Week 3 Blog: Design Basics

I think that the C.R.A.P. basics of design are very important. The thorough and broken down ideas of contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity really helped make the information stick. When I first read the "Non-Designers Design Book" I found myself saying "duh" a lot to some of the information Robin Williams covered, but in reading more I found it really helpful and not "duh" at all. I think that this book gives people who already have a keen eye for design an understanding of why they choose to make the design choices they do, which in turn makes the reader more deliberate and methodical in their designs. Now, when I design my mind works constantly on reviewing and evaluating my effective use of C.R.A.P., but one thing I'm struggling with now is not to rely too much on these basics because good design can be found outside the rigid lines of C.R.A.P. and you shouldn't confine yourself to rules if your creativity wants to take you elsewhere.

Here are three sites I found about basic design:

• "Basic Design Principles" (Swish Tutorials): http://archives.swish-tutorials.com/dl/dp/designbasx.pdf

This was a really great guide on basic design and touched a bit upon website design and tailoring it toward the type of image you want to portray (e.g. professional, personal, etc.)

• "The Principles of Design": http://www.digital-web.com/articles/principles_of_design/

• "Basic Design Principles": http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/tutorials/design/design/