No, it is not about making things look nice-r.
Designing has been a huge part of my life. I love doing it. In fact, it is with some pride that I call myself a "designer" who picked up the skills by sheer passion, experimenting and poring through graphic books and web tutorials. Having graduated from NTU WKWSCI with an Honors Degree in Communication Studies, specializing in electronic and broadcast media, I gravitated instead towards the world of visual communication.
After 12 years of helping local businesses translate their ideas and needs into design, it has also led me to realise how misunderstood the term "design" has evolved to become.
Merriam-Webster define "design" as (a) to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan; (b) to have as a purpose. In this essence, I likened the term "design" for providing solutions with a purpose. This definition is apt to cover the various discipline of designs. The process of designing starts off with a problem or pain point to solve. Everything that we designer create is a response to evolving needs.
Personally, as a graphic designer, I deal more extensively with designs that are situated at the intersection of communication. The emphasis is on communicating to a target audience.
Here are my key lessons about design that I have discovered.
It is not about making things look nice-r
It is not uncommon that I am tasked with revamping a website or a brochure that looks "ugly" and the brief is to make it "beautiful". Without a doubt, this is a common stereotype of what a designer primarily does.
However, making things pretty and nice is a byproduct of design, not the actual act of design. Design in its essence is the act of solving visual and contextual problems for more effective communication of ideas and concepts.
It is a mistake to think that doing design work is as simple as pulling from our fancy hat a database of creative elements and ideas, and slap them together to create "that wow factor". No, making things prettier is about creating an experience that solves a problem. Is making the website look pretty solving a problem? What is the problem which the audience experience? Is it too cluttered? Does your website users have problems locating information? What is the new experience that the revamped brochure hope to illicit?
Designers have intimate knowledge of the psychology of engagement, and effectively use that to organize visuals that will inspire a very specific response. Good design requires a certain level of organization and refinement of execution that ultimately will lead to pleasing aesthetics, but “adding aesthetics” isn’t a specific step in the process.
A good design does not exist in a vacuum. The process of understanding overall audience interaction and behaviour in the context of the design goals and motivations is key to making things look nice.
Design is an art form, and I like to believe that we are artists in our own unique ways. We experiment with layouts and typography and have a keen eye for which colours looks good or which combination does not. It would not be too far fetched either that I posit to you that designers are scientists as well. There is a system that we apply to solve problems and needs in the best possible ways. We follow a set of (visual) rules that allow us to adhere to best practices and to the psychology of communication. There is are business goals that we have to answer.
Yes, the outcome of a design project is to make things look nicer and prettier but it must firs solve problems that exist.
Content is king
Design is about communicating ideas and information. Yes, content is king. Just like an author or a speaker who chooses their words to communicate a message, a good design uses the right elements to communicate a message visually with text and graphics. The larger goal and message for the design and effectively communicating that message is what makes good design, “pretty”.
A good design has to balance a whole load of messages at different levels, which can make it difficult to focus on what we really want to communicate.
For example, a single poster will contain messages on how colours are woven together throughout the design, hierarchy and interaction between elements, on top of the call to action message. In trying to communicate these various messages, it is easy to get caught up in the details that we lose focus on the intention and meaning.
Good design is like a well-written book or speech. All of the visual elements have been carefully chosen to guide the audience through a series of ideas that communicate an overall message. If we consider what messages we want to communicate, we will then choose our design carefully.
The client is not always right
Most clients often see their products or messaging from their own perspective with the target of profit or sales conversion as the priority. So it is only natural for them to see things from their own benefits and perspectives. There lies the conundrum where the final users of the product or messaging is not the client themselves.
The task of the designer is to view the design product from the perspective of an audience. Failing to understand this would result in a design, which may be nice and pretty, but captures no one.
The success of a design product is often directly related to the amount of collaboration and communication that exist between the client and the designer. As a designer, we learn about the needs of the clients and his goals to reach an audience. While the client does not have to know all the nuances and peculiarities of the design process, he learns the essence of good visual communication from us. Without actually understanding the other’s work, vision and deliverable misalignment is bound to occur.
For me, communicating with a client is to understand and unpack his wishlist and also try to get the ideas and reasons. Understanding his needs and the target audience, with a good amount of brainstorming and check-ins will make the design process occur organically for the results desired.
Stop and Listen
And connected to the previous point, the number one lesson that I have learnt in my design work is the ability to have empathy. Empathy is described as having the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. In my case, it is best described as being conscious, sensitive, understanding, kind, and caring towards the needs of the client and its audience.
A great designer understands the importance of understanding and placing the needs of others before their own burning desire to create art. Instead of simply decluttering a website and turning it into a tome of minimalism, they understand the nuances of communication and audience. They know that to understand, they first have to listen.
Design is about understanding and impacting our lives for the better. As I sit in and listen to my clients, I often have this question at the back of my mind: "How can I be of service to you?". More empathy, and less ego.
The humility to acknowledge that I am not the best and I am not always correct forces me to listen to what others have to say. I hear my clients out. I seek feedback from the audience. I adopt perspectives and embrace challenges. I believe that with empathy, great design, products, experiences are created. The intersection between emotion, skills, and psychology through collaboration and conversation differentiates the good from the great.
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