What is the value of the CARP principles -- each of them separately, and all four working in concert -- in your design work?
Example of Screenshot from PPT Deck
I have been a designer for most of my professional career starting as an interface and web design and then moving to instructional design. When I was learning about design in school they taught us to use grids and the rule of thirds. We spent a lot of time learning about alignment and the tool themselves such as Illustrator and Photoshop. To took a long break from graphic design but know deep in my heart that so much of communication happens visually. I still take pride in making things look right pixel by pixel.
I ended marrying a graphic designer and we both love making art and design together. I was in this program when I first heard about CARP. None of this was new to me but I felt CARP was a very nice and concise framework for graphic design for people who did not spend years trying to make things look right.
Design at its very core is about communicating ideas and feels from your mind into the viewers using the visuals. There is something innate in humans where we tend to rely heavily on visual cues. Below is my personal break down of CARP in relationship to my designs.
Contrast: Contrast is very important for understanding. If you cannot see it what use is it. Recently have been moving to higher levels of contrast in my work for I believe that people who are color blind will also need to see my work.
Alignment: This is the most important lesson for beginner designers. I still use a grid when deigning from scratch. If you don't know anything about design just try to keep your alignment and the end product will be much more professional.
Repetition: There needs to be a consistent look a feel. For example I would limit the fonts to just 2-3 fonts. Repeat the same color same and clip art when possible. Repetition is a good way to keep things simple and looking consistent like a single graphic.
Which of the four CARP principles do you believe is most important to consider when designing visual materials for webinars? Why?
I would say that none of these is most important. To me if yo follow all the CARP principals you might still have a very boring presentation. Recently I went to a webinar where all there was was black text on a white screen. The pages in theory followed CARP, but it was very boring.
I've been thinking recently about webinars and slides. I have been leaning toward less graphics. TED talks are a great example of minimal design. They are not allowed to do a PPT deck. The speaker must engage the audience with their voice and presence. I have recently begun presenting with very little text on my pages with more images. To me the most important thing in design for webinar is being prepared and passionate about the topic. Good clean design requires talent but being prepared, practicing the script and choosing a topic that you believe requires only hard work.