Posts Tagged ‘Unknown Reader’


Six Graphix Basix

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Unknown ReaderThe Unknown Reader shares pet peeves about formatting. Naturally, she has strong opinions about the format of any reading material. Over the holidays the Unknown Reader ventured West to San Diego so we took advantage of the opportunity to capture a portrait of her in front of a mosaic in Solana Beach, CA, doing what she does best–reading!

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a phrase I’m sure you’ve heard. But how many times have you heard “Don’t judge a book by its promotional materials”? No matter how good your writing (and intentions), your audience will judge the quality of your advertising, conference presentation, website, book trailer, and cover. Whether you’re enlisting outside expertise or creating your own promotional materials, getting the hang of basic graphic design principles will serve you well.

I used to think I could craft a handout, poster, or PowerPoint presentation and trust my intuition and eyeball it. But then I perused some beginner’s graphic design books. Humility ensued.

After selecting the informal-yet-informative Robin Williams Design Workshop as my primary book, I worked to consciously synthesize the material into the tips below. Augmenting my subjective graphic design intuitions into concrete steps helps me check over—and greatly improve—any presentation. Before starting your next InDesign or Photoshop project, brush up on these six big-picture basics. As I like to recommend: “Don’t cut the C.C.C.R.A.P!”

1. Contrast Size

  • Varying your text, photo, and graphics sizes adds visual interest
  • Make sure it’s all readable from whatever distance you anticipate your audience

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The Unknown Reader’s ereader tools for travel

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

The Unknown Reader reading on an iPadBeing a Virgo, organization tools simply make me salivate!  The Kindle application Notepad put me into a complete trip-planning frenzy and has proven to be my absolute favorite “must have” application on my Kindle. Best of all, it can be purchased for just $.99 on Amazon! I have loaded this user-friendly program with all sorts of information that I can quickly access while traveling.

My husband and I travel for extended lengths of time, so the weight factor is always critical.  If you have ever taken the time to weigh the vast piles of papers that mysteriously end up in your traveling gear, you will appreciate my suggestions for using the Notepad application for the Kindle. (more…)