Design and Chemistry? Elementary.
The periodic table of elements, a historic staple of systematic design, is a bit of a headache for the modern designer. The excitement to take on the challenge, however, outweighs the pains.
Example
Notice the myriad of colours, symbols and numbers? Now think about the fact that this table is missing the full element names, atomic masses, and the key. Teachers are already used to similar versions of this product.
The main challenges of this project were as follows:
- The style needed to follow the CVI, and yet be modern, universally appealing, neutral, and fun. However, deviate too much from the norm and teachers would feel uncomfortable using it at all.
- Information needed to be legible even on an A5 size, but making the text too imposing would quickly crowd the design and actually hamper readability.
- Ideally, the designer should understand the users' needs and be reasonably well versed in the subject matter itself - chemistry.
The CVI of Praktikal dictates the use of Montserrat, modern and sleek but wider than average (not ideal for an already cramped visual structure).
For ease of use I found it best to tone down the saturation, making sure to not compromise contrast. The goal, after all, was to add to the experience of using the table without removing anything useful.
For ease of use I found it best to tone down the saturation, making sure to not compromise contrast. The goal, after all, was to add to the experience of using the table without removing anything useful.
Modern? Yes. Perfect? No.
Next revisions focused on clarity.
I found it necessary to prioritise text over having more space, which made the soft shadows obsolete. I managed to preserve the 3D effect using subtly coloured hard edged shadows instead.
I found it necessary to prioritise text over having more space, which made the soft shadows obsolete. I managed to preserve the 3D effect using subtly coloured hard edged shadows instead.
Using a slightly narrower font (Lato) for the smaller texts allowed for a much needed increase in font size.
Finally the two bottom rows of elements needed more thought and a better visual representation of how they actually work.
Final design
