Desktop Publishing for Business - Assignment Example

?Desktop Publishing for Business Introduction: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG commonly known as BMW is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company. It was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. After the defeat of Germany in the Second World War, BMW was not allowed to manufacture aircraft engines and so had to turn to restructuring its business to motorcycle production and subsequently car manufacturing. Slowly but surely it has carved a niche market and mainly caters to the affluent and discerning customer. An assignment to create a presentation including all the elements of design principles for BMW can be quite an uphill task. The student has to do a lot of research and background work before commencing on the actual task. The sub-headings to be included, the topics that require to be covered extensively and the ones to be glossed over, have all got to be taken into consideration. DTP offers a lot more flexibility for a person while creating printed materials but the new age student still needs to grasp the importance of learning how to utilise and understand basics of design principle elements like space , texture, value, balance so that he/she can create an effective design layout. Design Principles: What is a design? A design can be said to be “a plan for arranging elements in such a way as to best accomplish a particular purpose” (Faimon & Weigand 2004: 13). A design is a creation of elements such as line, shape, colour, value and texture and is integrated with principles such as unity, variety, emphasis, balance and scale making it a design principle as a whole. Only when there is a proper integration of both design and principle, we can call it a successful design principle. The design principle can be said to be a form of communication through visual means. To communicate effectively, we have to use precise and correct language and likewise in visual communication, the designs we use will determine the efficacy of our communication. An examination of the individual components that make up the design principle in the given brochure, which include balance, white space, contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity reveals balance, in terms of design implies a distribution in visual weight of objects, colours, texture, and space. If we could arrange the designs on a linear scale, then both sides would have to be balance to make the design look and feel stable and if we arrange the design radially, then also the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar. The rule of thirds is another interesting mode of presentation but looks to be more confusing to a layman when compared to the symmetrical and the asymmetrical mode of presentation. The white space is the empty space left between words or in margins. It is the absence of text and graphics. It can help to follow a layout easily, highlight a certain element or help rest the eyes. All the elements of white space have been very effectively portrayed in the BMW brochure and the best way to utilize it has also been communicated. Avoiding rivers of white space and claustrophobic presentation makes the point clear that a design element has to remain uncluttered to be effective and eye-catching. Contrast forms the crux to a dynamic design, which creates visual interest and enhances the organization and hierarchy of your content. Contrast involves making two or more elements very different (e.g. heading and text). The contrasts shown in the brochure proves weak and the effectiveness could have been better if bright colours were used instead of just black and white images. Black and white does create contrast but all the images look repetitive and uninteresting. “Repetition works with pattern to make the artwork seem active” (Principles of Design 2011: 1). Whenever the elements of a design are repeated, the elements of design create symmetry and unity within the artwork. Repeating certain visual elements of the design throughout, improves visual impact, consistency, and strengthens the unity. But care should be taken not to overdo it. The elements that enhance repetition are colour, graphics, logos, background, typefaces, type size, placement, and image treatment. All these have been very well presented in the BMW brochure. Proper alignment refers to drawing invisible visual lines and aligning design elements along them. Any one alignment (left, right or centre) can be chosen, however, care should be taken to ensure that it is used consistently throughout the assignment. Left or right creates a strong edge and more interesting white space, whereas justified alignment is most preferred for columns of texts. Every element is connected visually via an invisible line. Even elements that are quite far apart on a slide should have a visual connection, something that is easier to achieve with the use of grids. Many people do not realize the importance of applying the alignment principle, which often results in elements being almost aligned but not quite appealing. It may not strike an ordinary onlooker but slides that contain elements in alignment are far more appealing. Assuming that other principles are applied accordingly as well, the slides should be easier to understand, as is evident in the work done. The various advantages and disadvantages of each style have been very succinctly explained in the limited space available. Proximity is based on grouping elements close by (Lauer & Pentak, 1995, p.24), that is, the closer elements are to each other, the more likely we will see them as a group (Arntson, 1998, p.76). This is a necessary element meant to establish logical relationships. The principle of proximity says that all related items should be kept or grouped together so that they will be viewed as a whole, rather than as several unrelated elements. The layman will assume that items that are not near each other in a design are not closely related. Proximity is essential for organizing information and reducing clutter. The organization and content of the page should be immediately obvious to the reader. Every design requires a focal point, which has to be carefully chosen. It has to be visually eye-catching but it also has to be appropriate to the material that is being used. The concluding slide is also short and effective by the sole reason of it being just one slide. Overall, all the design principles with the exception of contrast, have been very well presented. Logo Design and Consistency: Logo is a distinct visual element that represents an organization, company, publication, product, idea or a service. It forms the base of an important element that communicates the philosophy of an organization in a compact form. It also provides a visual identity, a face to the organization that helps in its recognition. The logo is generally designed aesthetically so that it provides a good visual appearance. It is important that the reproduction of logo is consistent across mediums so that it can maintain the coherent visual identity. The ideas presented in this context are numerous but they appear to be haphazard and unorganised. The text lacks a consistent flow, as different ideas are presented one after the other in no particular order. There has been an effort to present a lot of colour as well as black and white images to underline issues, but these also suffer from an overdose of information. The basic idea could have been conveyed effectively by using more information within texts and restricting pictures to prove a point. The positive side is of course that all the points have been extensively dealt with and no information has been left out. Target Audience: Target audience is a phrase used in business to refer to a particular group of people, identified as the anticipated recipient of an announcement or message. Research has to be done before a project to identify a target audience. This will ensure effective communication and appeal to their instincts. The difference between target market and target audience is crucial and has been very well defined in the BMW brochure. A lot of effort has been taken to distinguish various concepts and its connotations within the constraints of space and time. The importance of mass audience and mass market versus the prestige audience and prestige market has been highlighted very effectively. Corporate Identity: Corporate identity can be said to be a persona or individuality of a business venture. Depending on the type of business that a company embarks on, it is like an introductory statement about the company. The corporate identity visually expresses the vision and mission of a firm and tries to communicate its business philosophy thus. This is quite a complicated concept but has been dealt with in a comprehensive manner and all the details have been clearly listed out. The importance of corporate design and logo in relation to the corporate identity has also been emphasized. The use of colours and fonts for highlighting the company’s logo has also been given its due. Colour: Colour is a property of light (Lauer & Pentak, 1995, p.224). It becomes visible when light is emitted or reflected and it is determined by the wavelength of light (Bevlin, 1994, p.110). “Colour has three properties. The first is hue, which is the name of the colours. The primary hues are yellow, red, and blue. Secondary colours are made by mixing two primaries. Intermediate colours are mixtures of a primary and adjacent secondary colour. The second property of colour is value which “refers to the lightness or darkness” of hue (Tersiisky 2004: 6). The third property of colour is intensity, which refers to the purity of the hue - the brightness or dullness of a colour. A very detailed analysis on the concept of colour has been undertaken in the work done. All the elements including tints, shades, tones, etc have been explained painstakingly but the relevance had not been paid heed to. The main idea would be to describe the importance that colour plays in a design element and all the rest is just superfluous information which could have been avoided for better clarity in presentation. Typography: The science and art of communicating through type is called typography. It can be called science because there are rules about how to format and handle type to enhance readability. It can also be called art because it is a powerful communicator of mood and meaning. In typography, every font is unique and has its own distinct identity. There are certain general typographical rules to be followed for every project. These include usage of proper punctuation marks, avoiding half-sentences at the end of a paragraph, not using more than two or three fonts, and also using proper space-watching between lines and words. All the elements have been given due importance and is well presented too. Other ingredients that have been mentioned are graphic designs –Their utility in creating effective designs and also how imagery captures the attention of the audience are also notable explanations. The effectiveness of scanning images and the advantages of digital photography also add to the value of graphic design. Conclusion: The BMW brochure with all its benefits of motor vehicle insurance and how desktop publishing is used to highlight has been quite a challenging project. The report has been a comprehensive compilation of all design elements specified. Extra details have also been added wherever necessary but at certain places, it has been long winded and at some areas, too short for comfort. A general sense of proportion seems to be lacking. If consistency could be improved, the report would have been much better. References Bevlin, M. 1994. Design through Discovery, 6th edn. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Evans, P. & Thomas, M. 2004. Exploring the Elements of Design. Clinton Park, NY: Delmar Learning. Faimon, P. & Weigand, J. 2004. The Nature of Design. Cincinnati, OH: HOW Design Books. Kumar, U. Logo Design for Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from Lauer, D. & Pentak, S. 1995. Design Basics. 4th edn. Ft. Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Park, Y. n.d. Design Elements & Principles. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from Principles of Design. 2011. J Paul Getty Trust. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from Reynolds, G. 2008. Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from Tersiisky, D. 2004. The Elements and Principles of Design. Retrieved August 28, 2013, from Read More