Seven Habits and Principles to assist novice designers in creating high quality and effective graphics. Presenters: Mike Foster (@mjfoster83), Chris Rhie (@chris_rhie), and Annemarie Gray (@annemariegray)

1. The seven Habits
of Highly Effective Designers

2. WHAT
Present a simple set of principles to follow for novice designers.
WHY
You have to know the rules before you can break them.
workshop goals

3. mike foster
GIS, Data Visualization
& Graphics Specialist
Who We Are

4. building the new economy
spring 2013 speaker series
A New Economics for the 21st century
Neva goodwin 2.13
who?
Co-Director of the Global Development And Environment Institute,Tufts University
Wed. February 13th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
Attorneys
Public officials
Investors/Lendors
Single-family developers
Continuum of care providers
Affordable housing developers
Neighborhood-based developers
state of the New Economy Movement
first annual
President and CEO of the New Economics Institute
Wed. February 20th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
the economics of degrowth
giorgos kallis 3.5
Professor of Ecological Economics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Tues. March 5th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
rethinking consumption
juliet schor 4.3
april 26, 2012
8 am - 2 pm
Professor of Sociology at Boston College
Wed. April 3rd, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
presented by
THE NEXT economic TRANSFORMATION
gar alperovitz 4.9
Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland
Co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative
Tues. April 9th, 5 - 7 pm
Room 3-270
Presented by:
New Economy
join our listserv: neweconomy@mit.edu
@ MIT
new orleans
h o u sdevelopment
ing &
community
conference
bob massie 2.20
annemarie gray
why?
Network with
some of the top
developers, lenders, and
investors and get up-to-date
affordable housing industry
information from top policymakers in New Orleans and Louisiana
with support from the New Economics Institute
rsvp to: ehm@mit.edu
MCP 2014
Who We Are
Lindy Boggs
Conference Center
UNO Campus
2045 Lakeshore Dr @ elysian
fields, new orleans, la 70122
sponsored by

5. Kiryat Gat 2025
The ciTy of kiryaT gaT, israel
prepared bY:
MiT deparTMenT of Urban sTUdies & planning
TaU laboraTory for conTeMporary Urban design
daTe:
aUgUsT 2012
christopher rhie
NEXCITY
Refigured Urbanism for the 21st Century
prepared for:
KG_Studio_Cover_0922.indd 1
MCP / MSRED 2013
Who We Are
9/22/12 2:29 PM

6. “It is not how much information there is, but rather how effectively it is arranged.”
Edward R. Tufte
what is graphic design?

7. The art of communication, stylizing, and problem solving through type and image.
Generally highly functional and utility-driven. Composition is of high importance.
-typography and font
-color palettes
-page layout and balance
-manipulation of image
what is graphic design?

8. urban planning graphics

9. urban planning graphics

10. urban planning graphics

11. the good, the bad, and the ugly

12. the good, the bad, and the ugly

13. the good, the bad, and the ugly

14. the good, the bad, and the ugly

15. the good, the bad, and the ugly

16. the good, the bad, and the ugly

17. the good, the bad, and the ugly

18. the good, the bad, and the ugly

19. the good, the bad, and the ugly

20. the good, the bad, and the ugly

21. the good, the bad, and the ugly

22. the good, the bad, and the ugly

23. the good, the bad, and the ugly

24. the good, the bad, and the ugly

25. 1
Less is always more.
When in doubt, keep it simple.
The effective use of negative space is a hallmark of good design -- design the negative space just
as you would the positive space. Ask yourself: “What elements can I remove or simplify and still
retain my message?” Pare it down to the essentials.
For repetetive information, remember the “rule of small multiples.”

27. 10/29/13
Drought’s Footprint - Graphic - NYTimes.com
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Published: July 19, 2012
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Drought’s Footprint
More than half of the country was under moderate to extreme drought in June, the largest area of the contiguous United States affected by such dryness in
nearly 60 years. Nearly 1,300 counties across 29 states have been declared federal disaster areas. Areas under moderate to extreme drought in June of
each year are shown in orange below. Related Article »
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www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/07/20/us/drought-footprint.html?ref=earth
1/2

34. 2
Be hierarchical.
Communicate the relative importance of data through variations in size, weight, and intensity.
You should be able to squint and clearly understand a simple hierarchy of your composition.

37. 3
Good design has CRAP.
It’s okay if you have a lot to fit. Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity: use these
principles to allow your audience to easily follow the connections between your ideas.

43. 4
Just two fonts.
Good design can be achieved with just one or two fonts. As a general rule, sans serif fonts work
well for titles, headers, and electronic media. Serif fonts work well for body text in print media.
The most useful fonts have many weights to choose from.

45. HELVETICA
TITLE
FONT SIZE 36
LEADING 36
SUBTITLE
FONT SIZE 18
LEADING 18
BODY TEXT
FONT SIZE 10
LEADING 12
CAPTION
FONT SIZE 7
LEADING 12
ADOBE
CASLON PRO
FRANKLIN
GOTHIC

49. building the new economy
spring 2013 speaker series
A New Economics for the 21st century
Neva goodwin 2.13
Co-Director of the Global Development And Environment Institute,Tufts University
Wed. February 13th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
state of the New Economy Movement
bob massie 2.20
President and CEO of the New Economics Institute
Wed. February 20th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
the economics of degrowth
giorgos kallis 3.5
Professor of Ecological Economics at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Tues. March 5th, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
rethinking consumption
juliet schor 4.3
Professor of Sociology at Boston College
Wed. April 3rd, 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Room 10-401
THE NEXT economic TRANSFORMATION
gar alperovitz 4.9
Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland
Co-founder of the Democracy Collaborative
Tues. April 9th, 5 - 7 pm
Room 3-270
Presented by:
New Economy
join our listserv: neweconomy@mit.edu
@ MIT
with support from the New Economics Institute
rsvp to: ehm@mit.edu

50. Serif:
Adobe Caslon Pro
Georgia
Garamond
Sans Serif:
Helvetica
Franklin Gothic Book
Open Sans

51. 5
Magic number twelve.
The human mind looks for natural proportions of 2, 3, and 4. As the least common denominator,
12 is an extremely useful number for column layout, and it’s also a good point size multiple for
fonts (12pt, 24pt, 36pt, etc). A good rule of thumb is that a column of text should be about 60
characters wide for your eyes to easily follow.

55. 6
Imitate. (But don’t copy.)
Beg, borrow - but don’t steal - ideas for beautiful graphics from experienced designers.

58. 7
Be color conscious.
Like a well-written paragraph, each graphic should have a singular message. Use color to
highlight differences.

63. Let’s see what you got.
http://web.mit.edu/crhie/www/sevenhabits/