This link has been bookmarked by 134 people . It was first bookmarked on 31 Jul 2007, by Colton Telford.
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28 Jan 17
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mish-mash of difficult-to-read fonts, seemingly random italics and boldfaced text, extraneous sidebars, and awkward layouts.
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potential to greatly enhance the layout and delivery of information.
The result, of course, is more likely to be a mish-mash of difficult-to-read fonts, seemingly random italics and boldfaced text, extraneous sidebars, and awkward layouts. In unskilled hands, the tools available to us can very quickly produce messy, over-designed documents that are far less readable than the plain typewritten documents of old. -
All design starts from four basic principles, abbreviated as CRAP (they come in no particular order, so the more squeamish can rearrange them to form “CARP”, if you like. I’d advise against “PCRA”, though…). These are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
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Contrast: Contrast refers to any difference of size, shape, or color used to distinguish text (or other elements, though here we’re focusing on text) from other pieces of text. The use of bold or italics is one common form of contrast — the difference in shape makes the bolded or italicized text stand out from the surrounding text. Increasing the size of headers and titles, or using ALL CAPS or smallcaps are other ways of distinguishing text. These techniques only work if used sparingly; a document typed in all capital letters has less contrast than one typed normally, so is harder, not easier, to read.
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Repetition: Repetition in your text is bad; repetition of your design elements is not only good but necessary. Once you’ve decided on a size and typeface for second-level headers, for instance, all second-level headers should look the same. For most documents, two or maybe three fonts — leaning heavily on one for all the body text, with the other two for headers and maybe sidebars — are enough. The same bullets should be used on every bulleted list. Information that appears on every page should appear in the same place on every page. Design elements — like horizontal rules between sections or corporate logos — should appear the same whenever they are used throughout the document. Repetition of design elements pulls the document together into a cohesive whole, and also improves readability
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Alignment: Alignment is crucial not just to the cohesive appearance of your document but to the creation of contrast for elements like bulleted lists or double-indented long quotes. Your document should have a couple of vertical baselines and all text should be aligned to one of them. Unaligned text floats mysteriously, forcing the reader to figure out its relation to the rest of the document. Centered text is particularly bad (and is a novice’s favorite design trick).
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It is rarely self-evident what centering is meant to communicate, and too much centered text creates a sloppy, undisciplined look.
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Proximity: Pieces of information that are meant to complement each other should be near each other.
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the bulleted list above uses all four of these principles to work: it contrasts with the body of this article by being aligned to a different baseline than the rest of the paragraphs; each principle is in boldface, providing contrast, and is also directly followed by its explanation, providing proximity; the bullets, the boldfaced text, and the alignment are repeated in each new point on the list.
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it’s a thankless job, because only rarely will anyone comment on (or even notice) the quality of design — but they will notice, and act on, the message. And that’s what’s important, isn’t it?
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four basic principles, abbreviated as CRAP (
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Contrast: Contrast refers to any difference of size, shape, or color used to distinguish text
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Repetition: Repetition in your text is bad; repetition of your design elements is not only good but necessary.
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Repetition of design elements pulls the document together into a cohesive whole, and also improves readability
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Your document should have a couple of vertical baselines and all text should be aligned to one of them.
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Pieces of information that are meant to complement each other should be near each other. O
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30 Aug 13
Amy ThorntonRules for designing: context, repetition, alignment, proximity
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25 Sep 12
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24 Sep 12
Marta Quero"Applying a few basic design skills can help avoid those mistakes, instead allowing the features we often regard as “extras” to take their rightful places as means of enhancing the readability and impact of our work."
design web site crap contrast repetition alignment proximity
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07 Dec 11
Shina BrownRepeating in writing is not a good nor effective idea. Repetition in designs always the best way to design.
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14 Oct 10
Anthony LepkiAlignment: Alignment is crucial not just to the cohesive appearance of your document but to the creation of contrast for elements like bulleted lists or double-indented long quotes. Your document should have a couple of vertical baselines and all text sho
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Applying a few basic design skills can help avoid those mistakes, instead allowing the features we often regard as “extras” to take their rightful places as means of enhancing the readability and impact of our work. While design is a skill — equal parts art and science — that can take years to develop to a professional level, the core ideas are quite simple, and applying them can produce a marked improvement on your day-to-day work.
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Nina ScalettiHow to be a better designer with CRAP. Don't worry, it's not what you think!
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Nomar MoraThe power and ease-of-use of today’s computer applications has raised the bar drastically on the quality of design expected in the documents we produce. As recently as ten years ago, it was typical to produce business letters, memos, and other documents u
diseño contraste repeticion alineamiento proximidad computación
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Leandro SatoAll design starts from four basic principles, abbreviated as CRAP. These are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
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30 Jul 07
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