Design(er) Philosophy:
Good Design is More than a Pretty (Type)Face
In design, I have discovered the importance and significance within the artistic and emotional components. In fact, the choice of photograph, illustration, or color can make or break a given piece. However, I think that design is much more than just a pretty (type) face. To me, design is more than just looking good, it's about being good. Design is about functionality. Great design has a purpose, and it works to achieve a goal.
Applying this thinking to a scenario most of us are too familiar with, the need to use a public restroom in an establishment where we are unfamiliar. Someone designed and executed the way finding for the establishment. Go ahead, think about some establishments, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby or Wal Mart. Where is the restroom located? Are their signs leading you there, or are you wandering aisle to aisle confused and frustrated? Now, think about how you react when you find the restroom. Was it simple and displayed or confusing and misleading?
At the end of the day, what matters most is the function of the way finding. It could be an ugly sign, but as long as it leads you down the path you need, the designer of those signs has done their job. If the signs look great but have you spinning in circles and pacing throughout the store, then that designer has failed.
This same philosophy applies to all facets of graphic design. Does a Web site have an intuitive interface, or do you have to guess where to click? Are the words in a book easy to read, or do you have a hard time comprehending the text because the lines of type are set too close together?
In the end, good graphic design must perform a function, and that function is to facilitate communication. Form should never be put above function. Instead, they should walk hand-in-hand with function leading the way.
The reality is that, for better or worse, we live in an impatient world. People want results, and they want them now. The Web gives us this. However, people are also human beings first and foremost, and humans are social creatures by nature. We can't live in the virtual world alone. We love to touch things, feel them. We want something tangible that we can physically connect with. This is print's gift to the world of graphic design.
I think it can best be said this way... while the Web satisfies our modern need for immediacy, print and other tactile forms of graphic design satisfy our human need for intimacy. When the two design forms can be integrated and utilized together, it provides an unbeatable one-two punch when it comes to communicating your message.
Applying this thinking to a scenario most of us are too familiar with, the need to use a public restroom in an establishment where we are unfamiliar. Someone designed and executed the way finding for the establishment. Go ahead, think about some establishments, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby or Wal Mart. Where is the restroom located? Are their signs leading you there, or are you wandering aisle to aisle confused and frustrated? Now, think about how you react when you find the restroom. Was it simple and displayed or confusing and misleading?
At the end of the day, what matters most is the function of the way finding. It could be an ugly sign, but as long as it leads you down the path you need, the designer of those signs has done their job. If the signs look great but have you spinning in circles and pacing throughout the store, then that designer has failed.
This same philosophy applies to all facets of graphic design. Does a Web site have an intuitive interface, or do you have to guess where to click? Are the words in a book easy to read, or do you have a hard time comprehending the text because the lines of type are set too close together?
In the end, good graphic design must perform a function, and that function is to facilitate communication. Form should never be put above function. Instead, they should walk hand-in-hand with function leading the way.
The reality is that, for better or worse, we live in an impatient world. People want results, and they want them now. The Web gives us this. However, people are also human beings first and foremost, and humans are social creatures by nature. We can't live in the virtual world alone. We love to touch things, feel them. We want something tangible that we can physically connect with. This is print's gift to the world of graphic design.
I think it can best be said this way... while the Web satisfies our modern need for immediacy, print and other tactile forms of graphic design satisfy our human need for intimacy. When the two design forms can be integrated and utilized together, it provides an unbeatable one-two punch when it comes to communicating your message.