Minimalism in Design

 //a guide for boost members...

Original content derived heavily from Jacob Gube, November 17th, 2008 in Design Showcase.
Then, I boiled it down and cleaned it up for the kiddies.

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Okay, peeps, we're well into working on these Yearbook posters, and Id' like to take some time to share a very effective style of design that may work well for a project like this.

1. Design is focused on the content

"In minimalist designs the focus lies not on the visual presentation, but on the content — the information presented in a “naked”, clean and intuitive way" (Gube, 2008).

The content is the focal point of the product.  The design provides little to no distraction.
 

2. Whitespace is the king…

"To make it easy for readers to scan and read the content, minimal designs usually need a lot of whitespace to breathe. In some cases whitespace dominates in the design, taking 60-70% of the whole layout space. In such designs whitespace, while remaining passive, strongly bundles user’s attention on very few site elements and thus effectively influences users’ perception of the overall design" (Gube, 2008).

Rule of thumb: the fewer elements you have and the more whitespace you have, the more attention will each element in your design get.

Example: Check out the DVD covers at Nooma.

3. Typography is the queen

"Typography is used to convey messages to the user. Larger, bold text draws the user’s attention to the intended area. Careful use of color, size and style of text is used in the design phase to underscore important elements and make others less prominent" (Gube, 2008).

Example Site: i love typography

4. Color palette consists of solid colors

Usually, designers pick one vibrant color and use it effectively to communicate the most important information presented in the product. The number of these colorful elements rarely exceeds 5-7.

5. Plain, solid white/gray or solid dark backgrounds are common

Solid backgrounds are effective especially when the content is vibrant and colorful. Plain colors don't fight for users attention; instead, they support the content and make it easy to actually scan the page when looking for the content.

Yearbook Posters

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Okay, Boosters, our first design gig of the school year is designing posters for the yearbook.

5w/how

We don't as yet have a lot of details on the Yearbook, such as exactly when it will be on sale (sometime in November as far as I know) or how much it will cost.  Those factors aren't important right now.

411: What is important...

What is important, is that "everyone will be there..." Our main task in Boost, is to create buzz.  We want our visuals to generate interest.  We want students to cross hallways against traffic and leave their place in line at the cafeteria just to see what this is hanging on the wall.  We want to create a feeling of "cool" around the yearbook.  We want students anticipating it like the next episode of their favorite tween drama or reality show.

The catch

Ultimately, anyone can grab a sharpie and a piece of giant construction poster and write something like,

The yearbook is coming soon.  It's awesome, and you're an absolute dork and a loser if you don't buy one!

The catch is, we can't say that.  It's definitely against school rules, and it's just plain wrong.  This is where Boost comes in...

Visuals

We're going to create the the feeling that the yearbook is awesome, and you're an absolute dork and a loser if you don't buy one through the use of visuals. We want our posters to be eye-catching and to create enough curiosity at a distance that people actually want to go look at them.

Words

Obviously, our posters will have to say something. Mr. Ehrhart, the yearbook adviser has given the okay to the following text, which will appear on all posters:

The Yearbook

Yes, everyone will be there...

That's all you need to know to get started.  I'll add a new post early next week outlining the art of Minimalist Graphic design, which may be our ticket to generating the kind of buzz we're looking for.

How to Join Boost

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So, let’s start with the obvious stuff. You need to be passing, and you should have no idea what the inside of Conference room “A” looks like. Boost is what we in teacher-world like to call an extra-curricular activity, which roughly translates: “Stuff you can do if you’re already doing well at the whole school-thing”.

Now that we’ve established what you shouldn’t be doing, we’ll look at how to get involved. Basically, this is a creative club geared toward building skills in a creative career field. This means that you’re going to need a portfolio of your creative work. Of course, very few people are old-school enough to carry around a big folder these days. Most portfolios are online. May I recommend the following venues to create a quick Online Portfolio for free:

• http://www.blogger.com
• http://edublogs.org
• http://www.flickr.com (Link this photo share to your blog)

These are, of course, just examples. If you already have a WetPaint or other online venue set up with your work (NO SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES PLEASE), I’ll be glad to look at those.
Even if you don’t have some work to put in an Online Portfolio, I at least want to see you sign up for one. This will show me that you’re actually willing to put forth a 10th of the effort required for this club.

Once you’ve signed up for a blog in which you can showcase your work, you can do one of the following:

Option 1: You can upload some samples of your best design work in photography, illustration, etc. Then write a little blurb about them.
Option 2: You can write a blog entry explaining why you’re interested in Digital Design. Add some links to design samples you find particularly inspiring.

Eventually, You’re going to need to see the Boost advisor, Mr. Walters, and express your interest. Be prepared to give him the address of your online portfolio and perhaps a Krispy Kreme donut.

Finally, you're going to need to convince your homeroom teacher to trade you for a member of the homeroom I got stuck with this year... (;

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What Is Boost?

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Boost is a new club here at SGMS that exists for three* primary purposes:

1. To give a “boost” to the skill level of students interested in pursuing graphic and digital design in the HS or as a career path.


2. To give a “boost” to the various clubs already in existence at SGMS by providing assistance with:
   
   • Desktop Publishing
   • Graphic Design
   • Digital Media


3. To give "boost" to our classmates and teachers who need assistance with computer technology.
   
   

If you have any interest in Photography, Digital Photo Editing, Digital Illustration, Flash Animation, Web Design, or Print Design, Boost might be a club for you.

If you are interested in a design-related career path and would like to get a jump on your courses in the next several years, we will be using the Industry Standard software for Graphic Design and Digital Media in Boost.

*Incidentally, Boost also exists to give homeroom students stuck in E19 something productive to do. In this case it is not voluntary.

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