a bunch of CRAP

When I saw this new handout for the on-line course I started laughing, actually I opened my eyes widely then I started laughing but I think it´s a very good way to make people remember what it is about.

This module of the course is about dessigning and specifically about color! wonderful! I really like that. The first part there is the color theory, Im familiarized with it so it´s not hard and also that is one of my favorite topics plus, refreshing it will be really helpful for me and my blogs since I want them to be "handsome" -lol. Now on Color theory: first there is to know the chromatic circle or color wheel which basically is a circle with many colors and it is a tool to combine colors. The sencond point of the color theory are shapes. You can combine colors harmoniously using different shapes.

chromatic circle

Using an equilateral triangle you get a "triade" that is tree colors that complement and combine well, in the image, there is an equilateral triangle and the 3 colors you get are: yellow, orange red and blue purple. If you rotate the triangle you´ll get some more good combinations.

Using an isosceles triangle (only two out of the three sides are equal) you get two colors that are similar and one that is contrast (different or opposite) this shape also gives good combinations and one of the colors will stand out more than the others but keeping the nice visual harmony.

Using a rectangle you get a four-color combination and this as well, will be a good combination.

The one that I knew the most was contrast and that is the combination of opposite colors, for instance, the contrast color of black is white (everybody knows this one) and the opposite of blue is -no, it´s not red- it´s orange, the oposite of red is actually green. I really like this one because it makes the colors to stand out, dont you think?

As for CRAP talk, despite how funny it sounds, it´s actually a theory for the layout of web-pages or just any layout since it´s related to having a visually actractive page and dessign. It says to use contrast, it doesnt have to be only in color it can be in font as well. The R stands for Repetition, it´s not good to have a boring page but repetition not always makes something boring, when it´s well used it helps to create cohesion in the page, a sense of organization. For example a page that has too many font styles wont look good it will just create distractions from the text or content of it. The A is alignment, again this has to do with the order and organization of the elements of the page, this means all elements should have a visual connection, after all human brain loves patters -of course this shouldnt be done exagerating because it´ll turn boring. Finally there is P -which I forget for some reason- and this one stands for proximity, this means all related items should be together; web pages are supposed to be easy to use and one that is all over the place wont fulfill this requirement so, for me and everybody who is attempting to make a blog or web-page, make it CRAP!


Besides the theory of color and CRAP there is also TAP to take into account. TAP stands for Tools, Actions and Perceptions. As you can see, all this three topics have to do with what we see because sometimes even if something is good but the visual presentation is bad then no one -or hardly anybody- will want to use/read it. In TAP theory you have first the tools, and the tools are the font, shape, color, depht, space. There there are the actions: this are the actions you take to manipulate the tools as well as the changes you make to adress you audience, in this point there is also the CRAP theory. Finally there is the P or perceptions, this is related to hierchy (headings, tittles and subtittles, etc), figure/ground and harmony or unified theme.

This is a very interesting topic. Our world is filled with color so we might as well try to use it for our benefit in this case in dessigning instructional models where the contents are important but the way of presenting the content is as important as the content itself.

*********
NOw as a post scriptum or side note:  I just realized that par of  the assignment for this week is to write a report of the theory and I just did my draft in here yay! -n yeah, I do instant writing in here, not much editing, I probaly should but.... well... I´ll work on that later.
Also I´ll try to apply this -again- to the dessign of the blog.
now, to finish this post, I have to say Im very worried because of the rain in our country. I feel for the people that has lost everything. I feel sad for my bro that is away from us in another departamento and not able to come to us or us to go home... But hopefully this will pass soon and we and all those that we love -friends and family- will be alright