The document outlines important multimedia design principles, emphasizing the need to consider the audience, skill level, equipment, time, and cost before starting a project. It provides practical tips on organization, including the creation of storyboards and maintaining a clean, consistent design that emphasizes contrast and balance between form and content. Key design rules include using limited fonts and colors, avoiding clutter, and focusing on clarity for an effective learning experience.

1. Multimedia Design
Principles
Nicole Pittman
9/27/17
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2. This!
Before you start a project
you should consider
these points:
• Your Audience
• Your Skill Level
• Your Equipment,
Time and Cost
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3. Your
Audience
• Age level
• Grade
level
• Reading
level
• Ethnicity
• Etc.
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4. Skill Level
Are you a Super-
Techie?
Or, are you a
Beginner?
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5. Equipment,
Time, and Cost
What equipment do you
need for:
• Creating
• Displaying
• Transporting
What will the cost
be?
How much time do
you have?
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6. Organizat
ion
In order to be successful in any project, you need organization
skills.
That starts with taking steps to actually Get Organized and
follow some practical advice.
Another aspect in organization is creating a Story Board.
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7. Get Organized!
Make a detailed outline before you turn the
computer on!
Order the information:
• Chronologically
• By development
• According to topics
• From general to specific
• From problem to solutionRefine each section and subsection according to a
consistent pattern.
Create a “Story Board” where you are
cryptic, but complete in your thoughts.
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8. Story Board
The purpose of the story board is to allow you to collect your ideas,
order the material, and make revision before investing a great deal
of time and effort in the mechanics of creating the project.
An essential step in the process.
But how?
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9. How to Create
a Story Board
1. Begin with an outline.
2. “Lay-out” the macro order of the
information. (Sections, headings,
etc.)
3. Put the pages in sequence. (Index
cards are very useful here.)
4. “Sketch each page/slide/screen
indicating text, graphics, colors,
and/or sounds.
5. Note any transitions and
animations.
6. Make off-page notes where they are
helpful.
7. Review and Revise
It is much easier to make changes in sketches than
after several pages have been created in the
application.
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10. Desi
gn
The appearance of the information (text or
graphics) effects the way we perceive it.
It impacts the content.
Remember CCC:
• Clean
• Consistent
• ContrastWe will also consider some of the basic principles of
design that you should be aware of as you’re working.
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11. Design
Keep it uncluttered.
Too much information in a space
is confusing.
The hierarchy should be easily seen.
More important material should
be at the top and/or left.
Clean
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12. The mind orders information based, in part, on the
perceptual environment.
Constantly changing environments require constant
mental adjustment.
This can interfere with content.
Consist
ent
TIP: To see the consistency of the entire
presentation, view it in the Slide Sorter
View.
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Design

13. Contra
st
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Design
• Guides the eye.
• Emphasizes important material.
• Creates focal points.
• Gives Weight
• Creates Interest
• It can be accomplished with text,
color, shape proximity, size,
location, or with any combination.

14. Back To
Basics
Consider the basic
principles of design:
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15. • Don’t mix
alignments
• Center=Balanced
• Left &
Right=Movement
Basics – Text Alignment
Alignment -
Horizontal We read from the top
down, therefore, the
top is the most
important position.
Alignment - Vertical
Alignment – Horizontal
Base line – the line that text and
graphics sit on.
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Lef
t
Cent
er
Righ
t
Justifi
ed
Top
Middle
Bottom

16. Too close = cluttered and
confusing.
Too far = weak and
confusing.
Basics -
Proximity
Proximity ties the various components together using
your graphics and white space.
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17. “White space” is the unused areas of a page or screen.
Graphic designers realized long ago that it is important for
clarity and appeal.
Don’t crowed your materials.
Leave plenty of open space.
Basics – White
Space
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18. Rules Of Thumb
General rules of thumb to remember
as you’re working are:
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19. Keep It Simple
Stupid/Sweetie
Most multimedia presentations can be improved
by eliminating some elements or moving them to
another screen.
KIS
S
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20. Typography
• Use only 2 (3 at the very most) fonts in any document.
• Let size and style (bold, italic, underline) create contrast.
• Avoid the use of all caps. (We read as much by the shape of the
words as by the collection of letters.)
• All capitalized texts have no variety in shape, so they are
more difficult to read.
• Avoid the use of all Bold
• Constant emphasis is no emphasis.
• Connect the style to the meaning of the text.
Con
t.
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21. Sans - Serif
Fonts without terminating
marks.
Studies in perception indicate that when blocks of text are used,
serif fonts work best for the printed page and sans-serif are best
Typography -
Fonts
Serif Fonts
A serif is a terminating mark at the
end of a letter stroke.
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22. Color
Color helps make the foreground/background distinction.
Light color indicates background and bold colors indicate
foreground.
Avoid strong backgrounds. They put the background “in your face”
and de-emphasize texts and graphics which need to be in the
foreground.
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Rules Of Thumb

23. Color
Some colors work better
together than others.
More Importantly, some
background colors
should not be used with
certain font colors!
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24. Color
Limit your pallet to 3 or 4 colors.
Like fonts, too many colors will be distracting.
Some colors have inherent meaning.
• Blue = comfort, “clear, blue sky”
• Green = growth, “lush, green forest”
• Red = danger, fire & red light
• Blue is for baby boys.
• Pink is for baby girls.
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25. Objects
• Too many graphics can be confusing.
• They are inherently more attractive than text.
• Movement is even stronger.
• Balance all objects on the page.
• Objects require much more computer memory than
text.
Rules Of Thumb
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26. Balanc
e
For teachers, content is the material to be learned and form is the way in
which that material is presented.
Form should enable the content but not detract from it!
Form can engage learners but it must not distract them from the content.
Content must have some form, but there needs to be a balance that allow
the form to focus attention on the content.
Form and
Content
The balance between Form and Content is an age - old
issue in art and in communication.
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27. Tips and
Examples
This video is a little long, but it’s a great reference and has
some great points on creating presentations.
Also Reference:
Articles by Cliff Atkinson:
•
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Co
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28. Tips and
Examples
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Another good

29. Finally!
It’s not about you!
Your students do not need to know what your favorite color is,
color is, or your favorite sport, animal, or flower. Nor is it
important what you think is pretty, cute, or “cool”.
It is about the content!
What your students need is a learning experience that is
clean, clear and consistent.
Design for your audience not for yourself!
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