Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

If you are looking for some ideas and examples of designing information products you don’t need to go any further than DK Publishing.  

Terri Ducay of Cheskin gives an excellent report on the DKs excellent product and why it appeals to so many. 

Terri says, “I am a huge fan of DK publishing. They were the first publisher to design a format that is highly visually and informative, a ratio of images to words that is roughly 80% to 20%. The images, both photos and illustrations, give a huge amount of information in an elegant and easy-to-use design.”  

I have used DKs products before, and have been very satified with them. When you look at it from the “design” perspective, it impresses all the more. As DKs design objective states, their purpose is to “provide information in an attractive and easy to reach form.” It meets this goal wonderfully.

Their practical strategy is to employ a few tricks called knowledge visualization. Terri goes on to reveal to us a few of the ways they do things that brings the results they seek:  

Scanning
DK includes a variety of visual elements on its pages. These include photos, illustrations, maps, timelines, charts, etc. Using these different elements allows the eye to scan pages faster and easier. The shapes and organization of the elements help to guide the eye around the page.  

Contrast
Effective and insightful use of contrast makes things more interesting. For example, illustrations juxtaposed with photos, or black and white photos paired with color photos. A small silhouetted photo may be placed on top of a full page bleed photo. Text will rest on a white background or within colored boxes. The overall result is pages that are visually exiting and compelling.  

Using a Grid
Although DK books are visually complex, they are not overwhelming. Everything is carefully laid out using a framework called a grid.  

So when you are looking at design challenges, consider these methods that DK and others that have great desing success, use to reach it.