What Factors Determine Whether a Print Design Can Be Classified as Good Design?

What are the factors that determine whether or not a print design can be classified as "good design?" “Typographers often say that typography should be invisible and shou ld not be noticed by the reader” (Berger 111). One of the determining factors of whether a print design can be classified as good design is the typeface, since each design has a “distinctive personality” (Berger 104). The typeface must be in harmony with any drawing or photos being used in the visual field. For example, you wouldn’t want to use the chiller font with a serene picture of a doe drinking from a stream. In the event of advertisements, the typeface must fit with the “image” of the product. Another factor to be considered is the size of the face, since size affects the way we react to the design of the font. When looking at an advertisement you wouldn’t want the size of the typeface, no matter how pleasing to the eye the font was, to dominate the page. It would be jarring and out of place with the message you are trying to send to the viewer. The amount of white space between lines of print, referred to as leading, is important, because we respond unconsciously to the minute changes in the amount of leading. Leading can give printed material a light and open look, or a heavy dense look. The more white space in an advertisement leads to a more upscale look, while a page that is jammed full of picture and print lends itself a more urban look, like that found in a grocery supermarket ad. Right margins also have an impact. In more recent years, ragged right margins has risen in popularity. This conveys a different feeling than having a right justified margin does-some people believe it has a less formal and more contemporary feel to it. The size of the top and bottom margins and the way text is placed relating to the photos, drawings and other graphic material also affects the final image.
Berger, A. A (2008). Seeing is Believing: An Introduction to Visual