Insight Categories: Design

*yay*

Now my eyes don’t hurt when I look at my Google Reader window.

No offense, Google, but somebody had to come up with a skin for your feed reader. Look at it this way: At least you won my heart with Gmail themes.  🙂

» Get your own Helvetireader. Now.

It’s not just for the focally-challenged anymore…

If you haven’t yet noticed, trends regarding type size on the web have been reversing in the last few years. We used to think bigger type looks juvenile + that smaller displayed better—for example, setting body copy to Arial 11px, or even using tiny bitmap/pixel fonts in Flash-based sites—especially because our browsers didn’t allow for much back in the day of tiny 640 x 480 screen resolutions. Not to mention, using smaller text to be able to establish hierarchy between headings, sub-headings, body copy, + disclaimer notes on top of keeping important content “above the fold”. Project after project we’ve tried to push smaller, “cleaner”, pleasing-to-the-grid type to our clients + yet have always been requested to go bigger for legibility’s sake.

If designed properly, using 14-16px type for main content doesn’t seem to look so “clown-sized” these days. The NYTimes.com has been using this on their articles for awhile now. It’s a trend that seems to be more the norm to help improve online readability, to cause less strain to the eye, + to help some of us avoid from having to use the key command shortcut ‘COMMAND/CTRL +’ times three to zoom into our browser content. It helps that the commonly used screen resolution is leaning more towards at least 950px of usable width to accommodate a type size closer to our browser’s default type size, which is set to 16px.

“Can we see it bigger than Verdana 11px?”

Check out the case study by Oliver Reichenstein mentioned within the blog article link below. The visual comparison really puts it into better perspective. Also, read the comments following the article for other points of view. Something worth thinking about when considering layout options for a new website project.

Really, the moral of the story is: Use big type for good, not evil.

Relative Readability

Why go so big on type? There’s a short answer and a long answer…

Grafik is pleased to announce that we recently received three awards in the American Corporate Identity Call for Entry Competition for our work on the GHT Tenant Interiors brochure, the Volunteers of America 2006 annual report and the Convergent Wealth Advisors brochure.

The American Corporate Identity Competition is a highly respected showcase for the top corporate identities in the United States. An annual design competition, with a corresponding book highlighting the competition winners, American Corporate Identity continues its twenty-four-year legacy as a mainstay for designers who want to keep current with contemporary American design and corporate identity.

Grafik is pleased to announce that the firm has been selected to appear in American Corporate Identity 22 Design Annual. The awards for Corporate Identity Excellence include AARP’s 2004 Annual Report Package, United Way’s Standards of Excellence Package and Grafik’s own self-promotional brochure. American Corporate Identity is the only annual national competition devoted specifically to the field of corporate identity. These winning entries mark Grafik’s 55th inclusion in the annual since 1995.

Grafik is thrilled to announce that our redesigned website is the proud winner of a 2006 Addy Award! Competition was tough this year with over 850 entries, making this an even more prestigious win for Grafik. Our work for client McKee Nelson was also honored with a Certificate of Excellence award at this year’s competition.

Grafik is pleased to announce that our work for the following clients has been chosen to appear in American Corporate Identity 21:

• Fairmont Hotel, Washington DC
• Honda In America
• Hyatt Regency Washington Monumental Affairs
• International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children
• Market Salamander
• National Museum of the American Indian
• NFL Players Inc.

Grafik is proud to have recently designed packaging for the United Way’s “What Matters?” Public Service Announcements (PSAs) which are targeted toward broadcast media outlets. The Grafik design team created eye-catching, professionally compelling packaging to pique the interest of station directors, who receive PSAs daily and don’t have time to review each and every one.

Grafik designed the packaging for a Beta tape and CD-ROM that will be sent to television and radio stations, respectively. Included in each package will be storyboard scripts and thumbnail photographs to give each recipient a high-level introduction to the enticing visual and/or audio materials enclosed. The packaging captures the United Way’s recently refreshed brand essence and tone.

George Mason University has been working with Grafik to update their athletic logo. For the last 5 months Grafik has worked with members of the athletic department to create a new mark that will be placed on all team uniforms, at center court at the Patriot Center, and on all sports promotional materials.

After an in-depth look at all NCAA member logos, and careful attention to teams in the George Mason conference, Grafik decided to energize the existing stars and stripes mark that the University has been using for the last few years. The new mark will be unveiled in the fall sports season.

Grafik is pleased to be working with Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation to design the Nieman Watchdog website. In addition to designing the site, Grafik will be creating a complete Content Management System (CMS), allowing the site’s writers and editors to post and edit information in real time.

The Nieman Foundation is headed by the esteemed editor Barry Sussman. The goal of the Watchdog website is to encourage journalists to ask deeper and more thorough questions, and thus become better journalists. To learn more about the Nieman Foundation, please go to http://nieman.harvard.edu.