance of text sizes, readable typefaces, and color from learning about disability studies as readability and clarity is important to making accessible designs. For example, text should be at least 12 points to be readable and certain fonts, including serif fonts, can be harder for those with reading disabilities to understand. My overall takeaway from this booklet was that while I did not always agree with Vignelli due to his minimalist and modernist tendencies, both he and I can agree that intentional choices within a design are what help information come across clearly and accurately to an audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Within this post<\/a>, I apply the design concepts Vignelli and other sources define to look at four different designs I see in my daily life. There are many aspects of design, and it is incredibly hard to use all of them to their full potential. That fact is why minimalism<\/a> says to only use the aspects of design that you really need. For many reasons, I dislike the trend of minimalism, but by analyzing those four designs, I saw how focusing on one or two elements can make a design really effective. For example, if I have a good grasp on color, I can draw attention to the most important parts of my design. Those important parts are good places to put key information that my design is trying to convey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This unit had a lot of unfamiliar concepts to me. I learned all of the different elements that are related to design, but more importantly, I learned how intentionality is important to design and how design impacts the audience subconsciously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I learned about and discussed intentionality a lot in the unit on visual storytelling<\/a>, but intentionality, the deliberate choices you make to convey a message, can be applied to design. Intentional choices, such as using certain colors or typefaces, can help the information or message in the design stick within the audience’s mind. If you are not intentional in making your design, it can also lead to unforeseen consequences, such as making people think of calmness when seeing your emergency alarm, as I discussed here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDesign in My Daily Life<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Summary and Reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n