It is so interesting to me that graphic design plays such an important role in our daily lives from: paging through a magazine, reading a children’s book or just simply surfing the internet. I have zero experience on any type of design (oh, I lied, I am an expert in designing stick figures!) but I was able to pick a bad ad or a good one, due to either of its bad color or incoherent message. Learning the four basic principles of design (CRAP) was crucial in understanding graphic design and what it has to offer. Alignment, Proximity, Repetition and Contrast are the principals I was putting into place every time I would see an ad or something on the web without knowing what they were. A perfect example of how graphic design played a role in our daily lives was when a few years ago the magazine Newsweek revamped their entire look. They utilized all of the “CRAP” to achieve their new and sophisticated look. There was an outcry from some people, they did not like the change, but what Newsweek had accomplished was that they gave the magazine a web design look. It was innovative to see the ways the magazine changed; their usage of alignment was tremendous in the new format. It was so exciting to see the change.
Although designing for print and web are too distinct concepts there are a few things that are the same in achieving their goal of a good design: Knowing your target audience, a clear and effective layout, and the use of elements of design. For print the advantage that the web does not have is the actual usage of the “physical” product, giving the design texture and shape to achieve a superior design. That can be seeing all the time with children’s books, some of them have different type of paper and textures for the children to feel, different colors and shapes and sizes. That is something the web cannot offer, the pleasure of touch and discovery for children.
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