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/ Monster Media 1996 #14 / Monster Media No. 14 (April 1996) (Monster Media, Inc.).ISO / text / words_mp.zip / INTEREST.DET < prev    next >
Text File  |  1996-01-30  |  8KB  |  159 lines
  1. 24, 74, 1, 4, 160, 1, 0
  2.  
  3.  
  4.                 [LR,LG]â██████████████████████████████████████████á[LG,LG]
  5.                 [WH,BK]▓▓▓▓▓    KEEP THE READER'S INTEREST    ▓▓▓▓▓[LG,LG]     
  6.                 [LR,LG]████████████████████████████████████████████[LG,LG]
  7.                  
  8.                  
  9.                   The reader [BK,YW] begins [BK,LG] to read because you
  10.                   have done something to [WH,BK] grab attention. [LG,LG] 
  11.                   Without attention, nothing you do, say or 
  12.                   write matters to anyone but you.
  13.             
  14.                   After you first grab attention, then you
  15.                   [WH,BK] arouse curiosity. [BK,LG] As long as readers
  16.                   remain curious about what's coming next 
  17.                   they [BK,YW] continue [BK,LG] reading.
  18.             
  19.                   You keep their curiosity alive with two 
  20.                   factors:
  21.           
  22.                      [BK,WH] ┌───────────────────────────┐ [LG,LG]                  
  23.                      [BK,WH] │    1.  What you write     │ [LG,LG]                  
  24.                      [BK,WH] │    2.  Page design        │ [LG,LG]                          
  25.                      [BK,WH] └───────────────────────────┘ [LG,LG]                  
  26.                      
  27.                  What you write and the way you write it is 
  28.                  of utmost importance. You can, and should, 
  29.                  deal with that in more appropriate forums.
  30.  
  31.                  Your page (book) design must perform two
  32.                  functions.
  33.  
  34.                   [BK,WH] ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ [LG,LG]
  35.                   [BK,WH] │  1.  Grab attention              │ [LG,LG]
  36.                   [BK,WH] │  2.  Logically direct the eye    │ [LG,LG]
  37.                   [BK,WH] │      along the desired route,    │ [LG,LG]
  38.                   [BK,WH] │      from one design element     │ [LG,LG]
  39.                   [BK,WH] │      to the next.                │ [LG,LG]
  40.                   [BK,WH] └──────────────────────────────────┘ [LG,LG]
  41.                                        
  42.                  Consequently, at this moment, you're reading 
  43.                  short paragraphs composed of relatively short 
  44.                  lines surrounded by lots of space. 
  45.                
  46.                  You find it more inviting and comfortable to 
  47.                  read in this design than if it were a page of 
  48.                  solid text.  
  49.          
  50.  
  51.  
  52.                 [LR,LG]â█████████████████████████████████████████á[LG,LG]
  53.                 [WH,BK]▓▓▓▓▓      YOUR GRAPHIC ELEMENTS      ▓▓▓▓▓[LG,LG]     
  54.                 [LR,LG]███████████████████████████████████████████[LG,LG]
  55.          
  56.                  Graphic elements have visual "weight," and
  57.                  are positioned on the page to add interest, 
  58.                  achieve balance, or both.
  59.                
  60.                  Weight depends on three factors:
  61.      
  62.                          1.  Size
  63.                          2.  Density
  64.                          3.  Color
  65.                
  66.                  [WH,BK] EXAMPLES: [LG,LG]  
  67.  
  68.                  A small picture is "lighter" than a
  69.                  larger picture.
  70.                               
  71.                  A cartoon is lighter than a photograph 
  72.                  the same size because it has more "air" 
  73.                  (unused space) in it.
  74.            
  75.                  Black is heavier than white; red is
  76.                  heavier than pink; a cross-hatched 
  77.                  block is lighter than a solid block.
  78.  
  79.                  You can achieve balance on a page (or 
  80.                  screen) in many ways. The easiest -- and 
  81.                  least interesting -- is a symmetrical 
  82.                  design. That means you simply position 
  83.                  comparable elements on each side of an 
  84.                  imaginary line that runs down the middle 
  85.                  of the page.
  86.            
  87.                  The most interesting, and usually the most 
  88.                  effective design is based on the see-saw 
  89.                  principle. You can balance a "heavy" 
  90.                  element close to the center line with a 
  91.                  "lighter" element farther away. Like this:
  92.                     [LR]     ▄▄▄▄▄▄
  93.                     [LR]     ██████                 ▄▄▄▄
  94.                     [LR]     ██████                 ████
  95.                     [BK]    óóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóóó
  96.                     [BK]          Ä███████å
  97.                                       
  98.                  Time-Warner, Ballentine, Disney and other
  99.                  heavy hitters in this game hire high-powered
  100.                  consultants to design the appearance of their
  101.                  products.
  102.               
  103.                  You're your own product designer.  If you
  104.                  haven't been exposed to the principles of
  105.                  visual design, you'll want to learn some-
  106.                  thing about it.
  107.                
  108.                  Browse your public library's electronic
  109.                  catalog for 
  110.                
  111.                            Art, layout
  112.                            Art, design
  113.                            Art, commercial
  114.                            Advertising, layout
  115.                            Advertising, art
  116.                            Advertising, impact
  117.                            Color, emotions
  118.                            Color, weight
  119.                            Color, density
  120.                            Color, engineering
  121.  
  122.                  In searching for these possibilities you'll
  123.                  find others that may lead to still more.
  124.                
  125.                
  126.                             [BK,WH] ┌────────────────┐ [LG,LG]
  127.                             [BK,WH] │    WARNING     │ [LG,LG]
  128.                             [BK,WH] └────────────────┘ [LG,LG]
  129.                  
  130.                  Base your book design on [WH,BK] principles, [LG,LG]
  131.                  not personal taste in clothing or home
  132.                  decor.  
  133.                
  134.                  Frequently a man says "I don't know
  135.                  anything about that stuff.  I'll get my
  136.                  wife to do it.  She has good taste."
  137.                  
  138.                  And, indeed, she may have wonderful taste
  139.                  in home decor.  But you don't want a book
  140.                  that harmonizes with the living room.
  141.  
  142.                     [WH,BK] ┌────────────────────────────────┐ [LG,LG]
  143.                     [WH,BK] │      You want a book that      │ [LG,LG]
  144.                     [WH,BK] │       does three things:       │ [LG,LG]
  145.                     [WH,BK] │                                │ [LG,LG]
  146.                     [WH,BK] │     1.  Grabs attention        │ [LG,LG]
  147.                     [WH,BK] │     2.  Arouses curiosity      │ [LG,LG]
  148.                     [WH,BK] │     3.  Nourishes hope of      │ [LG,LG]
  149.                     [WH,BK] │         benefit                │ [LG,LG]
  150.                     [WH,BK] └────────────────────────────────┘ [LG,LG]
  151.                                 
  152.                  That job is accomplished in a different way.
  153.                  
  154.                  Learn something about the principles before
  155.                  you make design decisions.
  156.                  
  157.                  Go, go, go!
  158.                
  159.                                   [LG,BL]⌠ ESC ⌡[LG,LG]