What the C.R.A.P.?!

In our COMM 350 class, we learned the principles of C.R.A.P. to keep in mind when designing newsletters, web pages, and other visuals. These principles become exceedingly clear in importance through examples in class, and even in my own web experiences now, and it is clear that the success of a web page can rely entirely on the use of these C.R.A.P.

So what is C.R.A.P.? It is an acronym that represents using:
contrast, 
repetition, 
alignment, 
AND proximity!

Contrast refers to drawing attention to certain elements, phrases, or images by making them look different from the other elements on the page. Tools for contrast include size, shade, texture, hue, and orientation. 

I found an example of a website that has a good use of contrast: http://www.nixon.com/us/en/

Repetition refers to repeating images, elements, or phrases to draw attention. In this example, amazon.com uses repetition of an image to draw the viewers attention to a promotion:

Alignment, not unlike repetition, is a tool we use to pull structures together. As reminded in lecture, its important to "not place elements in your design arbitrarily", meaning without intention. 

This site uses alignment to catch viewers attention in a way that emphasizes each element differently, but equally, found at fightthenewdrug.org.

Finally, we use proximity to group related elements and separate unrelated ones. There is a great example from washingtonpost.com that separates elements with proximity to group topics together to keep the website from appearing cluttered. 

Using these principals will help me create web pages and visuals that are effectively organized, draw attention to the most important elements, and creates an aesthetic that creates repeated use from a customer or viewer. 

In searching for web pages that displayed the C.R.A.P. principals effectively, I also came across many that did not, and made me realize the importance in using them in order to ensure the effectiveness of my projects. This is a good thing to keep in mind as we advance in class with our news letters and group web site projects, and more importantly, our personal web site projects. I know I'll be able to do so, I just have to keep in mind what Ron Weibe wrote:

"The simple rules of basic design are:

• Capture your reader’s attention using emphasis.

• Keep your reader on the page using rhythm and harmony.

• Deliver your message through the design style, appropriate selection of type and sound textual information."