Graphics and Visual Communications Management, Chapter 1

Name:

Kelsey Taylor

Student Number:

17

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. Upload and convert this file into GOOGLE DOCS.
4. PUBLISH this document as an HTML document from GOOGLE DOCS
5. Add a link to the published document from your INDEX page

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 on the page? One column or Two?

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

3. How long should the text lines be? Should the text be fully justified, or should the right side margins be ragged?

4. Are there any appropriate occasions to center the text?

5. What font or fonts do I choose? Once I choose a font, how much white space should there be between lines to make sure the font is easy to read?

6. How can I most effectively combine type styles for visual emphasis?

7.How do I use visual design to show the hierarchy of information?

8. What fonts do I use for headings?

9 Where can I place headings?

10. How do I show different levels of headings?

2. Page layout considerations:

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

What is the purpose of a grid in page layout design? Grids allow 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? In a multi-column layout the text automatically flows from one column to another, graphics can be inserted within the columns. Multi-column can also allow a designer to turn their page to landscape orientation while keeping text lines to a readable length.

What is the importance of “white space” in page layout design? Too little white space in a document can make the document difficult to read because readers will find it difficult to focus on specific elements.

What is the optimum line length of a line of text? A good rule of thumb for an optimum line length is between 35 and 70 characters (or between 8 and 12 words).

What happens to readability if the line is too short? Lines of text that are too short can be equally difficult to read because they break up units of words that the reader expects to read together

What happens to readability if the line is too long? Lines of text much longer than that require the reader to move his or her head to read to the end of the line, this causes fatigue when reading long documents.

Describe these text alignment terms: Fully justified: forms a straight line at both margins Left justified: the right margin is ragged Right justified: the left margin is ragged Centered: both the left and right margins 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 and 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. times new roman c. Caslon

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

What is a PDF file and why are PDF files commonly used? A PDF file captures the exact look of a document as it would appear when printed, including, fonts, images, and formatting. They are commonly used because they are compatible with other computer platforms and operating windows.

What happens if a font in the document is NOT installed in the computer? If you want to use a font that is not part of this set—or if you want to ensure that your electronic document will look as you planned no matter what computer it is viewed on—the safest choice is to circulate the document in Portable Document Format or PDF.

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 – 12 points

8. Define these terms with regard to font size: a. x-height- the measure of a lowercase letter without any ascenders or descenders b. ascender- the part of a lower-case letter that is taller than the font's x-height. c. descender- the part of a lower-case letter that is taller than the font's x-height.

9. Explain why some fonts may appear larger than others even if they are the same point size. Some fonts may appear larger than other because the types of fonts have different ascender and descenders.

10. a. What is leading? (NOTE: This pronounced “led-ding” NOT “leeding”) The amount of white space lines of text. b. Why is leading “set solid” not advised? Blocks of text which are “set solid” require the reader to more slowly to avoid taking in the next line of text before finishing reading the line above.

11. When is it most appropriate to use type styles such as bold and italics? It is appropriate to sue styles such as bold and italics when adding emphasis and attracting the readers attentions.

12. WHY IS IT DIFFICULT TO READ BLOCKS OF TEXT THAT ARE ALL IN UPPER CASE? When words are in upper case it forces the reader to work hard to distinguish between letters and recognize words at a glance.

13. Explain the basics of using fonts, font sizes, and styles to create a hierarchy of information in a lengthy document: Longer documents, such as, reports, proposals, and business plans benefit from visual cues that that help the reader distinguish different levels of information.

Document Design Consideration

On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look. You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly. To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab.

To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template. On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look. You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab.

Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly. To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab. To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template. On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.

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 Upload and convert this file into GOOGLE DOCS. PUBLISH this document as an HTML document from GOOGLE DOCS Add a link to the published document from your INDEX page