Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals

Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals

by Connie Malamed
Released April 2015
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781118863565

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Book description

Enhance learners' interest and understanding with visual design for instructional and information products

No matter what medium you use to deliver content, if the visual design fails, the experience falls flat. Meaningful graphics and a compelling visual design supercharge instruction, training, and presentations, but this isn't easy to accomplish. Now you can conquer your design fears and knowledge gaps with Visual Design Solutions: a resource for learning professionals seeking to raise the bar on their graphics and visual design skills. This informal and friendly book guides you through the process and principles used by professional graphic designers. It also presents creative solutions and examples that you can start using right away. Anyone who envisions, designs, or creates instructional or informational graphics will benefit from the design strategies laid out in this comprehensive resource.

Written by Connie Malamed, an art educator and instructional designer, this book will help you tap into your creativity, design with intention, and produce polished work. Whereas most graphic design books focus on logos, packaging, and brochures, Visual Design Solutions focuses on eLearning, presentations, and performance support. Visual Design Solutions includes practical guidelines for making smart design choices, ways to create professional-looking products, and principles for successful graphics that facilitate learning. Ideal for instructional designers, trainers, presenters, and professors who want to advance from haphazard to intentional design, this book will help them realize their design potential.

  • Gain the knowledge and confidence to design impressive, effective visuals for learning

  • Increase learner comprehension and retention with visual strategies offered by an expert author

  • Serves as a reference and a resource, with a wealth of examples for inspiration and ideas

  • Addresses an intimidating topic in an informal, friendly style

    • In four parts, the book provides a thorough overview of the design process and design concepts; explores space, image, and typography; and presents workable solutions for your most persistent and puzzling design problems. Get started and begin creating captivating graphics for your learners.

    Table of contents

    1. Title Page
    2. Copyright
    3. List of Figures and Tables
      1. Figures
      2. Tables
    4. Dedication
    5. Preface
    6. Introduction
    7. Part 1: The Big Ideas
      1. Chapter 1: Like a Hand in Glove
        1. The Visual Brain
        2. Benefits to Learning
        3. The Picture Superiority Effect
        4. Visual Design Impacts Emotions
        5. Aesthetic Pleasure and Motivation
      2. Chapter 2: Think Like a Designer; You Are One
        1. Visual Design Versus Fine Art
        2. The Purpose of Design
        3. The Role of the Visual Designer
        4. A Visual Design Process
        5. The Mindset of the Visual Designer
      3. Chapter 3: Work Like a Designer
        1. Build a Graphic Design Toolbox
        2. Write a Visual Style Guide
        3. Design with Templates
        4. Where to Find Visual Inspiration
        5. Know the Technical Terms
    8. Part 2: Building Blocks Of Design
      1. Chapter 4: Organizing Graphic Space
        1. Graphic Space
        2. Positive and Negative Space
        3. How to Activate White Space
        4. Layout
        5. Using Grids for Layout
        6. The Rule of Thirds
        7. Alignment
        8. Balance and Visual Weight
        9. Symmetry and Asymmetry
        10. Depicting Depth in Graphic Space
      2. Chapter 5: Selecting and Creating Images
        1. So Many Choices
        2. Choosing Images for Learning
        3. Creating Images
        4. Make Every Graphic Your Own
        5. Use a Consistent Image Style
      3. Chapter 6: Working with Type
        1. Difference Between Typeface and Font
        2. Type Has Personality
        3. How to Tell Typefaces Apart
        4. Display Type Versus Body Text
        5. Know Four Type Categories
        6. How to Select a Typeface
        7. Using One Type Family
        8. Using More Than One Family
        9. Legibility and Readability
        10. Arranging Type for Good Readability
        11. Placing Text on Backgrounds
    9. Part 3: Power Principles
      1. Chapter 7: Use Color with Purpose
        1. Color and Emotion
        2. Use Color to Enhance Learning
        3. Designing for Color Vision Deficiency
        4. Three Properties of Color
        5. Do Colors Have Temperature?
        6. The Color Wheel
        7. Choosing a Color Palette
        8. Color Harmonies
        9. Color Interactions
      2. Chapter 8: Establish a Visual Hierarchy
        1. What Is a Visual Hierarchy?
        2. Planning the Hierarchy
        3. Designing the Visual Hierarchy
        4. A Hierarchy of Type
      3. Chapter 9: Unify the Design
        1. Unity and Wholeness
        2. A Unified Design Supports Learning
        3. Repetition
        4. Create Visual Connections
        5. Unity Needs Some Variety
      4. Chapter 10: Create Contrast
        1. Contrast and the Brain
        2. The Effects of Contrast
        3. How to Achieve Contrast
        4. Color Contrast
        5. How to Show Emphasis with Text
      5. Chapter 11: Group for Meaning
        1. Importance of Grouping in Learning
        2. Grouping and Proximity
        3. Grouping and Similarity
        4. Grouping and Uniform Connectedness
        5. Grouping and Enclosure
    10. Part 4: Practicing Design
      1. Chapter 12: Show Them Where to Look
        1. Visual Cues Are Perceptual Signals
        2. Visual Cues and Learning
        3. Putting Visual Cues to Use
        4. Directional Cues
        5. Color Cues
        6. Eye Gaze
        7. Other Approaches
      2. Chapter 13: Add Some Excitement
        1. Bullet Points to Graphics
        2. Beyond the Box
        3. Ribbons, Stickers, and Tags
        4. The Joy of Dingbats
        5. Textures and Patterns
        6. Vignette Effect
      3. Chapter 14: Enhance Meaning
        1. Start with Cultural Conventions
        2. Visual Metaphors
        3. Break It Down
        4. Visualize with Diagrams
        5. Semantic Coherence
      4. Chapter 15: Tell Stories with Visuals
        1. Visual Storytelling
        2. Benefits of Visual Storytelling
        3. What Visual Stories Can Convey
        4. Visual Story Formats for Learning
        5. The Visual Language of Stories
        6. Designing the Visual Story
        7. Camera Shots and Angles
      5. Chapter 16: Make Numbers Interesting
        1. Typography of Numbers
        2. Thinking About Numbers
        3. Design of Statistical Facts
        4. Visualizing Data
        5. Making Comparisons with Bar Graphs
        6. Making Comparisons with Pictographs
        7. Finding Trends
        8. Showing Parts to Wholes
        9. Graph Design Guidelines
        10. Data Tables
    11. References
    12. About the Author
    13. Index
    14. End User License Agreement

    Product information

    • Title: Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals
    • Author(s): Connie Malamed
    • Release date: April 2015
    • Publisher(s): Wiley
    • ISBN: 9781118863565