In her book The Non-Designer's Design Book, Robin Williams (not Mrs. Doubtfire, too bad, right?) coins the C.R.A.P. Design Principles, though some may call them C.A.R.P. to be more PC.
On Wednesday you'll be designing a visual document/text for Dunder Mifflin using these principles. Your job is to research what "CRAP" stands for. Here's a hit - the first one is "contrast."
In the comments section below post what you think "CRAP" stands for, and where you found your information. Also, provide a brief (one or two paragraph) commentary on why these principles are particularly useful. After all, Williams chose four terms as being the most important. Why these four, why not something else?
Please post by 8 AM on Wednesday Feb. 24.
Daniel
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After doing some research I found a website review of The Non-Designer’s Design Book which informed me that CRAP stands for: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. These ideas are very useful in any form of visual rhetoric or presentation. In order to capture someone’s attention it is important for information to be organized in a way that will draw attention to the most important points displayed (Alignment and Proximity). With your information compared to inferior competitors (Contrast) and an emphasis to this information (Repetition) a sales pitch becomes much easier as the customer is already persuaded towards your side.
ReplyDeleteCRAP is an acronym that stands for the contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity of designs. Contrast is important because it keeps the visual focused on your topic or message by making the important parts stand out (blue Carhartt ad). Repetition is important because visuals with similar messages should show similarities in design to create a lasting image for the reader (icons). Good alignment of similar texts or images provides structure for the document and keeps it professional looking, while proper proximity ensures texts and images with similar messages are grouped together.
ReplyDeleteC.R.A.P. consists of four key principles that should be used when coming up with a design of a document. Design is about making something easier to use. If the information in the document is structured using these four elements, then it will be easier for the reader to process it. Contrast refers to difference in elements used to distinguish text from other parts of text. Repetition is about using design elements systematically, sticking to the chosen format. Alignment in document’s appearance is another important point, paying attention to the margins, and making the text document look neat. Proximity in the document is crucial to avoid confusion of the reader, keeping the pieces of information that complement each other nearly.
ReplyDeleteRobin Williams coined the acronym C.R.A.P. to outline what she thinks are the four most important principles to remember when creating visual rhetoric. C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. Contrast refers to the physical differences in the piece such as color and text size. This is obviously important because you can draw attention to the most important message(s) by making it contrast with its surrounds. Repetition refers to keeping things similar in a piece, such as test size. Creating something where every other word is a different text size can make it difficult to read. Keeping things simple and clean and in the same style helps make your piece much more professional and effective. Alignment refers to the physical lines made by the objects of the whole. Keeping things aligned creates flow and keeps the piece organized, especially if there is text in the piece. And finally, proximity refers to the distance between information or background objects in the piece. Keeping information that is related close to each other is a simple strategy that falls in this category.
ReplyDeleteI believe that these principles are mainly directed at the physical appearance of a piece rather than the message. This helps give a general outline as to how to create the most effective physical appearance for conveying the rhetoric but has nothing to do with the message itself. The website I got the definition from made a good point; “Ultimately, the goal is for the work you put in to designing a document to disappear, to become invisible, leaving your reader or viewer with unfettered access to the points you are trying to convey — both directly in your text and, ever-so-subtly, in your choice of design elements.” http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/design-better-with-crap.html
CRAP stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. In the particular website that I got what CRAP stood for it was using crap to show how to create a good website design. Reading through what this person had to say about CRAP and websites it help me to understand why these for words are important. They important because there simple but applies in a complex way. According to another website Robin Williams wrote the book for people without experience in design. Therefore she had to explain in simple terms. These particular terms that make up CRAP are simple but you can build upon them to create better work. Contrast in simplest forms is black vs. white but when you look at black vs. white like on this blog the white sticks out yet connects to other posts. Every term has their own way of helping the design to pop and entertaining or worth reading or looking at. I think that is why she picked these particular terms you can relate to them and that makes it easy to apply making one's design better.
ReplyDeletehttp://designorati.com/articles/t1/graphic-design/22/book-review-the-non-designers-design-book.php
http://carsonified.com/blog/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/
The four principles of Robin Williams’ acronym CRAP are: C for contrast, R for repetition, A for Alignment, and P for proximity. The concept of contrast is to not make all of the elements in a visual alike. This means that the color, size, lines, shape, thicknesses, etc must differ. The concept of repetition is to repeat common visual elements in a visual. Repetition can aid in a visuals uniformity and attraction. The concept of alignment means that a visual should not have its elements randomly placed. Alignment creates organization, professionalism, and appeal. The concept of proximity strengthens a visual by maintaining a close distance between common elements in the visual. The eye sees a group of items close together as one image. Proximity keeps a visual clean, informative and clear.
ReplyDeleteAll of the concepts in CRAP strengthen a design. They are a great basis to begin upon. Knowing what elements will convey a message most effectively and in a professional manner are important. Robin Williams has put together this list because the concepts included are paramount to a visual. The information for this blog entry was found on: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/
Robin Williams explained about the C.R.A.P Design principle in his book, The Non-Designer's Design Book. The C.R.A.P Design principle stands for contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity. For Contrast, elements of design should be different from each other to stand out more. If they look just little bit different from each other, the design would not so effective to emphasize the contents. So if they are not exactly identical to each other. Then make them totally different. For Repetition, the design should have consistency throughout the whole design. It unifies all elements into one design and can make people to follow the pattern. As a result, the design would emphasize the meaning of contents. For Alignment, all elements should be visually connected to each other and none of them should be placed arbitrarily so the design could have the order. For Proximity, elements should be properly grouped. Similar ones should be grouped together and dissimilar should not be grouped together. Also related elements should be placed close to each other to form a cohesive group.
ReplyDeleteC.R.A.P Design Principle can improve the design. They are basic concepts of designing. Also they are easy enough to apply. By just applying these concepts, the design would be strengthened. As a result, the design would become more effective to convey and communicate the contents.
http://carsonified.com/blog/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/
Contrast
ReplyDeleteRepetition
Alignment
Proximity
These principles develop a specific format for people to follow when they are thinking of creating a visual document. For unique designs in a business setting, contrasting can make advertisements different from other competitors, repetition keeps the individuals eyes attracted to the image, alignment keeps the image neat and organized, while proximity makes adds quick and easy to understand. These four factors are simple but incredibly useful when creating designs. I believe Williams uses them because of their simplistic meanings and the broad spectrum of ways they can be applied.
Bryan Sherman
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/
Robin Williams' Four Principles of design are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity (CRAP) (http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/Design/graprin.htm#summary)
ReplyDeleteContrast emphasizes the need for differentiation between parts of a design. Texts, colors, and patterns that are monotonous will lose the attention of the audience; it doesn't matter how good your message is if no one pays attention to it.
Repetition stresses that themes or motifs that are continued throughout a design are memorable and recognizable. They prove forethought and continuity within a piece and an audience can revisit a design and see/remember the connections of the piece.
Alignment and Proximity are closely related. Proximity emphasizes the placement of similar words or ideas-- they should be grouped together in a way that the audience will find logical-- and alignment stresses that these grouping should have cohesive lines in terms of their placement on the page itself (nothing random or jarring).
I think that Williams chose these four because they are focused on psychology rather than culture. None of these recommendations declares USE RED! or DON'T WRITE YOUR COMPANY NAME TOO BIG! because those suggestions might not apply in all situations. These four principles capture the ways in which an audience reads a design: Is it interesting? Will I remember it? Does it look pleasing? Can I find the information I need in a logical place? Every audience member will resonate with these questions and so the questions can be asked of any piece of design.
This is Joe Westergreen:
ReplyDelete“CRAP” stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. I found this information on the Colorado University website through their American Studies Department at [http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/Design/graprin.htm#summary]
These principles are particularly useful because they define basic elements that should be thought about when creating any visual design. I think Robin Williams choose these four principles because they are broad enough to apply to most visual elements, but still give detailed guidelines on how to create a successful visual aid. These elements describe how to create your graphics so that they draw the reader in through contrast, and how to keep the presentation uniform and organized at the same time through repetition. Also to make the visual look more professional and logical it is extremely important to consider alignment and proximity.
C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. This information was actually found on another person's blog with visuals and examples.
ReplyDeletehttp://carsonified.com/blog/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/
These are important principles is because it is the basic design for a visual, especially something to catch the interest and keep the interest. At times, an ad can attract the interest of audience but they can't keep the interest to pass the information. With the understanding of C.R.A.P, individual will be able to draw that attention and allow the audience to understand what the main points are and process that information. Visual design is a tricky process, because there are some many different tastes and views out there. To cater to one target is narrow so it is up to the designer to really explore the possibilities and somehow attract more audience.
After doing a search on CRAP, I came across a website that informed what it was and discussed the four basic principles. It stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity.
ReplyDeleteThese are four important basic princples to consider in visual design because they all flow together just like the visual should. It helps bring everything together and makes the design look appealing. Therefore it will catch an audiences attention with the intent they will follow and understand the visual. The four principle are very basic, but its make the difference between a professional design document and just your oridnary document.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1898774/the_crap_design_principle_contrast.html?cat=15
I found the information in question by googling “C.R.A.P. Robin Williams” and the site I found that explained the information the best is as follows: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/
ReplyDeleteC.R.A.P. = Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, & Proximity
Contrast is important so that everything in the visual doesn’t get blended together and the viewer can distinguish the appropriate message. Contrast enables the viewer to differentiate the different parts of the message for instance the text from the picture.
Repetition solidifies what is attempted to be presented. By repeating the information and maintaining uniform visual elements reinforces the information being presented.
Having proper alignment ensures that the audience does not lose focus by being distracted due the visual being cluttered or unorganized.
By displaying visual items in close proximity of one another aids in keeping the message a singular idea. Rather than being several different visual items spaced apart which could potentially lead the audience of the visual to lose focus of what is being presented.
I find that Williams C.R.A.P. pertains more to the visual component of a presentation than the substance of the presentation. I find it very helpful in helping keep a presentation or visual clear and concise so that it doesn’t get carried away from the point. All four point contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity really seem to be important elements that would keep people’s attention focused on a presentation.
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-desisgn/
ReplyDeleteC.R.A.P stands for Contrast, repitition, Alignment, Proximity.
If there are elements of a design that are different, yet still similar, it is best to make them very different. This is the principal of contrast. the idea is to make things very eye catching. Repetition has to do with keeping the visuals on the design consistent. While they can consistently contrast with one another, this will help to develope organization and unity. Alignment means that nothing should randomly appear within a design. The elements should align with one another to create a clean, sophisticated look. Lastly there is Proximity. Basicly related elements should be in the same area. This creates one visual unit rather than several seperate pieces
Robin Williams set a good guide for the basics of Visual Design using the “CRAP” acronym. Broken down, “CRAP” represents the concepts of Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. These basic concepts focus more on how visuals are taken in by the viewer, not focusing on specific situations. Contrast is the use of differences to both emphasize and organize the information presented. The use of different colors, texts, and positions for example help break up a visual presentation into more manageable parts to take in. Repetition adds emphasis to a given point by having it appear numerous times, these organize and unify the piece. Alignment affects the style and perception of a piece, providing connections between elements. Proximity allows for elements to be associated, or disassociated, by location, further organizing the visual and controlling the viewer’s perception of the piece. These four elements of controlling the perception of a visual piece cover the most basic ways that information can be presented, making these a very effective starting point when considering Visual Design.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/Design/graprin.htm#summary
C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. I found this information by using the good old google search by typing in C.R.A.P. Robin Williams. The contrast portion has to do with making different elements stand out from eachother. Repetition is pretty self-explainitory, if some pattern exists keep it up and dont stop too soon. Alignment means the organization of the advertisment. Every element should be connected to another so the ad doesnt look scattered and disorganised. Proximity goes along with the alignment, every relavent element should be close to other important pieces of information.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for these four words to be included is simple. They are all asthetically pleasing as because an advertisment is only looked at briefly the eye cathing elements are what will be remembered the most. Williams kept this as an acronim to keep it simple to remember in the same way as an ad should be easy to remember.
Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity
ReplyDeletehttp://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1898774/the_crap_design_principle_contrast_pg2.html?cat=15
Contrasts catch the viewer’s eye, distinguishing what is important. This is why instructors make corrections in red – it stands out in comparison to black ink. Contrasts are typically successful in gaining attention because it is in people’s nature to notice differences before similarities.
Repetition creates unity in a text, such as using the same size/style of a headline throughout a text. This makes it simpler for the reader. Repetition may also emphasize what is important by drilling it into someone’s head.
Alignment makes a visual more appealing to the eye and easier to follow and understand. It also makes different sections or elements seem more connected and create a unified whole. If a text is chaotic, the viewer will give up on it.
Proximity communicates to the reader what is supposed to be grouped together and what is intended to be separated (through the use of white spaces and blank spots). This is another technique to make a text more readable and clear to the reader.
CRAP stands for:
ReplyDelete• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Proximity
Contrast is basically the way the visual components of the page/paper/etc. design interact and appeal to the viewer. Ideally, everything should be more than "slightly different," which is important in making everything stand out against each other.
Repetition is the use of repeated styles throughout the entire design, giving a unified feel to the whole thing, allowing the designer to have good control over where the reader's eyes go.
Alignment means everything in the document should be placed strategically and consistently throughout every page or section, this helps visually connect many of the sections together and gives the document fluidity .
Proximity basically means that things in your design that are similar, should be within proximity of each other. This allows for a better transmission of the message to the reader, but also helps organize the document.
Used a combination of:
http://carsonified.com/blog/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/
CRAP stand for:
ReplyDelete-contrast: making important parts of a visual stand out.
-repetition: using design elements systematically
-alignment: attention to detail with margins, making a visual look neat.
-proximity of designs: strengthens visuals by placing common elements closer together.
The CRAP principle seems to strengthen the overall design of a visual. The concepts are simple and easy to understand. All of these principles are fairly vague so it can be significant to a wide range of applications.
I found on the website http://units.english.uiuc.edu/ppw/prosem/2003/carp/index.html that C.R.A.P stood for contrast, alignment, repetition and proximity. The contrast element showed how you can create a focal point by creating a contrast where the you want the focal point to be. The alignment described how you must create strong lines to connect objects that belong together. The R stood for repetition in this element it showed that repetition brings a sense of unity and stability. Finally there was proximity which described that things that are visually grouped together in space will appear to belong together.
ReplyDeleteCRAP design is a set of design principles that aide people in visual design. The design principles are Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity. Contrast corresponds with the differences that make an object distinguishable from the background and other objects. Repetition correlates with whether or not there is a relation between two points. Alignment relates to whether or not everything is aligned in a neat and organized fashion. Lastly, Proximity corresponds with the thought of whether or not there is relative meaning in a design (related elements are grouped together while separate items are far enough away to interfere). All good designs utilize the CRAP principles, they can apply to almost every document produced so it is a good fail safe to edit documents with these principles in mind.
ReplyDeleteSource:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1898774 /the_crap_design_principle_contrast_pg2.html?cat=15
Contrast, repitition, alignment and proximity are the principles that make up the C.R.A.P. acronym. Contrast is one of Robin William's most important principles which states that in a visual design, images should be diverse, "if they are not the same, they should be very different". Repitition refers to having a consistent theme in your visual design, using the same colors or layouts helps the organization of the presentation. To Make your visual presentation "clean" it is important that each image is displayed in a specific location so that it connects to the rest of the content on the page and makes sense to the audience; this is Alignment. Finally, if your visual design has several images or components that go together, place them near each other so the audience realizes there connection and views them as one idea instead of several different ones, another words put them in close proximity. These four tools are the most important in visual design because they help the presentation be organized as well as helping the audience make connections between images and ideas within the presentation.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.dailyblogtips.com/crapthe-four-principles-of-sound-design/