Studio 8 - Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity (CRAP)

Contrast

This refers to various things such as the fonts, sizes, styles etc and how these are used within documentation and how each one can stand out on a certain page.

- brings out dominant elements

- mutes lesser elements

- creates dynamism

- makes different things different

(image source: pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~saul/581/presentations/05-crap/CRAP.ppt)

Repetition

Keeping the design principle the same throughout a presentation, graphical user interface, buildings wallpaper etc. All of this comes under the repetition section of Saul Greenberg’s CRAP. In other words repetition means repeating the same design throughout the interface i.e. Within Microsoft PowerPoint a user can define the design of one slide in a presentation and then at a click of a button the user can apply the same slide design to every other slide creating a constant theme throughout.

Alignment


This refers to the layout design of a document; margins, indentations, image alignments, word spacing amongst other things.
Proximity

The basic principle behind proximity is grouping all relative content into one main group for organisation.

Saul Greenberg’s CRAP does have relevance to designing pervasive computing but in my opinion it doesn't have much revelance. I say this because as pervasive computing is developing it is less and less likely to follow a design ruling, as technologies involved with pervasive computing are becoming smaller, more technical and less noticeable. In a field where there are new advancements every single year it is impossible to say that Saul Greenberg’s CRAP will guide how all things are designed and developed.

I propose that it is more likely that, for the present time, Saul Greenberg’s CRAP will have relevance to designing pervasive computing because pretty much all computerised designs seem to follow a pattern i.e. mobile phones are almost always rectangle in shape, as well as laptops, pc towers and many more. In the future though we will see Saul Greenberg’s CRAP become obsolete because pervasive computing involves our social environment which is constantly changing day to day and I believe pervasive computing will have to follow this changing environment.