After thirteen years of design, I have come to three basic principles that I keep in mind throughout a design project to ensure that the design will make a lasting impression. This list is constantly evolving as technology evolves and as I continue to learn, but for the moment these three principles are the guiding principles for my designs.
1. Usability: Will the design be effective at conveying the message intended and will it garner the expected response? Usability is not only a term that is becoming increasingly important in the digital world, but also has importance in more traditional mediums for design. One aspect of the effectiveness of a design that has common ground in both the print and digital world is legibility. If the message that is being conveyed is difficult to read or to understand, the message will not be effectively received rendering a design useless. Recently there has been an influx of television commercials that make use of a major design taboo, white on white typeface. While it is effective in conveying a clean and happy optimism, I have often found myself squinting at the screen in an attempt to read the text. If the message or path to a goal is difficult to decipher, the message or goal will be lost just as the messages that I squint to read are lost.
2. Versatility: Can the design be easily edited to fit any medium? There are huge variances between print and digital mediums and although there is some who would argue that printing is a dying medium, any good design must take into account the multiple outlets where the design will be used. The diversity of devices and browsers available can be overwhelming when attempting to create a versatile design. However, with a little organization and a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished, versatility can be achieved.
3. Beauty: Is the design appealing to the senses or will it completely ruin any chances of success? I list beauty last on my list since I have often found myself at pretty websites that, although beautifully artistic, are incredibly frustrating to navigate. This lack of usability causes me to leave the site immediately due to the short attention span I have developed when browsing the web. I doubt that I am alone in this. With the web being infinitely large, many have developed an “if I get frustrated with this website, I will just move onto the next site that fits my needs” attitude. Although I list usability first on my list of core design principals, ascetic appeal can also make or break a design. I have often heard that if a website is not aesthetically beautiful, it generally means that the website is not worth looking at. The theory is, if someone is not willing to spend the time or money on a decent design, then they probably aren't willing to spend the right amount of time on the object or service that they provide. However, since I have been working for a small business for quite some time, I understand the difficulty that some businesses might have in paying for an aesthetically appealing website. So while the site may not be pretty, the content or service might convey a different story. I suspect that I might be one of a few who still respect great content even when the design may not be as professional as it could be. That is why creating an aesthetically appealing design should be a core principle to building a design.
Great designs achieve a balance between all three of the principles listed above. There are so many other areas of design that need attention when working on a design project, but if you keep these three items in mind when you start a design, your design will last through the changes ahead. From press sheets to style sheets, be Sheetwise.
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