Design

The ways the we visually communicate are very important. When creating digital outcomes like websites or games, it is important to understand the visual languages of design.

Video on CA design

Wherever you are on your journey to becoming a master designer, Code Avengers will help you get there. We’ll take you through the principles of typography, color theory, layout and User Experience Design and the way to implement them using HTML and CSS. With these skills, you can create the perfect user experience for your website, game or app.

Why Learn Typography

Typography is the art or skill of arranging text on a page. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a programmer, an entrepreneur or a mommy blogger, at some stage you’ll have to make decisions about fonts to use and where and when to use them. Understanding the history of typography and how it impacts the user experience of your website, game or app, will start you on the path to mastering the art.

History of Typography

Type is all around us. You can find it on signs, in magazines, newspapers and on the web. Each typeface you see was once carefully designed with a unique look and feel. But where did all these typefaces come from and why were they created?

Communication through writing dates back to ancient times, when civilisations used hieroglyphs or pictograms to represent different ideas. Over time, these images were replaced by alphabets, which gave way to the development of various typographic systems around the world.

During the middle ages, a wide range of writing styles evolved as the art of calligraphy and layout became popular.

By the 1400's, the world saw the development of moveable type and the printing press by Gutenberg, who also created the first typeface, Blackletter – based on the dark, dense handwriting of the period.

Over the centuries, advancements in communication and technology, cultural shifts, and an excitement for change lead to the creation of new typefaces.

Typography Today

In modern times, the far-reaching influence of the internet means that digital media is more consumed than printed media. Digital literacy is vital to stay ahead of the marketing game as traditional media takes a back seat. While designers have an endless supply of typographic styles and typefaces to choose from, there is increasing demand for designs that are able to hold the attention of web users.

5 Reasons Typography is Powerful

1. Typography creates interest and visual appeal

If used properly, typography can set the tone of your design, grab and hold users’ attention as well as convey emotion or feeling. It can help to emphasize your message and keep the audience interested in it.

2. Typography can make your content more readable

The choice of typeface, spacing and color has a direct impact on the readability of a presentation. If fonts are too small, cramped, and have low color contrast, the legibility of your page is jeopardized.

3. Typography can establish hierarchy

Font weight, size, color, and complexity can be used to help your audience recognize the most important points of a page, and the order they should move through the information. You can control the hierarchy.

4. Typography creates harmony

By using the principles of repetition, alignment, and spacing, a design can maintain a clean flow, with unity across the entire presentation.

5. Typography makes your product memorable

We all know those unmistakable logos. Often it is the choice of typeface that makes them so recognizable. Take the Star Wars logo for instance – even if you replaced the words with something completely unrelated to Star Wars, you’d still associate the typeface with the familiar space-opera.

In addition, the style of typeface will associate a brand with a certain feeling or idea, be it modern, fun, posh, professional, romantic or tough.

You can give your website or a brand an unmistakable character or its own, simply by using the right typeface, presented in the right way.

Typography - Design Course 1

Fonts are an essential ingredient in good design. Explore the history of typography and learn how to supercharge your designs with the right font types. Use CSS to present your text with the impact you need, and add special effects to make it come alive!


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Why Learn Color Theory

All over the world people are creating documents, websites, apps and games. Design is used in websites and apps to attract users to buy or use certain products or services.

Visual appeal as well as functionality can have a big impact on making the user’s experience memorable and enjoyable.

In our design courses, you'll learn all about typography and color, as well as the best practices involved in creating well designed layouts.

This design course aims to give you a language to describe color used in print and screen media.

It is useful for design-based and web-based topics but does not align directly to any Digital Technologies/ Computer Science curricula.


View the Design level 2 outline