Visual Communications

Name:

Jessica Stephens

Student Number:

X00147734

Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1

Answers can be found in the Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1 document, posted under CONTENT in D2L.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Answer all questions below, briefly but completely.
2. Change the color of the answer to BLUE.
3. When this sheet is complete, copy the information and images into a new blog post.

Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1

1.     Document design decisions: List 10 questions you should consider when designing a document that affect readability and visual appeal of the document:

1.  How should the document be laid out?

2.  How much space should I leave on the page?

3.  What font should I choose?

4 How do I show different levels of headings?

5.  How do I effectively combine type styles?

6. How long should text lines be?

7. What fonts do I use for headings?

8. Once a font is chosen how do I make it look nice yet remain readable?

9 When should I center text?

10. What margins should I choose?

2.     Page layout considerations:

What is the size of the standard size/layout of most business reports, memos, and letters? single 6 1/2" column on an 8 1/2" by 11"

What is the purpose of a grid in page layout design?  allows consistent placement of text and graphics throughout a multipage document.

Why would a designer choose a multi-column layout instead of a single column layout? When there are many paragraphs.

What is the importance of “white space” in page layout design? Strategic use of white space can “enhance readability, help to emphasize important points, and lighten the overall look of the document

What is the optimum line length of a line of text? 35 and 70 Characters

What happens to readability if the line is too short? break up units of words that the reader expects to read together, thus making the reader work harder to discern the message.

What happens to readability if the line is too long? require the reader to move his or her head to read to the end of the line, thus causing fatigue when reading long documents

Describe these text alignment terms: Fully justified: text is set flush left and flush right Left justified: flush left, the lines of type align along the left margin but not the right Right justified: flush right, the lines of type align along the right margin but not the left Centered: centering the lines one over the other so that both the left and right sides are ragged.

3. Font/file  considerations:

1.      Describe the difference between serif fonts and sans serif fonts: A serif typeface has small, horizontal strokes that extend from the end of the vertical strokes. A sans serif typeface lacks those small horizontal strokes.

2. List three serif fonts and change them into their actual font (for example: Times New Roman): a. Garamond b. Caslon c. Georgia

3. List three sans serif fonts and change them into their actual font (for example: Verdana): a. Franklin Gothic b. Gill Sans c. Helvetica

What is a PDF file and why are PDF files commonly used? Portable Document Format. Captures the exact look of a document as it would appear when printed. Portable across computer platforms and will look identical on Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

5. What happens if a font in the document is NOT installed in the computer?

6. With regard to font size: 1 point equals how many inches? 1/72 of an inch

7. What is the optimum point size range for good readability? 9 to 12 points

8. Define these terms with regard to font size: a. x-height b. ascender c. descender

9. Explain why some fonts may appear larger than others even if they are the same point size.

10. a. What is leading? (NOTE: This pronounced “led-ding” NOT “leeding”)   b. Why is leading “set solid” not advised?

11. When is it most appropriate to use type styles such as bold and italics?

12. WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO READ BLOCKS OF TEXT THAT ARE ALL IN UPPER CASE?

13.  Explain the basics of using fonts, font sizes, and styles to create a hierarchy of information in a lengthy document:

4. Document design exercise: Follow the directions below to practice the design principles found in this chapter. You need to be in MS WORD to complete this assignment.   You may want to print these directions so you can more easily follow them as you work through this exercise. Go to the end of this document: CTRL END Insert a page break to create a new page: CTRL ENTER Type in this title: Document Design Considerations Select the title by dragging the cursor over the title text.  Try the following shortcuts to change the style of the title: ·         CTRL I        (italics, repeat to un-italicize) ·         CTRL U      (underline, repeat to remove underling) ·         CTRL B       (bold, repeat to un-bold—leave the title bold) ·         CTRL R       (right justify) ·         CTRL L       (left justify) ·         CTRL E       (center—leave the title centered) ·         SHIFT  CTRL  >  (increase font size, do this several times, then SHIFT CTRL < to decrease font size) ·         SHIFT   F3 (change case,  NOTE: F3 is one of the function keys at the top of the keyboard. Try this shortcut several times to cycle through the cases) ·         CTRL D    Design, opens FONT dialog box; change colors, fonts, sizes, styles; try many of these Body:  Press the ENTER key twice after the title. Press CTRL L to left justify the body. Change the font to CALIBRI and font size to 11 points (no bold or italics, etc.). Type in the following formula to create 3 paragraphs of “fill text” with 7 sentences in each paragraph: =rand(3,7)   then press the ENTER key to create the fill text Click in the middle of the second paragraph. TRIPLE-click to select the paragraph. Try these shortcuts with the selected paragraph: ·         CTRL M     (to indent or move the paragraph; SHIFT CTRL M to move it back) ·         CTRL 2       (double space, CTRL 1 to single-space—leave as single-spaced) ·         To create columns: On the ribbon: PAGE LAYOUTàCOLUMNSàTWO Save this file with CTRL S

5. BLOG: Create a new blog post and insert the information and images from this sheet in the new post.