Visual Organization

Visual Organization: Directing the audience through a design.


IMPORTANT PARTS

1. Eye Movement: Controlling eye movement within the composition is a matter of directing the natural scanning tendency of the viewer's eye. The eye tends to gravitate towards areas of complexity first. In portraits, the eye typically goes to the face. Light areas of a composition will attract the eye, especially when adjacent to a dark area. Diagonal lines or edges will guide eye movement.
2. Optical Center: The spot where the eye tends to enter the page. It is slightly above the center to the left a little bit (human tendency). No matter how colorful everything else is, your eye will always fall on the optical center. It takes a compelling image to pull your sight away from the optical center.
3. Z Pattern: Our visual pattern makes a sweep of the page in a "Z" pattern. Effective page design maps a viewer's route through the information. The designer's objective is to lead the viewer's eye to the important elements or information.

The job of a graphic designer is to guide people throughout the work while making a visual statement.


FONT RULES

1. No more than 2 fonts total that complement each other in one composition
2. Don't use all upper caps
3. Chose the right font (fits theme & tone)
4. Don't over use fancy or over-complicated fonts. No need to confuse the audience.
5. Helpful site --> www.typography.com/email/2010-03/index.htm

VISUAL HIERARCHY

1. The designer's goal is to lead the viewers' eyes to the important information.
2. Visual hierarchy will establish focal points based on its importance.
3. Establish your order of elements to help the viewer absorb information provided by design.
4. What do you want your viewer to see first? Make sure the audience sees the name of the company, then what they are.

THE GRID 

1. A way of organizing content on a page, using any combination of margins, guide lines, rows, and columns. 
2. Instituted by modernism! Can assist the audience by breaking info into manageable chunks and establishing relationships between text and images. 
3. A grid consists of a distinct set of aligned-based relationships that act as guides for distributing elements across a format. Every design is different; therefore every design will require a different grid structure, one that addresses the particular elements within the design. 
4. A grid is used to help clarify the message being communicated messages and to unify the elements.