For anyone unfamiliar with uask.com check out this link http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/skaalid/theory/cgdt/emphasis.htm which does an excellent job explaining what the chapter is about without being boring.
Brief Summary
With the Wikipedia project being due this week I was happy to see the homework assignment was quite easy. The reason I say the homework was easy is it tied into C.R.AP. design which we learned about extensively last week. The main point of this chapter was the importance of emphasis. Emphasis is easy to explain in that it is basically drawing attention to where you want it. Emphasis is also important to attract reader’s to what is important. This is seen in textbooks where they bold words. Web design and graphic design are essentially just figuring out the best way to bold an idea or concept so the reader gets the most out of it.
Personal Experience
As I have said before I write a lot for the internet. The number one reason posts get kicked back is due to emphasis. Emphasizing the wrong part of an otherwise good post could discourage a lot of writers. I have had post rejected then chose to emphasize a different part to have them accepted. This shows that it is not always what you say but rather how it is presented that matters. Emphasis should be used to compliment an idea not sell it. On that same note emphasis can destroy an otherwise good point if the wrong area is emphasized. All too often I read a post that got rejected solely cause the writer did not understand emphasis. I enjoy this class mainly due to the fact it is applicable to my life. All too often you will hear student’s say “when will I ever use this”. Hence, I am happy to find a class that helps me in my writing.
Questions With Discussion
What do you think the importance of emphasis is?
I would say emphasis is important as it is a simple concept that takes time to master. The tenants of it are easy to summarize in the sense of be visually appealing and attract attention. This is a simple idea but all too many websites fail to meet basic emphasis requirements.
Have you ever had a bad experience with emphasis?
I covered this in my personal experience but I think other’s will have similar experiences with teachers that do not know how to use black board. I also notice a lot of professor’s power points do little to keep student’s attention. Emphasis is critical to the learning process yet so many instructors fail to rationalize this as stated in the beginning of the chapter.
How Does This Image Reflect Good/Bad Emphasis Design?