How can I design something that aids those who have poor eye sight or are older and in care?

I was looking around for information on how I can design some graphic products that will aid those how have poor eyesight. I came across a website called ASHA which has a whole article on communicating with people with poor eye sight. This is what they said: 

Printed information presented or given to patients should be clutter-free and have sharp color contrast between text and background. Print materials should use a large font size (at least 16 points) with adequate spacing between lines. The information should be written in jargon-free, common vocabulary with well-constructed sentences in an active voice. Information that is important to remember should be bolded, bulleted, or highlighted so that it stands out. Avoid all-cap text.

This is an example of how colour blind people see this graph. Because all the lines look quite similar, it is very difficult to read and understand. This image was put online by someone who is colour blind. He suggests naming each line would make reading the graph a lot more easier. 

When designing my products I have to take into account the range of people I am designing for. This way, I can make sure that everyone will be able to understand the information I am putting across. 

Websites read:

http://www.asha.org/publications/leader/2010/100316/communicatingeffectivelywithelders/

http://www.aiga.org/typography-and-the-aging-eye/

http://waxy.org/2011/01/colorblind_leading_the_blind/

Jacqueline Casey - Graphic Designer

Jacqueline Casey was a graphic designer who worked in Brookline, USA. She worked for a company called MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) from 1955 until the day she died in 1992. The MIT Museum now exhibit her design work and have even made a book of her work which is now very rare to own.

“In the early 1950's, John Matill, a writer and editor, founded the MIT office of publications. He was joined in 1952 by Muriel Cooper. Cooper was among the first designers ever hired by a university to represent it graphically. She and Matill hired Jacqueline Casey to design summer session materials in 1955.” 

                                                                                        The text at the introduction of the book

          

An image from the MIT Museum site showing Casey's
 work being published in an exhibition. 

'Posters, Jacqueline S. Casey: Thirty Years of Design at MIT'

Casey came into creativity quite early on in her life. When she was only 22, she had received a certificate in fashion design and illustration and a bachelor of fine arts degree. She then moved onto fashion illustration, advertising, interior decorating and trade publications when she was 28 years old. As she became quite well known early on, she started to appear as a guest speaker at many museums and schools and was a judge for many creative competitions. 

This is a poster that Casey designed in 1972 when she was 45 years old for the MIT Faculty-student exchange program. 

The way she has arranged the 3 triangles is very clever, although not noticed straight away. The negative space between the red, blue and black triangles create an 'X'. This 'X' may emphasis the work 'exchange' which is in the second line of the title. The way the triangles are all pointing to the same area which is a little off center draws the eyes into the center of the page. This makes the poster very eye-catching as people may want to know what the triangles are pointing to. The use of space is very interesting in this poster, there is a lot of unused space, which allows the eye to move easily around the page, unlike some posters where there is far too much information its difficult to concentrate on just one thing. The text or information is very small. You would have to go right up to the poster to be able to read it. As a poster is designed to inform quickly and easily, I do not think making the title and information so small would attract people. On the other hand, if I saw this poster I would be intrigued to find out why the text is so small, so it may work in terms of its purpose.

Jacqueline S. Casey, “Body Language: Figurative Aspects of Recent Art” exhibition poster for the MIT Hayden Gallery, 1981. 

Unlike the above poster, this one does not have a clear focal point. My eyes dart around the large lettering that looks 3D, trying to work out how I can still read the text as half of it has been blacked out. This is very clever of Casey to design the lettering in that way, it feels like it should be difficult to read but because the lettering has been split up, its easier to understand. The main colour for this poster is black, which is unusual for a poster. The highlights come from the 'light' hitting the letters, which makes them look 3D. Again, the actual text is very small, but the title is very bold and eye-catching. 

‘My job is to stop anyone I can with an arresting or puzzling image, and entice the viewer to read the message in small type and above all to attend the exhibition,’ 

Casey told Liz McQuiston in Women In Design (Trefoil, 1988).

I am beginning to notice a pattern trend in all of Casey's design work. A visual element is the main focal point of the poster, and the largest which draws attention and interest. Once the viewer is looking at the poster they will instantly see the small text, which they will look closely at as its quite small. Having this interaction is so important to have because it makes the viewer feel much more trusting towards the poster. For example, if I looked at a poster that was very 'in my face' and over the top then it would make me feel like someone shouting right in front of my face. But if there was a poster that caught my attention, and interested me so that I have to walk up to the poster to read it, I would feel a lot more trusting towards it - like when you ask for information rather than having it thrown in your face. 

Bibliography

WEB

MIT News, 1992. Designer Jacqueline Casey Dies at 65.
Available at: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1992/casey-0520.html.

Eye Magazine, 2008. Not fade away.
Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/blog/post/not-fade-away

MIT Museum, 2009. Jacqueline Casey.
Available at: http://museum.mit.edu/nom150/entries/1447

Complex, 2012. 20 Graphic Designers You Should Know.
Available at: http://www.complex.com/art-design/2012/03/20-graphic-designers-you-should-know#8

Eye Magazine, 2008. Woman At the Edge of Technology.
Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/woman-at-the-edge-of-technology

BOOKS

Marter, J. 2011. The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press

Meggs, P. 2006. Meggs' History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons

Guild Care's Auction Poster 

This is an example of a poster I designed at Guild Care.

Here's how I made it: 

First of all, I went to the GreenHouse to gather some images that I could use for the poster. I wanted to show some of the objects that they sell at the shop, and an example of the items that will be going up for sale. So I organised some items and shot a photo that I will use for the poster..

I then opened the image in InDesign and attempted a first design. I went to a basic design first so that I know what o improve on. I made the date and the word 'Auction' the largest to get the message of the poster out quickly. The only colours in this poster is the official pink used in the logo of Guild Care and the GreenHouse logo, I did this so that the poster stays simple and easy to read. After printing it out I realized what I would need is a map, in order to help people find the shop, as my brief says, it need to have the address of the shop, which is at the bottom but isn't that easy to understand if you don't know the area. I think the picture is a little too big for a poster, so I'm going to cut it down so that it fits a bit better. It also looks a bit blank so I tried to re-design it so that it will look a little more busier. 

This is my second attempt at the Auction poster. I have added a map for ease of access, and have rearranged it around so that it is a little bit more easier to read. I put the logo at the top because that it where you look first on a page, and as its the only bold coloured text, your eyes are drawn to it, rather that it just being at the bottom of the page. I have kept the font within the companies guidelines, so the heading is in Varela Round, and the text in Ariel. The colours used for the text (pink and blue) are the official company colours, I had to type in the colour numbers (RGB) to make sure I got the colours perfect to the brand. I have used the same image but I have used the Magentic Lasso tool in Photoshop to cut around the image. I applied a feather around the cut so that the edges blur a little. This will ensure that the image looks neat around the edges. Then transferred the cut image onto the poster. 

This is the final poster design. I have added a border and the small blue tab at the bottom showing the links to the Facebook and Twitter. 

RGB Company Colours

Magnetic Lasso Tool

I presented the final poster to my manager and she said that was fine and to print off 500 posters to go to and around shops for advertisement!

Marie Curie Poster

These are a series of poster by charity Marie Curie. Whats good about the first poster is that it is very eye catching due to the bright yellow background and contrasting blue elements. There is only two text colours, blue and white. The only part in white is the title of the event, which makes the audiences eyes focus on that part. It is large and in bold letters, which makes it easy to read. Without the blue outline, the title would be hardly readable. 

This poster is well balanced. The designer has split the design into two halves. The top half being the title of the event only. The bottom half, an image, smaller details and a logo. For a poster design it is important to make the design even, and not too cramped. The previous Age UK poster didn't have this as everything was pushed to the top of the poster. 

Having a main colour scheme is important, as it makes the brand or company instantly recognizable. The designer has carried on the design elements onto the second poster, using the same shade of yellow and blue. 

I like how the designer has picked out parts of the Marie Curie logo and used them in the poster. The daffodil has been repeated on the teapot and the same shades of yellow and blue have been used for the background and font. Picking parts out from the logo ensures that the poster doesn't look out of place. 

This poster is a great example of how to design a successful poster. 

Its simple, but bold. Eye catching but not busy. 

Age UK Golf Tournament Poster

This is a poster by 'Age UK' advertising their 2013 Charity Golf Tournament. The main background is a golf club resting on the ground by a golf ball with the 'Age UK' logo on it. The image takes up the whole page with the text on the top. There are two text colours, white and black, black for the main details (name of event, address, time and date) and the rest of the details are in white. 

1. Logo The main problem with the use of the logo is that it is used far to many times. Once in the top right hand corner, once again on the golf ball, a sponsored by logo and the name Age UK in the title text. This is far to many times to be using the logo. Once is enough! The sponsored by logo should be at the bottom as its not as important as the main logo. The top right hand 'Age UK' logo is too close to the edge. When printing posters and flyers, there must be a minimum of 5mm from edge. This allows the bleed of the colours to run slightly off the intended border. In this case, if the logo does bleed, it will run off the page and be cut off. Normally, logos should be down the bottom of the page, this is because you read the poster from top to bottom. The logo only needs to be at the bottom because that's the last thing you see and will stay in your mind. Also, against the blue sky, the blue logo does not stand out at all, which is a very important thing as its supposed to be advertising the charity. 

2. Fonts First of all, the main rule about fonts when designing a poster is to keep them simple, and easy to read. Something this designer has not even thought about. There are too many different types of fonts. They have put two fonts, a bold, regular and italic. This is way too many, and makes the poster look confusing. 

As this poster would be aimed at middle aged people, text needs to be large and clear. Where the designer has put white text on pale blue sky, it is difficult if not impossible to read from a distance. The text at the bottom in the star is barely noticeable as it is so faint against the busy background. 

The layout of the text is way to cramped. The designer has put everything up on the top half of the poster, leaving the bottom half empty. This means that the title is lost within it all. The main title of a poster should be the main part of the poster, it is supposed to grab the audiences attention. It should at least be in bold! You have 3 seconds to grab the audiences attention before they look away, so making the title clear and bold is essential.

It seems as if this designer has found an image that he likes, and has focused on that rather than anything else. He has just pushed all other text to the side without thinking if anyone would be able to read it. 

What would I do?

If I was asked to design this poster, I would keep the image because it is very eye catching. I would lower the image so that the golf ball is at the bottom and there is more blue sky at the top for text. I would make the title larger, and make it the focal point of the poster. I like the idea of having the 'Age UK' logo in the golf ball, as its a flash of white in the busyness of the grass it draws your eye to it. I would take the text 'Age UK' out of the title because there is no need for it. For the main text, I would think about putting it in a transparent text box, so that the grass still comes through but the text doesn't get lost in it all. The date, time and address is also very important, I would put that part under the title, smaller font but still clear to read as it would be on the pale blue sky in black. The information at the bottom I would put in a banner, so that it doesn't mix in with the grass. Finally, I would add a 5mm white border around the edge so that any bleed that occurs wont be cut off. 

How will I reflect?

In my design work, I will be spending some time reflecting on a few aspects to ensure that my work is up to the standard to which I hope at the beginning. 

1. The layout of my work. How easy is it to read? As my target audience is people aged 30+ I will need to make sure that my work is clear, and easy to read from a distance. I need to make sure that text is not covered by anything, like an image and that the colour of the text doesn't blend in with the background. 

2. The quality of my work. Are all images sharp and in focus? Any images that I use within my work cannot be blurry and bad quality. I will take time to make sure all images are high quality. Text cannot be difficult to read. If I use font that is too curly or fancy, people will find it very difficult to read, so I need to make sure that any font that I use is simple, and large enough to read from a distance. 

3. Check work against the marking criteria. Does my work fit what examiners are asking me to do? I will be regularly checking the marking criteria against my own work to make sure I hit every target. I will also be checking with my proposal to remind me of what my main outcomes are. 

4. Meetings with tutor. How can I discuss my work with my tutor? I will be talking to my tutor about my project. He may help me in finding out what to do next, and may give ideas on what I can research and bring into my project. 

Review

During my other topics I feel as though I have gained confidence in really moving forward with an idea which I originally thought wouldn't work or would be too difficult to plan. For example, during the fashion topic of 'Protect My Body', my original thought was war helmets or metal armor suits. Then I found myself coming up with a lot more extravagant ideas that I thought wouldn't work. But I stayed with one idea and my end result was a lot different to any other final work in my class. Having the confidence to do this was something I didn't have when I first joined the course which is why doing these topics has helped me in my abilities. So far in my topics I haven't done a lot of graphic work, which is why I wanted to push myself and do something I wouldn't normally choose. This way I can gain knowledge and teach myself rather than sticking to something that I'm comfortable with. 

Concept

Guild Care is a Worthing-based charity that provides services for older people, carers and people with dementia. They also offer a service for children with special needs and disabilities. Guild Care currently have 3 care homes, one of which is specifically for older people with dementia and 6 charity shops that raise the money needed to support their services. 

This year will be their 80th anniversary appeal and are planning a party themed event. The theme will be 'Guild Care through the ages', so they are going to be planning a vintage themed party, with themed food and activities. I want to design and produce a few graphical products that will advertise and inform people about the event. 

I am hoping as a result, my designs will advertise the event well and make people want to come along to the party. I believe that 80 years of charitable work is amazing, and should be celebrated! I want people to come along to this event and see what Guild Care has done for the community and why they are still going strong even after 80 years. Advertising a few promotional products will help Guild Care become a lot more well known within the community, so I find it important to get as many people along to the event as possible. 

Researching other charities is important, to see how they advertise their events by using digital graphics and who their main target audience is. I will be looking at how they lay their page out and what proportions they use (how big is the title compared to the text and images). I will be designing mainly for people aged 30+ because younger people and children usually won't be interested in the history of a charity, but older people with parents going into old age will be more likely to be interested. 

As I am designing for a company that already exists, I will need to follow their brand guidelines, which means the corporate colours must stay the same throughout all designs and I must not change or alter the logo. 

For the final product I would like to design a poster, to advertise the anniversary event. Posters will be placed in each of the Guild Care's charity shops and homes to attract the right target audience. Invitations are import to have so that people feel wanted and are much more inclined to attend an event if they have been personally invited. Two invitations will be sent out to each of Guild Care's service users and volunteers (one invitation for themselves and one for a friend). This way, double the amount of people will be invited and there will be a mix of current Guild Care users and new people that may not know the charity as much. I also had the idea of doing picture cards. They will be a few little cards, on one side I will have an image of an event that has happened at Guild Care throughout the years, and the other side I can have a little bit of text explaining what the image is. 

I will be using different types of facilities to help me research for my work. I will be using the Guild Care website to gain information about the event and the history page to get some text I'll need for the picture cards. The use of a library will also help in order to gain some background information on Guild Care.