Category: Design Research Diary

Tufte’s theory of micro-macrocosms suggests that an important part of visual design is having an other meaning created by a make up of smaller micro visuals which could also be seen to have their own meaning (Tufte 1990, pp.37-53). I will be exploring this theory in relation to my chosen subject of magazine design. Magazines in general are often seen as stand alone items with no larger meaning, however individual magazines could also be seen as individual micros that represent … Continue reading “Micro-macrocosm”

Tufte’s theory of layering and separation suggests that layering visual components can organise data by separating the important parts of information in a graphic (Tufte, 1990, pp.53-67). In this blog post I will be discussing the use of layering and separation in magazine examples. Magazines rely heavily on the use of layering visual components to separate data. Shumi Perhiniak suggests that a key aspect of magazine design is the creation of a hierarchy of information: ‘Do the right pieces of … Continue reading “Layering and separation”

Tufte’s narratives of space and time theory suggests that creating a timeline with changes between each visual can illustrate points well (Tufte, 1990, pp.97-119). In this blog post I will be finding examples of Tufte’s space and time theory in art magazines. Most art magazines are made up of tutorials that rely on changing graphics and visuals to teach the viewer how to draw or create a final product. Muhammad Osama suggests that when writing an effective tutorial it is … Continue reading “Narratives of space and time”

Tufte’s ‘comparison of small multiples’ theory suggests that if you put similar images with only slight variations in one single field of vision, the viewer will understand cognitively the difference between each image. (Tufte, 1990, pp.67-81) In this blog post I will be discussing Tufte’s comparison of small multiples theory and how it relates to my chosen subject area, magazines. As you can see here, all magazine covers are placed within the viewers field of vision and are all slightly … Continue reading “Comparison of small multiples”

For my assignment I am investigating how art affects mental wellbeing. I have chosen to create a magazine teaching people the emotional benefits of art and how to utilise it as self care. I will therefore in this research diary be discussing Tufte’s theories in relation to magazine design. In this blog post however I will be focusing on the use of colour in existing mental health magazines and statistics. Edward Tufte theorised that the function of colour in analytical … Continue reading “Use of colour”