Sean Adams (Layout and Composition)

Sean Adams is a very prolific and well respected person in the design community. Adams talked about how important it is for a designer to know about layouts and compositions. Layouts and compositions are the same as the steel frames of a building and are very important to the design process. Similar to layouts and compositions, grids are also very important when designing. Adams stated that grids are found throughout nature and that we are always surrounded by them, such as spider webs, honeycombs, and streets. Adams also specified that when creating grids, it is much more difficult to create symmetrical grids than it is to create asymmetrical grids. Besides layouts, compositions and grids there is one concept that is very important for designer, which is the golden ratio. The golden ration as known as the Fibonacci sequence can also be found throughout nature, such as a galaxy, shell or a flower. Adams also talked about the structure of a square and how it is used throughout the world. Squares are also very important in nature from creating the structure of a building to the small pixel used in a computer monitor. Adams also explained measuring increments about how 1 pica is equal to 1/6 of an inch and 12 points is equal to 1 pica. These measurements are important when setting type and talking with other designers. It is also important to not exceed a 52-character count and use 8.2501 font size, it’s better to stick to whole numbers. When Adams designs he needs to determine the clients message and attitude to reach the correct audience. Overall, Adams was particularly informative with the concepts that he talked about and was very good information to learn.