Balearic PAU Design cheat sheet

Elements of design: point, line, plane, shape, form, texture, colour, space, value. Principles: balance, contrast, hierarchy, rhythm, proportion, unity, movement, emphasis.

Gestalt laws: proximity (near elements group), similarity (alike elements group), closure (mind completes gaps), continuity (aligned elements read as a line), figure-ground, common fate.

Colour models: RGB is additive (screens, light); CMYK is subtractive (ink); Pantone is a spot-colour matching system. RYB is a traditional artist model, not used in print production.

Itten's seven contrasts: hue, light-dark, cold-warm, complementary, simultaneous, saturation, extension (area). Complementary pairs sit opposite on the wheel.

Optical mixing (pointillism, halftone, four-colour print) blends adjacent small dots in the eye; additive mixing of red and green light yields yellow.

Rule of thirds divides the frame into a 3x3 grid; intersection points are strong placement zones. The golden ratio is approximately 1:1.618.

Visual hierarchy is built by size, weight, colour saturation, position, isolation and contrast. The eye enters at the highest-contrast, largest or most isolated element.

Value is relative lightness; contrast ratio is measured between foreground and background luminance. WCAG minimum for body text is 4.5:1, and 3:1 for large text (18 pt or 14 pt bold).

Symmetry types: bilateral (mirror), radial (around a centre), translational (repeating), and asymmetry (balanced by visual weight rather than mirroring).

Double Diamond (Design Council, 2004): Discover (diverge), Define (converge), Develop (diverge), Deliver (converge). Divergence generates options; convergence selects.

Design thinking (IDEO/d.school) five stages: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test. They are iterative, not strictly linear.

A brief should state the problem, target user, constraints, deliverables, budget, timeline and success criteria. A 'bad brief' prescribes the solution instead of the problem.

Research methods: primary (interviews, observation, surveys, usability tests) versus secondary (desk research, reports, benchmarks); qualitative versus quantitative.

Personas are fictional archetypes built from research data; user journey maps plot touchpoints and pain points over time; scenarios place a persona in a task context.

Ideation tools: brainstorming (defer judgement, quantity first), SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse), morphological analysis, mind mapping.

Prototype fidelity: low (paper, sketches, foam) tests concept cheaply; high (functional, coded) tests detailed interaction. Choose the lowest fidelity that answers the question.

Evaluation: formative (during development) versus summative (at the end); heuristic evaluation uses expert checklists; usability testing observes real users on tasks and records errors, time and satisfaction.

Iteration is driven by feedback loops; each cycle should test one hypothesis. MVP (minimum viable product) releases the smallest version that delivers core value for learning.

Type anatomy: baseline, x-height, cap height, ascender, descender, counter, bowl, stem, serif, terminal. x-height strongly affects apparent size and legibility.

Classification: serif (old style, transitional, modern, slab), sans serif (grotesque, neo-grotesque, humanist, geometric), script, display, monospace.

Type measurement: 1 point = 1/72 inch (approx. 0.353 mm); 12 points = 1 pica. Leading is line spacing; tracking is uniform letter spacing; kerning adjusts individual pairs.

Legibility versus readability: legibility is letterform recognition; readability is ease of reading a text block, affected by line length (45-75 characters), leading and alignment.

Grid systems (Müller-Brockmann): columns, gutters, margins and baseline grid create consistent placement. Modular grids suit complex multi-format work.

Branding components: logo (wordmark, lettermark, pictorial mark, abstract mark, emblem, combination), palette, typography, tone of voice, imagery, and brand guidelines enforcing consistency.

Signage and wayfinding (Passini, Calori): decision points, sightlines, consistent placement height, pictogram standards (ISO 7010), colour coding with redundant cues for colour-blind users.

Print production: bleed (typically 3 mm) extends art beyond the trim; crop marks show trim; registration marks align plates; DPI for print is 300 at final size; RGB must be converted to CMYK.

Information design: reduce data-ink ratio clutter (Tufte), use alignment and proximity for grouping, and prioritise scanning patterns (F-pattern for text, Z-pattern for sparse layouts).

Form follows function (Sullivan); 'less is more' (Mies van der Rohe); 'less but better' (Rams). Dieter Rams' ten principles include usefulness, understandability, honesty, longevity and environmental friendliness.

Design process for products: brief, user research, concept sketching, CAD modelling, physical prototype, testing, DFM (design for manufacture), production.

Materials: wood (renewable, anisotropic grain), metals (conductive, recyclable, heavy), polymers (thermoplastics reshape on heating, thermosets do not), glass (inert, brittle), composites (high strength-to-weight, hard to recycle).

Manufacturing processes: injection moulding (thermoplastics, high volume, draft angles needed), vacuum forming, extrusion, CNC milling, 3D printing (additive, low volume), die casting.

Ergonomics/anthropometrics: design to percentile data (5th percentile female to 95th percentile male for reach); include clearance, posture, grip diameter and force limits.

Design for assembly and disassembly: minimise part count, avoid irreversible joints, use standard fasteners, snap-fits, and label materials for end-of-life sorting.

Sustainability: life-cycle assessment (LCA) covers raw material, manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. Circular design favours repairability, modularity, recyclability and take-back.

Cradle to Cradle (McDonough & Braungart) separates biological and technical nutrient cycles; planned obsolescence is its opposite. Ecodesign directive and Energy labels regulate efficiency.

Arts and Crafts (Morris, Ruskin, late 19th c.): reaction against industrial mass production; handcraft, medievalism, truth to materials.

Bauhaus (1919-1933, Gropius, Weimar/Dessau): union of art and craft, workshops, functionalism; teachers include Kandinsky, Klee, Moholy-Nagy, Albers; closed under Nazi pressure.

Art Nouveau (c. 1890-1910): organic whiplash lines, floral motifs (Horta, Guimard, Gaudí). De Stijl (1917, Mondrian, van Doesburg): primary colours, rectangles, asymmetry.

Constructivism (Tatlin, Rodchenko, Russia 1917+): geometric, political, photomontage. Russian avant-garde influenced modern layout and typography.

Modernism/International Style: New Typography (Tschichold, 1928), Swiss style (Müller-Brockmann, Hofmann), Helvetica (Miedinger/Hoffmann, 1957), grid-based clarity and sans serif.

Streamline Moderne (1930s, Loewy, Dreyfuss): aerodynamic curves applied to products; Dreyfuss's 'Designing for People' and Henry Dreyfuss Associates anthropometric data.

Postmodernism: Memphis (Sottsass, 1981), anti-functional colour and kitsch; grunge and deconstruction (Carson, Emigre) challenge grid and legibility. Pop art (Warhol, Hamilton) uses mass-culture imagery.

Key figures: Charles and Ray Eames (moulded plywood, fibreglass chairs), Dieter Rams (Braun), Achille Castiglioni, Verner Panton, Alvar Aalto (bent birch).

Universal design (Mace, 1997) seven principles: equitable use, flexibility, simple/intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, size and space for approach and use.

WCAG 2.1 levels A, AA, AAA; four principles POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust. Common requirements: alt text, captions, keyboard navigation, focus indicators.

Colour accessibility: about 8% of men and 0.5% of women have colour-vision deficiency; never encode meaning by colour alone; pair colour with shape, text or pattern.

Inclusive design also covers cognitive load, dyslexia-friendly typography, touch-target size (about 44x44 CSS px minimum), and motion-reduction settings.

Sustainable design strategy: dematerialisation, local sourcing, energy-efficient use phase, repairability, extended producer responsibility, and durability over disposability.

Technology context: responsive design breakpoints, mobile-first, dark mode, and the shift from skeuomorphism (Apple iOS 6 and earlier) to flat design (Microsoft Metro, Material Design).

Cultural context: semiotics (Peirce: icon, index, symbol) and meaning vary across cultures; colour symbolism differs (white for mourning in some East Asian contexts, red for danger in many Western ones).

Ethics and regulation: GDPR for personal data, cookie consent, dark-pattern concerns, and advertising standards. Design decisions carry social responsibility.

Answer structure: restate the brief and user, list constraints, show research insight, present 2-3 concepts with trade-offs, select one with justification, describe the prototype and evaluation plan.

Time management: allocate roughly 20% to brief analysis and research, 30% to ideation, 30% to developing and rendering the chosen solution, 20% to justification and evaluation.

Sketching: use construction lines, thumbnails, and annotation; show a clear progression from rough to refined. Label materials, dimensions and user interaction points.

Justify decisions against explicit criteria: user need, ergonomics, cost, manufacturability, sustainability, accessibility, brand fit. State trade-offs, not just benefits.

Colour and typography choices must be named and justified (e.g. 'humanist sans for legibility at small sizes, high-contrast palette tested at 4.5:1').

Include a testing plan: what to test (concept, usability, aesthetics), with whom (target users), how (task, prototype fidelity), and what metrics (errors, time, satisfaction).

Deliverables checklist: title, problem statement, research, concept sketches, chosen concept render, technical/detail drawing, materials and dimensions, evaluation and next steps.

Common errors: ignoring the brief constraints, no user evidence, decorative-only solutions, unreadable annotations, and no evaluation or iteration shown.