DESIGN

GLOSSARY
Arranged by Katie Boyer
ENGL309
Liz Lane
February 11th, 2016
Purdue University

Design Glossary

COLOR

Katie Boyer

Color is one of the most vital principles a

designer can utilize, whether by having
multiple colors or the lack thereof. Colors
can stimulate other design principles such as
contrast, shape, or motion, which will be further
analyzed in the glossary. Colors can signify
meaning as well, such as the colors in Figure
1, which are primarily red, white, and blue.
Figure 1 is a movie poster for Jaws, which
was a blockbuster hit in America in 1975.
The movie takes place in a typical American
town during the summertime with plenty
American traditions. The colors in the
poster allude to the American culture, but
are disrupted by the images within the
poster. Instead of an all-American summer,
its evident things are not going to go well.
Miles Kimball and Ann Hawkins explain in their
book Document Design: A Guide for Technical
Communicators, three visual perspectives of
color; visual perception (hue, saturation, and
brightness), visual culture (color is not fixed
in meaning but changes through cultures and
time), and visual rhetoric (conveying meaning,
implying value, and attracting attention).
The colors in the poster vary in hue, saturation,
and brightness (viusal perception). The colors
are red, white, and blue, which symbolizes
America in American culture, but to nonAmericans it can symbolize something else
(visual culture). The red conveys blood and
death, the white implies some form of oblivion
after death, and the blue symbolizes the
vastness of the ocean. The three colors together
attract attention based on the contrast between
them all, and the starkness of the white space.

Figure 1 is the original movie poster for the blockbuster

hit Jaws, directed by Stephen Spielberg, based
on the Peter Benchley novel published in 1974.
The movie itself was released a year later in 1975,
making $470.7 million in the box office. Jaws
has been deemed one of the scariest movies of all
time solely based on the significantly low number Color is a vital design principle because it
of beach goers within the following summer. The can play a major role in aspects of design
movie is considered one of the best movies of all by providing multiple visual perspectives.
time, and has one of the most famous improvised
Kimball, M., & Hawkins, A. (2008). Document Design: A Guide
lines ever which is, Were gonna need a bigger boat. for Technical Communication (1st ed.). Boston, MA: Bedford/
http://jaws.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jaws-movie-poster.jpg

St. Martins.

Design Glossary

Katie Boyer

CONTRAST
Use contrast to show difference and create emphasis, is the very first thing that Kimball and
Hawkins say on their segment regarding principles of design and on the concept of contrast.
This poster for the movie Jaws, which was referred to above, is an alternative poster from
the original. It utilizes contrast by having a dark, ocean-colored blueas the background and
stark white as the foreground, emphasizing the title, the swimmer, and the predator shark.
Contrast
is
a
commonly used design
principle because it
is eye catching and
dramatizes the design.
It draws attention to
the important parts of
the design. In this case,
it draws attention to the
title, which is always
important in regards
to a movie poster
because people want
to know what theyre
going to see. It also
draws attention to the
swimmer and shark,
alluding to some aspect
of the plot of the movie.
In this case, it makes
it clear that a shark
is a predator. Lastly,
it draws attention to
the director. Although
Jaws was Stephen
Spielbergs
first
blockbuster hit, this is
a modern, alternative
version of the original
poster, and since he is
a notorious director,
emphasizing his name
is important because
then
people
who
appreciate his work
will be intrigued with
this movie as well.
The darker blue on
the edges also creates
an emphasis towards
the
center
image.

Figure 2 is an alternative movie poster for the movie

Jaws, which was described on page 1 under Figure 1.
Kimball,
M.,
&
Hawkins,
A.
(2008).
Document
Design:
A
Guide
for
Technical
Communication
(1st
ed.).
Boston,
MA:
Bedford/St.
Martins.
http://www.thelbk.com/event/shark-week-celebration/

Contrast is a valuable
tool for emphasizing
important design objects, such as notes,
safety warnings, or
cautions.
Without
adequate con- trast
from the surrounding
text, users might not
notice such important
information (Kimball
and
Hawkins).
Contrast
plays
an
important role in many
designs because when
done well, viewers are
intrigued and learn
information
quickly.
Bolded text among
regular sized text is a
simple way of creating
contrast but can still be
emphasized enough for
people to understand
the importance behind
the bolded text. This
poster is a prime
example of contrast. A
dark color is contrasted
with a light color. The
negative space is dark
and the foreground
is white, which is
typically the opposite
in many designs, the
so switch also plays a
role in emphasizing
the contrast which
is emphasizing all
of
the
important
aspects of the image.

Design Glossary

Katie Boyer

MOTION

Motion is a design principle that causes

a viewers attention to move through
out the design, whether from left to
right, right to left, up to down, and so
on. Motion in design can be achieved
in certain ways. A picture with arrows
pointing is the most basic way to achieve
motion in design, because naturally a
viewer follows the arrow. A designer can
simple alter the arrows to create different
images that guide a reader, whether the
arrows turn into hands reaching out or
shooting stars sailing across the sky.
Figure 3 is a good visualization of
motion because the boat is going to the
right and the shark is going to the left.
This motion is seen because the boat
has a point to it that is directed to
the right. The shark also has a point
to it which is directed to the right.
Motion is
used thoroughly in this
movie poster because it alludes that
the boat and shark will cross paths if
theyre both heading in the opposite
direction. This pinpoints a certain
aspect of the movie plot, that the prey
and predator will eventually meet.
Visual
movement
is
used
by
artists to direct viewers through
their work, often to a focal area.
Such movements can be directed along
lines, edges, shapes, and colors within
the works, but moves the eye most easily
on paths of equal value (Citation).

Figure 3 is another alternative movie poster for

the movie Jaws, a movie directed by
Stephen
Spielberg. See Figure 1 for more information.
This poster is
designed
by
Nick Muska.

Movement is an important design

principle because it
keeps
viewers
or
readers
intrigued in the design
and the overall message that the
design
is
attempting
to
convey.

Williams, Robin. (2012). Design Principles. https://www.

nhsdesigns.com/principles/index.php. Feb. 2016.
Muska, Nick. (2014). Retro Jaws Movie Poster. Bristol, United
Kingdom. deviantart.com 2016.

Design Glossary

Katie Boyer

SPACING
Spacing is a critical design principle because
its easy to have poor spacing within design,
which causes an overall bad look to the
viewer. Cramped spacing, especially with text,
makes it hard for the viewer to apprecaite
and understand what the message of the
design is. With the spacing of images, its
important to make the images distinguishable
from each other, but that doesnt mean the
images cant overlap. The most important
part of spacing with images is to keep the
message consistent and understandable.
Figure 4 is an alternative movie poster that
emphasizes the spacing of images to convey
a message and foreshadowing of what the
plot of the movie is. In this case, the yellow
barrels are attached to the predatorial shark
that has been terrorizing the swimmers
nearby. The boat belongs to the three men
who plan to kill the predator. By putting the
boat farther away and the barrels up front,
it alludes that the shark isnt as far away
from attacking, and provides a haunting,
suspenseful feelings, which is what the
overall movie does. The poster does a good
job of using spacing as a means to emote
a feeling and plot devices for the movie.

Figure 4 is an alternative movie poster to the

Stephen Spielberg blockuster hit of 1975, Jaws.
For more
information
regarding
the
movie,
refer back to Figure 1. This poster is
designed
by
Christ
Mantil.
Bradley, Stephen. (2013). Design Fundamentals. Boulder,
CO. Vanseo Design.
Mantil, Chris. (2013). Alternative Jaws Movie Poster. United
States. geekynerfherder.blogspot.com. 2016.

In
Stephen Bradleys
book Design
Fundamental, he says, Space can be used
to both separate and connect elements
in a design. Wider
spaces separate
elements
from each other and narrower
spaces
connect
elements
to
reveal
relationships between them. Overlapping
elements
maximizes their relationship.
The wide space between the
boat and
the barrels
alludes
that there is a
separation, but since the barrels
are
directed
towards the boat
through
motion (page 3), then it is evident that
the two elements will eventually meet.
This shows an aspect of the plot in the movie,
which is what the purpose of the movie
is suppose to do. Its suppose to promote
the movie and plot, which it does well.

Design Glossary

Katie Boyer

SHAPE

Kimball and Hawkins define shape as, the two-dimensional area covered or enclosed by an object,
in their book Document Design: A Guide for Technical Communication. Shape is important in design
because it is the overall encompassing creating of images, which either carry some type of meaning or
resemble
something
that
has
its
own
meaning
or
illusion
to
it.
In Figure 5, the shape is a simple curved and warped triangle that resembles a
sharks fin. This design is a minimalist way to allude to the plot of the movie Jaws.

Figure
5
is
an
alternative
movie
poster
for
the
blockbuster
hit
directed by Stephen
Spielberg, Jaws. Its
a story about a shark
the has preyed on
innocent beach goers
in a small American,
east coast town. This
poster uses all other
design principles that
have been listed in
this glossary (color,
contrast,
motion,
space), and now shape.
The simple curvature
and slight warping of
a triangle has created
an image that resemles
the iconic shark fin that
was used in the movie
to create suspense
and
foreshadowing
of an attack, often
following
by
the
famous
background
music composed by
John Williams. This
poster does a good job
of utilizing all design
principles listed, but
especially in regards
to the principle of
shape,
because
it
shows that simple
altering of a standard
shape can resemble
someting so simple.

Figure 5 is an alternative movie poster

for
the
1975
American
blockbuster
hit
directed
by
Stephen
Spielberg,
Jaws.
Kimball,
M.,
&
Hawkins,
A.
(2008).
Document
Design:
A
Guide
for
Technical
Communication
(1st
ed.).
Boston,
MA:
Bedford/St.
Martins.
http://www.taringa.net/posts/imagenes/11603846/
Posters-de-Peliculas-no-tan-conocidos-IV.html

Shape is an important
design
principle
because its one of
the best ways to
communicate
to
a
variety of people. Some
people might not be able
to recognize symbols
that are prominent in
certain countries or
languages, but people
can recognize universal
symbols. Mathematical
symbols are universal
and can be understood
by many people even
if they dont speak the
same language. Shapes
are recognizable if done
correctly, like the shark
fin within Figure 5.
Even though Jaws
was
primarily
a
blockbuster
hit
in
America in 1975, people
outside of America
can understand that
the movie is about a
shark solely based on
the shape of the find.
With
other
design
principles, they can
understand it is some
type of thriller or
horror movie. Figure
5 is a prime example
of
simple
design
principles
being
utilized
effectively
and
thoroughly.