From reading Becoming Rhetorical: Chapter 14, I learned more about visual representation. I learned about color, text size, and text alignment. Before reading this chapter, I never paid that much attention to these visual details. Now I’ll know to consider these details when completing future assignments. I’ll explain more about all the new things I’ve learned about visual representation in this blog.
For designers, knowing how to use color to create contrast is critical. The three properties of color to consider include: hue, value, and saturation. Pairing colors that are too close in hue, value, or saturation can make text difficult to read. For colorblind individuals, the text will be completely unreadable. Creating visual compositions that utilize color in a way that positively draws attention to your message and is visually appealing involves considering all three properties of color.
When you have a limited use of color, creating contrast through size is especially useful. You can confuse readers by messing up the hierarchy of information by making different elements too similar in size. For the most important headings, big typefaces should be used. For subheadings or body text, smaller typefaces should be used. Using text size to create a clear hierarchy of information can orient viewers and make it easier for them to navigate the websites you create.
Viewers will be attracted to your visual composition and easily be able to find the information they need if bold alignments are utilized. Bad alignment creates a sense of disorder—it disorganizes page elements and creates disconnections between related things. The five types of alignment to consider are: left alignment (uses a strong line to the left and creates a “ragged” right margin), right alignment (uses a strong line to the right to create a ragged left-hand side) , centered alignment (puts the text in the center), justified text (lines up evenly on both the left and right sides, except for the last line of paragraphs), and forced justification (can stretch letters and words out so that the left and right sides line up). Properly utilizing alignment can add visual interest to the page.
I learned more about visual representation from reading Becoming Rhetorical: Chapter 14. Color, text size, and text alignment were some of things I learned about. Although I never gave much to thought to these details before, I will in the future. I find some images appealing and want to utilize them in a way that is impressive to my professors and colleagues.
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