CARP: Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity

For this weeks' assignment, we were challenged to create an image that follows the rules of CARP: contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity.  To say the least, this assignment was very challenging for me.  Again, my unit focuses on the digestive system with students creating a healthy plate as their culminating activity. My audience are students in a ninth grade health and wellness course.  While I know students have a basic understanding of the digestive system, my diagram along with the structures and functions are a bit more detailed than they are used to.  Most body processes can be quite complicated for students to understand, so I've tried to help students easily find the structures in the digestive system by matching the colors on the image to the text.  In addition, I've focused my descriptions to digestive functions only.

The design action contrast shows two or more elements very different from one another. I tried to show contrast in two ways in my image.  I used the background color white and the text color black. In addition, I've tried to use darker, solid colors in the image of the body against the white background.

For each of the descriptions that surround the image of the body, I've aligned the colored text with the black text.  In addition, each of the descriptions are left aligned to the page, and horizontally with each other on the page.

I've demonstrated repetition throughout the image with the descriptions.  Each description has a colored structure along with a black description. Lohr, 2008, explains that "when you employ repetition, you take some element of the visual and use it again. This can create a sense of harmony and unity." (p 203)  The same text is used over throughout the image as well.

Finally, the descriptions are close to the actual structures in the image of the body.  Having these related things close to each other demonstrates the design action of proximity.  Lohr, 2008, explains that "when elements are close together, they seem related; and when they are far apart, they seem unrelated".  (p 203)

The reviewer of my image pointed out that on my original image, the text boxes for the images were not the same size.  It was such a small difference and one that I had never thought of.  My reviewer is our elementary art teacher, and I appreciate his eye for the details in a graphic.  I fixed the description text lengths so that it was aligned on the left and on the right.

Lohr, L.L. (2008).  Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle, NJ:Pearson