Good v. Bad Design

Sarah Orscheln

I think in a world where journalism is constantly changing, design is an important principle for the journalistic community to pay close attention to. Regardless of how good the news really is, audiences are not going to pay attention unless news is presented in a fashionable, approachable and accessible manner.

The four design principles (alignment, proximity, repetition and contrast) are taught in both studio art classrooms and web design classrooms as a guide for creating balanced and professional work that is not only pleasing to the designer, but the viewer as well.

It's easy to get caught up in bad design, especially when your the designer. Like in most fields, the creator is not the best critic of his or her own work. Basic design errors include clutter, mismatched color palettes and overly busy graphics that distract from the original purpose of the content.

I think the ongoing design struggle pertaining to journalism will continue to morph over the years. Further research will provide information on what the best methods for recieving information really are, and as journalists, we will have to adapt in order to keep our audience(s) engaged.