3 Points and a Question

I wasn't certain if I should post three points and a question to myself considering I am presenting this information in class. I pray I was correct in not posting, but I'm worried - so here goes!

-Williams states that newspaper ads that typically get the most attention have fewer headlines and more white space. In one of my past desktop publishing classes, our teacher advised that we avoid white space in our designs. It is interesting how rules change depending on the visual.

-Shriver's article points out the importance of using appropriate pictures and diagrams. As seen from student responses, they found much of the information to be too obvious and others as irrelevant.

The Barton and Barton excerpt features a Giddens quote stating, "...ideology performs such service with a Janus face - it privileges or legitimates certain meaning systems but at the same time dissimulates the fact of such privileging."

Question: Is there a general rule of thumb to abide by when adding contrast to a visual? At what point does a visual have too much contrast and look crowded or tacky?