Chapters 5/6

Parallelism and multiples enhance design. Multiples and parallelism enhance design.

Two items that are parallel in space and/or time forces one to compare them. The use of flaps in flip parallelism enhances the differences, and I think it was interesting to read that before/after flaps have been used since the early 1800s. Flaps are fun, interactive pieces, but the book stated that comparisons are usually more effective "when information is adjacent in space rather than stacked in time" (page 81). I agree with this because it takes more time and energy to flip a flap open than it takes to look at an image right next to the original. Charts and graphs can be confusing to understand. Codes and keys are sometimes necessary. Visual comparisons in graphs/charts can be misleading if their numbers are represented differently (ex., if one graph goes from 0-60 in increments of 10 and another goes from 0-60 in increments of 2).

Parallelism provides organization and education/learning. Multiples enhance the dimensionality of paper and computer screens--they reinforce the meanings of images and help make distinctions/comparisons. Using parallelism and multiples can clarify information or confuse someone, which is why they enhance design. They bring another element to a design (sometimes the design is supposed to be confusing). They are easy enough to use in today's copy/paste world, and they can add a fun Where's Waldo or I Spy effect. I just played with my nephew this weekend, and we were searching for elements in an I Spy book, which proves that parallelism and multiples are seen in everyday life and work on all ages.