The document provides guidelines for effective page design based on Zen principles of simplicity, naturalness, and elegance. It discusses keeping the central message clear by removing unnecessary elements. It also outlines seven essential design tools: establishing a high signal to noise ratio by focusing relevant information; using images to reinforce words; incorporating empty space; employing contrast, repetition, and alignment to organize elements; and grouping related items with proximity. The document advocates applying these principles to achieve visual clarity and communicate effectively with the audience.

1. Zen and the
Art of LEARN
Page Design

2. Agenda
• Kanzo (Simplicity): “In the kanso concept, beauty and visual elegance are achieved by elimination and omission.” Always keep
the audience in mind by keeping your central message as clear and uncluttered as possible on your page. When in doubt, cut it out.
Shizen (Naturalness): strive to avoid elaborate designs and over refinement. Include only information and visuals necessary to
communicate your particular message for your particular audience. “In expressing the whole, the interest of the viewer is lost.”
Shibumi (Elegance): conscious reserve and articulate brevity. “Japanese conceptualization relegates elaborate ornamentation
and vivid color usage to the bottom of the taste levels...excess requires no real houghtcreativity.” Remember, it’s all about the
message, not the medium; think communication, not decoration.
• Signal vs. Noise Ratio: This is the ratio of relevant to irrelevant elements or information on your page. Be aware of the limitations of your
students to process new information and concepts all at once.
Picture superiority Effect: The principle that pictures are remembered better than words, especially when people are casually exposed to the
information for a limited period of time. The effect is strongest when the pictures represent common, concrete things.
Empty Space: Resist the temptation to fill empty areas with additional elements which are not needed. Empty space implies elegance and clarity
and makes your central message more compelling to the viewer. Empty space can also be used to imply motion and dynamism through the use
of asymmetrical design.
Contrast: This can be achieved through the manipulation of space, color choices, text selection and positioning of elements on the page. Every
single element of a design such as line, color, size, space and type can be manipulated to create contrast.
Repetition: Simply put, the reusing of the same or similar elements through your design. Repetition of certain elements (e.g.
text, color, graphics...etc.) on your page will bring a clear sense of unity, consistency and cohesiveness.
Alignment: Connecting all elements within a topic box to one central idea or concept. Nothing should look as if it is placed randomly, but instead
should be connected via an “invisible line”, guiding the viewer from one space to the next.
Proximity: Moving things closer or further apart to achieve a more organized look on your page. Related items should be grouped together so
that they will be viewed as a group, rather than as unrelated elements.

3. Just Kidding

4. The Agenda (No Joke)

5. Confession

6. My Boys

8. A Southwestern Kōan

9. Aesthetics- Three Zen Principles

10. Simplicity

12. Naturalism

16. Elegance

20. Zen of Design- The Seven Essentials

21. Noise vs. Signal

24. Dr. John Medina “Brain Rules”

26. Empty Space
“Emptiness which is conceptually liable to
be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in
fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.”
- Daisetz Suzuki

27. Worker Productivity and Happiness
• According to a recent Gallup survey, 12 percent of workers said they would give up
showers and 5 percent of workers said they would divorce their spouse in order to
work from home.
• “The opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression.” Brian Sutton-Smith University of
Pennsylvania
• Despite the best efforts for pay equality among men and women, differences in pay
remain. The 2010 census found that men earned a yearly median salary of $47,715
while women earned $36,931.
• It was estimated by the 2010 census that 16.3 million workers left for work between
midnight and 5:59 a.m. Those early birds represented 12.5 percent of all commuters.
• According to the 2010 census, the average commute time for workers was 25
minutes. Workers in Maryland and New York faced the longest commutes, coming in
at just more than 31 minutes. While most workers get to work in around a half
hour, 3.2 million workers will also spend 90 or more minutes commuting each day.
• A study of workers who exercised were also 21 per cent higher for concentration on
work, 25 per cent for working without unscheduled breaks and 22 per cent higher for
finishing work on time.

29. Contrast

32. Repetition

34. Alignment

40. Essential LEARN Design Tools

41. Boxes
• Create Groups of
similar resources
which can be
regularly accessed
by students
throughout the year.

42. Hard to Find

43. Easy to Find

44. Labels
• Divide and
organize long
strands of
resources into
topics or groups.

46. Sorting and Indenting
• Make resources stand-out by changing their
alignment and proximity on the page.

47. Pages and Books
• Allows you to
move content
away from your
Central Topic
Box to “sub-
Page” locations.

50. Docking
• Eliminate clutter by moving seldom used
boxes from your sidebar to tabs along the left
side of the page.

52. Embedding
• Display presentations and videos visually
rather than as download files or text links.

55. Image Banks
• Draw upon vast libraries of public domain
photos to help make your point visually.

56. World War I
The sinking of the British
cruise liner The Lucitania in
May of 1915 by a German
submarine resulted in the
deaths of 1198
people, including many
women and children. The
English government quickly
seized on this tragedy to
launch a massive public
information campaign to
encourage civilians to
enlist in the military. This
media push is generally
acknowledged as the
first, mass media
government propaganda
campaign.