Designing Intelligent Content: A Writer's Guide

DESIGNINGINTELLIGENT

CONTENT

A writer’s guide

PATRICIA TOMPKINSSenior Art Director, SitewirePrograms Director, AIGA Arizona

NIKI BLAKERDesign Strategist, Forty

President, AIGA Arizona

A little bit about us

HIER ARCHYVISUAL Understanding

TYPE

COLORUSING Choosing the

right image

FIRST, AN ASSUMPTIONPurposeGoalsAudienceVoice & tone

VISUAL HIERARCHYThe basic principles are crap

01

LOOKING FOR LOVE

IN ALDERAAN PLACES

DESIGN PRINCIPLESContrastRepetitionAlignmentProximity

Game of ThronesDrinking Game Rules

SipJoffrey acts like a scumbag

Jon Snow is called a bastardTyrion makes a quip

Someone makes a toastShot

Someone claims X to be the true KingKhaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”

The Iron Throne is mentionedGratuitious sex or nudity

CONTRASTis what makes the reader look at the page in the first place.

The bold and the beautiful.

GAME OF THRONESDrinking Game Rules

SIPJoffrey acts like a scumbag


Someone makes a toast

SHOTSomeone claims X to be the true King

Khaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”The Iron Throne is mentioned

Gratuitious sex or nudity

REPETITIONis the process of creating a visual pattern that helps unify your message.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!


SIP Joffrey acts like a scumbag

Jon Snow is call ed a bastardTyrion makes a quip

Someone makes a toast

SHOT Someone claims X to be the true King

Khaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”The Iron Throne is mentioned

Gratuitious sex or nudity

ALIGNMENTconnects the visual elements together, creating an invisible line of cohesiveness.

From lawful good to chaotic evil.

GAME OF THRONESDrinking Game RulesSIP Joffrey acts like a scumbagJon Snow is call ed a bastardTyrion makes a quipSomeone makes a toast

SHOT Someone claims X to be the true KingKhaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”The Iron Throne is mentionedGratuitious sex or nuditySomeone gets killed

PROXIMITYcreates visual unity in elements that are related to each other.

He’s nice, bit of a close talker.


SIP Joffrey acts like a scumbagJon Snow is call ed a bastardTyrion makes a quipSomeone makes a toast

SHOT Someone claims X to be the true KingKhaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”The Iron Throne is mentionedGratuitious sex or nudity

Game of ThronesDrinking Game Rules

SipJoffrey acts like a scumbag


Someone makes a toastShot

Someone claims X to be the true KingKhaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”

The Iron Throne is mentionedGratuitious sex or nudity


SIP Joffrey acts like a scumbagJon Snow is call ed a bastardTyrion makes a quipSomeone makes a toast

SHOT Someone claims X to be the true KingKhaleesi is referred to the “Mother of Dragons”The Iron Throne is mentionedGratuitious sex or nudity

RECRAPBy creating bold contrast, using repetition, and organizing your content through alignment and proximity, you create a visual heiarchy that guides the reader through their experience.

TYPE MATCH-MAKING

Designing long-lasting relationships

02

WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?In order to determine your perfect typographic match, you must first consider your communication goals.

Who’s youraudience?

What’s the brandpersonality?

What’s yourmessage?

How manycontent types?

Headline/Title

Visual Message

OtherInformation

Subheadline

Date

READABILITYHow easy it is to read words, phrases, and blocks of copy

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pret-ty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all--I’m not saying that--but they’re also touchy as hell. Besides, I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christ-mas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy. I mean that’s all I told D.B. about, and he’s my broth-er and all. He’s in Hollywood. That isn’t too far from this crumby place, and he comes over and visits me practically every week end. He’s going to drive me home when I go home next month may-be. He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour. It cost him damn near four thousand bucks. He’s got a lot of dough, now. He didn’t use to. He used to be just a regular writer, when he was home. He wrote this terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish, in case you nev-er heard of him. The best one in it was “The Secret Goldfish.” It was about this little kid that wouldn’t let anybody look at his gold-fish because he’d bought it with his own money. It killed me. Now he’s out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there’s one thing

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll prob-ably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the sec-ond place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all--I’m not saying that--but they’re also touchy as hell. Besides, I’m not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy. I mean that’s all I told D.B. about, and he’s my brother and all. He’s in Hollywood. That isn’t too far from this crumby place, and he comes over and visits me prac-tically every week end. He’s going to drive me home when I go home next month maybe. He just got a Jaguar. One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour. It cost him damn near four thousand bucks. He’s got a lot of dough, now. He didn’t use to. He used to be just a regular writer, when he was home. He wrote this terrific book of short stories, The Secret Goldfish, in case you never heard of him. The best one in it was “The Secret Goldfish.” It was about this little kid that wouldn’t let anybody look at his

VS

Serif

Sans-serif

LetterspacingL e t t e r s p a c i n g

Word spacingWord spacing

&

Kerning

Tracking

Line length Leading AKA LINE SPACING

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pret-ty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all--I’m not saying

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll prob-ably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like go-

ing into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the sec-ond place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father.

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pret-

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pret-ty personal about them. They’re quite touchy about anything like that, especially my father. They’re nice and all--I’m not saying

&

SIMPLICITYHow easy it is to focus on and interpret messaging

VARIATIONHow to combine fonts in an appropriate typographic expression of brand personality

OppositesATTRACT

LikesRepell

A casual case

A screaming scale

A worthy weight

RECAPWell-designed type considers the overall communication goals, takes into consideration the brand personality and thoughtfully utilizes appropriate typographic treatments to convey meaning.

USING COLORThe amazing color wheel

03

Primary colors

Secondary colors

Tertiary colors

Complementary

Complementary

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Triads

Triads

Triads

Triads


Analogous

Analogous


Tints

Shades

Tones

Monochromatic


Complementary


Complementary


BEHOLD,THE COLOR SPECTRUM

Better than a double rainbow.

With 16.8 million choicesWhere do you even start?

CHOOSING YOURCOLORSColor groups and meanings

Using the color picker

Color palette tools

Warm tones

Cool tones

Neutrals

COLOR MEANINGS

Optimism Energy Action

Trust Growth Wisdom

in Western culture

SERENITY NOW!

I am looser than creamed corn.

The perfect retreat for your fall vacation.

VISITNEWENGLAND

on a scenic Alaskan cruise.SAIL AWAY

Tools of the tradekuler.adobe.com

Tools of the tradekuler.adobe.com

Tools of the tradecolourlovers.com

RECAPBy understanding the basics of color theory and how colors work together, you can then incorporate other factors such as your audience, mood, branding and imagery to create your ideal color palette.

PHOTOGRAPHIC STORYTELLING

A picture is worth a thousand words

04

It is so nice when you can sit with someone and not have to talk.

- Harry Burns

EVERY IMAGE SHOULD...

Visually support written content

Encompass the broader message

Contain a primary focus, while providing useful context

01

02

03

Our milk is “farm to store fresh.”For example:

OR

Who says burgers can’t be fancy?For example:

OR

This summer, protect your family by using sunscreen.

For example:

OR

THEY FINISH EACH OTHER’S SENTENCESWhen choosing images to compliment copy, look for visual stories that support written content, encompass the broader message, and contain a primary focus, while providing useful context.

A SIDE NOTE ON STOCK

When choosing stock images, try to avoid generic, overused or overly-simplified subjects and compositions. There is nothing more damaging to user engagement than publishing interesting copy paired with boring visuals.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHERThe design principles of visual heirarchy along with the understanding of color, type, and image match-making, will help support the voice and tone of your message, connect with your audience, and achieve your clients’ goals to create one complete, holistic experience.

Thank you