Stop Using Cheesy Clip Art: Designing Better Graphics

Starr Hoffman Librarian for Digital Collections University of North Texas Libraries

TechNet 2010 Decatur, Texas 05.14.2020

Why Avoid Clip Art?

  doesn’t clarify message

  unprofessional look

  mismatched design

  nonspecific, generic

  repetitive

Alternatives to Clip Art

  free “stock” photos online   morguefile.com   check user agreement

  American Memory (Library of Congress)   historic persons   libraries   American life   posters   manuscripts

  other government documents   copyright-free!

Alternatives to Clip Art

Alternatives to Clip Art

  your own photos…

Taking (& Editing) Better Photos

  composition & cropping   what’s in the center   what’s at the edge   the rule of threes

  interesting angles

Taking (& Editing) Better Photos

  strong light source   window, table lamp, etc.   use a DIY reflector

  car shade, aluminum foil, white paper

  editing (after the fact)   crop   contrast & brightness

Design Basics

Principles of Design   balance

  alignment

  repetition

  contrast

  white space (negative space)

  gradation

  harmony

  dominance

Elements of Design   line

  shape

  volume (mass)

  value (tone)

  color (hue)

  texture

  size

  direction images ©2007 Donna Tersiisky http://www.tersiiska.com/design/

The Seven Deadly Sins… of Design

  all center-justified text

  TEXT IN ALL CAPS

  +3 fonts in a single design

  lots of clip art

  busy composition

  multiple bordered text boxes

  no focus

More Bad Design

Good Design

  left-justified text

  limited, simple fonts

  harmonious color scheme

  photos contribute to message

  balanced composition

  bulleted list of points

  contact info easy to find

More Good Design

Add Your Content…

  what / why   what’s the event, cause, or idea

that you want to communicate?   why should your audience care

about it?   what will benefit your audience?

  who   what library/school/institution is

hosting the event?   who can they contact for more

information?

  when   day, date, time, am/pm

  where   general & specific location:

  Willis Library Room 035 (lower level), University of North Texas

  include a map, a street address, and/or a URL that provides these

  how   how does the audience get

involved?   is there a registration process

or RSVP?

Ask the Printshop

  what file format do they need?   common file formats: PDF, EPS,

TIFF

  what resolution does the file need to be?   typically 300 - 600 dpi/ppi

  dots per inch / points per inch   check “image size” or “resolution”

  do they need fonts embedded?   saving as a PDF can embed

fonts   using common fonts avoids this

problem

  is there an extra charge for a page "bleed?”   a “bleed” is an image

printed onto the edge of the paper

  to avoid it, add whitespace around the image   1/8” margin

  how do they want files delivered?   CD / DVD   upload / FTP (file transfer

protocol)   email attachment

Need More Help?

  ask me!   Starr Hoffman   Librarian for Digital Collections   UNT Libraries   starr.hoffman@unt.edu   940.565.4150

  find my presentations & CV here:   http://geekyartistlibrarian.wordpress.com

  find more info about graphic design here:   http://librarygraphics.pbworks.com/