Compiled by Tinus Kühn

Design Aspects of Multimedia

Hints
Text
Colour
Graphics
Animation
Sound
Video
 Hints
A basic design criterion is consistency. Inconsistency confuses the
learner. Be consistent in using the following:

Fonts Respective fonts for headings and body

text should be consistent.
Spacing Headings should be on the same level.
Keep margins the same width.
Colour Select a colour scheme that matches
the tone of your presentation.
Alignment Left alignment throughout the
presentation facilitates the reading
process.
Transitions These should be used sparingly and
& consistently.
animations
Style of graphics should be consistent.
Graphics

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 Text
Fonts or typefaces give the presentation its visual
appeal. Remember the following when selecting
fonts for your presentation:
Aa
• Serif fonts (like Times New Roman) have small cross-
strokes on the characters; sans serif fonts (fonts
without ornamentation such as Tahoma) are better
for on-screen body text.
• Display fonts (like Forte) can be used sparingly for
Bb
headings.
• Do not be tempted to use many different fonts . Use
only two or three typefaces well.
• Avoid underlining. Emphasise text by using bold or
italics.
Cc
• Control the relative proportions of headings and body
text.
• UPPER CASE for body text is user-unfriendly.
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 Colour
We live in an age of visual appeal. However, selecting a
colour scheme for your presentation calls for important
decision-making. Colour and its psychology are a complex
field or study.
• Figure-background relationship is important. Any abc
figure placed on a background will create a degree
of contrast. The greater the contrast, the more
visible the figure or object.
abc
• Offer the viewer enough contrast between the
background (screen or paper) and the text.
• Guard against using opposing colours in close abc
proximity as the text may appear to vibrate.
• Some colour associations depend on cultural
considerations. Be sensitive to members of a
culture different from your own.
• Some colours have acquired a symbolic meaning.

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 Colour (continued)
Primary colours are used to create all other colours. By
combining two primary colours, one can create three secondary
colours. The six tertiary colours are formed by combining a
primary and an adjacent secondary colour.
Primary Secondary Tertiary
Colours Colours Colours

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 Colour (continued)
Warm colours are red, orange and
yellow.
Cool colours are green, blue and violet.
Complementary colours are colours
opposite each other on the colour
wheel:
Green – red; blue – orange; yellow –
A tint of a colour is made by adding
violet.
white.
A shade is made by adding black.
Related schemes are monochromatic -
using a single hue, such as red and its
varying tints and shades – or analogous
– using adjacent hues, such as red, red-
orange and red-violet.
Contrasting schemes are
complementary, split-complementary
(using any hue and the two adjacent to its
complement) or triadic (three colours
evenly spaced from one another).
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 Graphics
Computer graphics are generally of two varieties,
vectors and bitmaps. Vectors are stored in
mathematical terms while bitmaps are stored as
hundreds of coloured dots called pixels.
Vector images have the advantage of file size – files
are small. And vectors look good even if you enlarge
them. They can be resized, squashed and stacked
without losing quality.
Bitmaps become jagged if blown up. But they look
like real photographs or paintings. Bitmaps are used
for photographic, scanned or camera images, as well
as for freehand painting.
Vector programs can import bitmaps so that one can
put photographs in a drawing.
It may be necessary to convert graphics to gif- or jpg-
format using a painting or image editing program
such as Paint Shop Pro or Microsoft Photo Editor.
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 Animation
Animation can enhance the quality of a
presentation or ruin it completely. Correctly
used, animation can focus attention on
important information.

Avoid using too much realism or detail in

animated graphics. Too much detail confuses
the learner. Often simple line drawings are
preferable to realistic pictures.

Animations can become boring very quickly

because the learner cannot control them. Ideally
the learner should be the locus of control. The
inclusion of animated graphics should be
carefully considered since an animation should
enhance the quality of the learning outcome.

Animated text can be very irritating, especially if A graphic providing

not used consistently. mere entertainment

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 Sound
A presentation can benefit by sound – especially
if the information is of an aural nature, such as
an address to an audience, poetry, natural
sounds such as bird calls, etc.
An important consideration is to make the
sound repeatable – so that the learner has the
locus of control.
Microsoft PowerPoint enables the designer to
record sound files easily. Provided you have the
equipment, sound such as music and other aural
resources can be converted to digitized sound in
wav format
Do bear in mind that wav.files can take up much
space.
Click the sound icon to
hear the robin sing.

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 Video
Consider improving the quality of your
presentation by making use of a video clip. The
visual age we live in demands that learning be
facilitated by acknowledging learning style
flexibility. Some learners will certainly benefit
by having data presented by means of video.

Select the video clips you want to incorporate

with great care; some videos have sound tracks
that enhance the quality of the presentation.

Do test the video to be viewed on the

equipment at your disposal. The file size should
also be taken into consideration. Click the icon to view
the video

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 References
Blignaut, AS. 2001. Design Aspects of Multimedia. Unpublished
Presentation.

King, C. (ed). 1999. PC Know-How. Part 3. London: VNU

Business Publications.

Microsoft. 1998. Microsoft Publisher 98 Companion: Design

High-Impact Publications. Ireland: Microsoft Corporation.

IMSI. 1998. MasterClips: Premium Image Collection. IMSI South

Africa (Pty) Ltd. Ferndale: IMSI.

Alessi, SM & Trollip, SR. 1991. Computer-Based Instruction. New

Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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