First Discussion on C.A.R.P.

I enjoyed the overall diversity of thoughts expressed in our group discussion this week. In reading the assignment for this week my main “take away” was the idea that relationships can be established visually, which in turn help readers recognize the relationship between items. This engages the reader in a way that big blocks of text do not.

The author’s ideas are new to me, and to other group members as well. It was interesting to see how other group members processed the author’s text. I loved that Greg and Brendan picked up on the overuse of centering of text. It diminishes relationships. Armi noted that varying font size not only adds interest, but also open up new placement opportunities on a page. Sue picked up on the author’s suggestion to use square corners for a cleaner, stronger look. Jessica liked the idea of using different font types for headings. This listing is not complete, but it represents the range of thoughts that others in the group expressed. Reading over the entire discussion log at the end of the week I was rather amazed at the list of “take aways” generated by the group. It was so much more than what I had seen in the reading at the beginning of the week.

What I consider my best contribution isn’t anything that started another discussion, nor did it add to another person’s understanding. But, it did show that I was starting to pay attention to the design principles to which we are being introduced. In response to Jessica’s post on using different font styles in headings, I noted that in the 2007 version of Word there are style templates. In most of these templates the font style used in the title and subtitle are different. I would not have consciously noticed that before reading Williams. Because I connected the idea in the text to a concrete example I consider this my most valuable contribution.