Normally appearance isn’t everything but when it comes to the
look of a document or web site it is.
Mike Rundle said it well when he the principals are nothing but C.R.A.P. He explained that in order to have a great
looking site you have to have Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
To have contrast you need to have your features be dramatically different, you
don’t want the reader to confuse what is related and what is not. Use Repetition; be consistent with your
styles, you don’t it to look chaotic. It’s
always good to have a good Alignment; all elements need to be aligned and have
a nice flow for the reader’s eye. Finally use Proximity; group your features
together just like you would group apples with apples and oranges with
oranges. Don’t mix apples and oranges together. The bottom line is if anything is attractive
then it will get a second glance no matter what. It’s good to be your own critic on this; ask
yourself if you would want to stop and read this or move on to something bigger
and better. Just face it if you would spend the time to build a good flowing
site then no one will want to check it out.
I found this reading and video on CRAP very strange at first and wondered how this applied to our writing. I mean the reading was about website design. Funny how the same principles can be applied to writing as well. If it is not orderly and has nice appeal, you will pass it by and go find something else to read.
ReplyDeleteJason, I thought the exact same thing. However, after reading a few blogs I saw that some of the other people in our class had converted the information over to apply it to writing.
DeleteSarah, I like where you wrote, "The bottom line is if anything is attractive then it will get a second glance no matter what." I think that in that sentence, you summarized our entire reading. Great job on explaining Rundle's work!
ReplyDeleteSarah, I like how you were very precise and on point with this blog post. you were able to take the information we were given and pair it down so that one could understand it with less to read! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteSarah,
ReplyDeleteIt's completely true that if the appearance of something, whether it be a document or webpage, it's going to be looked at more often than something that is not as appealing. You did an excellent job summarizing what Rundle was trying to get across! Great job.