2 of 365: Expository and Comparative Advance Organizers


2 of 365 - advance organizer on serif vs sans serif by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
2 of 365 – advance organizer on serif vs sans serif by John LeMasney via lemasney.com

Advance Organizers are a design method where an audience is given new information in one of two ways to become oriented with a new concept. In cases where the audience is newly introduced to the topic, we might use an expository advance organizer. If an alien was trying to learn about the way that a human hand functions, for instance, we might use an expository advance organizer in the form of a description of the look, feel, uses, and functions of the hand. If the alien had hand like appendages, let’s say 3-pointed claws, we might use their understanding of that in the form of a comparative advance organizer that showed the similarities and differences between the alien claw and the human hand. The purpose of either would be to grant the audience a better understanding of the new concept before going into deeper detail, training, or demonstration.

Above is an illustration of the comparative visual anatomy of serif typography and sans-serif typography, in which the letter A is used in a comparative advance organizational method, since you, the audience, is likely familiar with the letter A.

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About lemsy

John LeMasney is an artist, graphic designer, and technology creative. He is located in beautiful, mountainous Charlottesville, VA, but works remotely with ease. Contact him at: lemasney@gmail.com to discuss your next creative project.

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