You’ve just learned about CRAP:
Now you get to test out your newfound skills and critique a couple designed objects!
In your group, introduce yourselves briefly and then do the following for each of the designs listed below:
Evaluate the design’s contrast in typography, colors, graphic elements (like logos, images, etc.), and other parts of the design. What works? What doesn’t work? What might you tweak to improve the contrast?
Evaluate the design’s repetition. Which design elements are repeated? Which aren’t? Which should be? Which shouldn’t be? What might you tweak to improve the repetition?
Evaluate the design’s alignment. Draw lines on the page (or imagine them, since you’re on a computer) and count how many different alignments there are. What works? What doesn’t? What might you tweak to improve the alignment?
Evaluate the design’s proximity. Are related items groups appropriately? Is there a clear visual hierarchy that the reader can easily follow to understand the message of the design? What works? What doesn’t? What might you tweak to improve the proximity?
Evaluate combinations of CRAP principles. Is there repetition and contrast in alignment, for instance?
Download this image from a conference held at Duke University some time in 2017.
Download this PDF of a handout for an international nonprofit that works with water projects in Kenya.
Download the 2019 Annual Report for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) here. It’s 104 pages, so there’s no way you can critique the whole thing. Look at the first 10–20 pages and critique those more broadly.
