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CRAP design 2: Using repetition in your designs
Posted on Monday, February 26th, 2007 under design inspiration, design theory by Dustin Brewer.This is part two in the four part series about CRAP web design, which of course stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. This article is of course about repetition and the uses it has in any type of design. It allows the user to understand that the design is similar to other aspects of the design. For instance, like a web site having the same navigational structure throughout the entire web site is a kind of repetition that can make the user more comfortable with the web site.Repetition is best used when making some aspect of the design repeat itself throughout the rest of the design. The reason for this is familiarity for the end user or viewer, this gives the person a sense of calm and understanding. Ultimately it gives the person a sense of control over the design itself by allowing them to believe they know what to expect every time they click a link or flip the page. When a user becomes comfortable with a design they will come back time and again because they know that every time they are looking for something on the magazine, brochure or web site they know that the format is going to be the same and their answer will always be in that same area.
Giving the user a sense of familiarity isn’t the only good use for repetition though, it is also used to help control where the viewers eyes go and it allows you to direct them to certain aspects of the design in a way that allows you to have control over what the user does in your web site or magazine. For instance, if you have a business card with big bold company name and in the same style of big bold you have the phone number you are going to make your viewers eyes move back and forth between the company name and phone numbers giving you the two most important pieces of information that you are looking for when you are holding a business card.
One of the other major reasons for using repetition in your designs is that it adds consistency to the web page or document, in a way that brings the whole design together enough to make it seem completed. With just the right repetition an amateurish design turns into a professional design ready to be seen by the world. Using the same blue border throughout your web site will give the whole web site a �completed� feel to it.
Another easy way to add repetition is with typography, using the same font (type face, color, and size) throughout your design will help to bring everything together. If you have 8 or 9 fonts on a single print design it will look like you were just playing with fonts. It is good to use contrast in designs but too much contrast can make it look like a circus. You want enough repetition and some subtle contrast that brings the design to completion.
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8 Responses to “CRAP design 2: Using repetition in your designs”
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About Dustin Brewer
Dustin Brewer is a freelance web designer based out of Oklahoma City, OK passionate about web standards, and beautiful web design. Dustin Brewer has been in the web design industry for over 8 years through freelance and professional experience. If you are interested in hiring Dustin Brewer please visit the web design services page to find out more information. You can also checkout the web design portfolio.
I really like the series and can’t wait for parts 3 and 4.
Thanks for your excellent part two of four. While reading this, I kept
thinking, “Gosh, my web site looks like CRAP!” I hope I am right!
(I
forgot the spam code entry on last post)
I like where this whole thing is going, the insight is nice. Maybe you
could do a complete article that brings them all together and make it a 5
part series rather then just the 4 part. Could be pretty interesting. Also,
more images would be great.
Thanks for your excellent part two of four.
Thank you for part two, I agree 100%.
Some good information in your post. Thanks for the pleasant read!
I am learning about crap design right now! Thx for the info~!
[...] Brewer, Dustin. “CRAP design 2: Using repetition in your designs.” Design Theory (2007). DustinBrewer, 26 Feb. 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2009. http://dustinbrewer.com/crap-design-2-using-repetition-in-your-designs/. [...]