Design Process

In this module’s reading assignments the importance of text and typography are discussed in the content guide. In the Information Design Workbook, chapters 2 and 3 discuss the importance of planning a project for and with a client and also the importance of a wireframe or map when first beginning an assignment for a client.

Since my focus in information design lies heavily in the area of graphic design, the use of text and typography in any environment has always been of importance to me. To be able to recognize what type of font, color, or format to use when designing for a client is always a significant factor to keep in mind, as every client demands a very different and unique use of typography. In any design, it is important to remember that the text, fonts, and colors used remain unified and complimentary of each other in order to attract an audience. Generally, a designer doesn’t want to use more than 3 text in one publication as it can confuse an audience or overwhelm them by making it confusing to understand what is important in a document or publication.

For website design and navigation, the type of font and design used is very important because that is the first thing a user will see. Color, typography, and font need to remain unified for navigation and on different pages. Obviously, different client needs will dictate these settings and that is something any designer needs to keep in mind when designing a website. It is always important to think of the audience in every step of the design process. For example, the typography for a children’s clothing website would differ greatly than the design used for a corporate business or government website intended for adult professionals.

Aside from the content guides in this module’s reading assignments, the Information Design Workbook chapters two and three discussed the importance of laying the foundation of a design that is uniquely tailored to each client. I was slightly surprised to see that Chapter 2 talked about the entire planning process and Chapter 3 talked mainly about the first step of the planning process, which is the wire framing. To me, it would make more sense to discuss the importance of brainstorming and the “blue print” of the design process before discussing the entire process. So if I were to change anything, it would be to reverse the orders of the two chapters. At the same time however, I can understand explaining the entire process first and then emphasizing the beginning stage afterward but still it makes more sense to me to discuss the importance of the beginning stage.

Chapter 3 discusses the importance of prototypes and testing. The beginning stage of any design is building an outline, or a blue print, for a client to visually see. Creating a simple wireframe prototype and then testing it allows the designer to see what needs to be changed and what works. This chapter also discussed the different types of testing subjects and surveys that could be used to best fit the designers budget and project plan. Chapter 3 mainly was about building a prototype and gaining feedback to see what works and doesn’t work and then based on that, how to make things better. The importance of keeping a beginning prototype simple was discussed because it is important that the focus remain on the design of an idea or prototype rather than the small details, such as color or font, of the design.

The second chapter of the Information Design workbook focused heavily on the entire design process that an information designer must consider. There was so much information in this chapter that I had never before thought of or considered, so I definitely couldn’t say I would change or add anything. This chapter brought to light so many issues that designers could typically tend to overlook or forget about. The emphasis on keeping the client involved in the entire design process was the most significant point for me as I was reading. In order to avoid mistakes or create more unnecessary work for myself, I learned that it is very important to constantly keep the client informed and make sure the client, design team, and myself are all on the same page at every step of the design process.

Chaos, Order, and Sense-Making

The theory I chose to talk about is Chaos, Order, and Sense-Making. Dervin says that there are two alternate views to this theory and that to “consider these fundamentals in detail, we must first start with an alternative assumption about information itself: that there is nothing natural about information. Information, no matter what it is called – data, knowledge, or fact, song, story, or metaphor – has always been designed” (Dervin 36).

Some of the most important pro’s discussed in this theory are that information describes ordered reality, information describes an ordered reality that varies across time and space, and information describes an ordered reality that varies from person to person.  To argue these pro’s Dervin says, “Nested within the narratives are a host of polarities that plague the design and implementation of information systems-not to mention the very construction of our societies” (Dervin 39). More importantly, he also argues that,

“Sometimes, this view assumes, information describes an orderly reality; sometimes it requires specialized observing skills and technologies; sometimes it varies across time and space and from culture to culture and person to person. Sometimes it represents the imposition of power; sometimes it opposes order in a chaotic way” (Dervin 39)

So although this theory very much emphasizes the importance of observation and technology, it also may generalize observations too much, which create chaos in their data that opposes some of their findings.  I think an example of this theory might be to observe many, many other bloggers to see what they are writing about and use their blogs to collect similar data or find common threads. This could also be chaotic because there are so many bloggers that it would overwhelming to try to accurately place a category on top of each type of blog. The focus should be taken a little less off the date and a little more on just the action of observation.