Design Guide

CPD: Dual Coding (by Oliver Caviglioli), topic 1.2.1

Four Principles for Dual Coding

Focus the development of your dual coded creations on these four design principles, applicable to all visual formats.

When planning your page, we have our ideas organised into chunks and plans.
However, such plans are rarely transported into the final page layout. This leaves the reader with an exercise in re-engineering our original thoughts.
Why not help the reader by making these chunks visually explicit?
Like a magazine page, the thumbnail shows a box, paragraph titles, along with different column numbers.
This makes the page both more attractive and easier to navigate.

Our eyes and minds constantly search for patterns. Magazine and newspaper pages are all constructed around an invisible grid.
However, many teachers try to be artistic by introducing what appears to be a random placement of elements on a page, which is a major handicap in the effectiveness of its communication.
Alignment can immediately transform the quality of your page and slide designs.

Many teachers have a tendency for a profusion of fancy fonts and colours.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but executing restraint will greatly enhance your creations.
Use only one or two typefaces.
When two are chosen, ensure one is sans serif and one serif.
Make their use consistent.
Instead of having a large block of colour with text on top, leave it black and white with a small graphic element to denote any colour key you are using.

Try to not make the most common graphic mistakes that teachers make in constructing documents or slides.
These are:
Minimal margins all round, way too-long columns, insufficient spacing between lines of text, an unpleasant and overly decorative typeface, a lack of titles for paragraphs, a hidden hierarchy.