Transitions, October 2004

Issue 1, October 2004

Why do you design?
The simple question of “why you design” has two potential answers. One has to do with your personal passion to create, which may be in the pursuit of beauty or possibly in a more objective quest for an outcome like clarity. Yet the second answer ties the profession you have chosen with what clients and the public expect of you—the expected roles and responsibilities of your profession. This article uses real examples to help you understand what others expect as you make the transition from a predominately undergraduate student experience to a predominately professional experience.

Executive director’s letter
As students make the transition from school to studio, they face a variety of challenges. Obviously, getting a job is the first one. AIGA offers chances to meet practicing designers through chapter events and to make connections with available positions through Design Jobs at www.aiga.org/designjobs.

This newsletter raises issues you need to confront as you enter the profession,, as do other resources at www.aiga.org/students. You should also seek comments on the way you present yourself from professional members in your community, who you can find at www.aiga.org/directory.

Finding a mentor who helps to pass along earned wisdom has traditionally helped to develop judgment in young designers. While this will require each of you to find your own mentors, we provide brief examples of design heroes from famous designers and every member who would like to add his or her own story. You can read about others’ and add your own at www.aiga.org/designheroesforum.

While these are just some of the ways in which AIGA can help you make the transition to professional status, we are intent on offering opportunities for you to continue to learn throughout the arc of your career. Be sure to stay involved.

Richard Grefé, executive director, AIGA

WHY DO YOU DESIGN?
It’s funny how a national election can inspire us to think about graphic design. In August, I received an odd piece of mail that prompted me to ask a lot of questions. In an effort to update voter registration lists, the Marion County (Indiana) Board of Voter Registration sent out postcards to 478,000 residents asking them to update their addresses. This questionnaire asked citizens to indicate whether they received the card at their current address, previous address, or an address where they had never lived. Additionally, they were asked to sign and return the card. The following statement was printed just above the signature line: “I authorize my voter registration at the previous address marked above, where I no longer live, to be cancelled.” The messages were perplexing. How could you receive mail at an address where you never lived? How could you receive mail at your previous address? If the card was forwarded to your current address from your previous address, and you sign the card and return it, will your registration be cancelled or just changed? If you received the card at your current address because you have always lived there, do you return the card without signing it? What will happen if you don’t return the card?

Accounts in the news media reported that a huge number of confused citizens called the Board of Voter Registration as well as the County Election Board. Many citizens were further surprised to realize that the Board of Voter Registration, who maintains records, is an entirely distinct agency from the Election Board, who conducts the actual elections (and has been experiencing its own unrelated problems). Reporters investigated the intent and actions of the registration board. Newspaper editors wrote columns. Citizens wrote letters to the editors. City officials tried to reassure everyone that they would not be erased from the upcoming election rolls. Ultimately, the situation damaged the credibility of several county agencies and undermined the confidence that citizens should have about the security of elections in a democratic society.

So what does this have to do with graphic design? Probably a designer was not even involved in the development and production of the card. Most likely, someone other than a designer used some desktop publishing software to get the job done. More importantly, the problems with this questionnaire are a result of the written messages, not the layout. If the developer of the content writes a poor message, no amount of graphic design can fix it. Graphic designers are off the hook, right?

I’m not so sure.

What are our roles and responsibilities?
This little piece of mail caused me to ask myself a lot of questions about the roles and responsibilities of graphic designers. These questions seem appropriate to explore in a newsletter called Transitions. Since discussions of roles and responsibilities gain relevance when grounded in real situations it seems likely that your relationship to these issues will take on new dimensions as you transition from a predominately undergraduate student experience to a predominately professional experience.

Here is one question this little card has caused me to contemplate: If the Board of Voter Registration had hired a graphic designer, would registered voters in Marion County have known more clearly what to do when asked if their registration information was up to date? I want to hope so, but I also would not count on it. Obviously, the answer depends on the skills of the individual designer, but that answer does not get us to a more concrete understanding. More specifically, the result would depend on how the designer thought about their own role and responsibility in the job they were asked to perform.

If the designer looked at the job as making a post card to send to registered voters, they might be concerned with activities that include: laying out the text so that it is well organized with a clear information hierarchy; selecting appropriate text faces, point sizes, leading, line length and so on so that the information is legible and readable; and determining the format of the card so that it will accommodate all the information and be mailed economically. This designer could produce a “well-designed” postcard that no one would comprehend because the message was so poorly conceived.

If the designer looked at the job as solving a problem that would allow the Board of Voter Registration to update the addresses of county voter registration rolls by communicating effectively with registered voters, they would take on a very different role and set of responsibilities. They would be chiefly concerned with developing a communication that would work. They would probably develop multiple solutions based on an analysis of information they gathered. They would make prototypes and try out the effectiveness by seeing if various citizens (with varying levels of literacy) could respond appropriately. They would assure that the message was meaningful to the reader. They would deliver value to the county by reaching the goal. Oh, and they would also use all the same skills as the designer making a card.

What’s in a name?
How do we account for the different possible approaches to the same job? Is there more than one profession called graphic design? Based on the example of the voter registration postcard, does it make sense to describe the different approaches as different professions? Looking back as far as the 1950s a number of different terms have been used to describe the same or similar activities: graphic design, visual design, visual communications, communication design and information design. We could try to match up titles to roles and responsibilities, but I do not think that helps to solve issue that matters more. In the case of the voter registration postcard, we might focus on whether or not registered voters understand how to respond appropriately. In the case of any graphic design solutions, we might focus on whether or not our solutions work.

Is the graphic design profession changing?
To describe the role and responsibilities of designers, the National Association of Schools of Art and Design states, “Graphic design is the profession that plans and executes the design of visual communication according to the needs of audiences and in the context for which communication is intended.” The emphasis is on understanding the receivers of the communication and where the communication occurs. To help describe this emphasis within design education programs, NASAD and AIGA published a brochure titled “Making Choices About the Study of Graphic Design.”

AIGA frequently describes graphic design as a process for making the complex clear. The tagline used for the AIGA Get Out the Vote poster project is “Good design makes choices clear.” In a document aimed at helping designers become better advocates for the role of design, the AIGA stated, “Graphic designers and information designers serve as the intermediaries between information and understanding, finding purposeful ways to enhance understanding by carefully considering audience needs and then finding the simplest, most direct way to communicate.”

These statements represent a shift that emphasizes what graphic designers do as opposed to what graphic designers make. In a discussion on the blog Design Observer, Rick Poynor quotes an art director who, in 1960, said, “To design is to create images which communicate specific ideas in purely visual terms and utter statements whose form graphically embodies or enhances the essential nature of the notions to be communicated.” While there is nothing inherently wrong with this description, it focuses mostly on form making and emphasizes the intentions of the message without referencing the audience.

What difference does this make anyway?
While I have focused my examples on the little voter registration card, it is clear that failures in communication and design are not limited to our election processes. Sadly, many of the forms we use regularly are so poorly designed that we expect to be frustrated. Consider your experiences when working with school applications and financial aid forms, passport or immigration applications, health insurance forms, post office documents, utility bills, and credit card statements. We are frequently presented with failures of communication and design. The result of these failures is diminished trust in our public and private institutions. When information is confusing or inaccessible people feel disenfranchised or duped.

There is more information available today than ever before, yet many would say there is less understanding. This situation is unnecessary and should be unacceptable. The United States has an absolute global advantage in many products and services and communication technologies. Business leaders understand the competitive advantages that result from the differentiating attributes contributed by design. Given our wealth of knowledge and resources, this country should lead the world in communication design practices. Yet many government agencies, non-profit institutions and corporations do not engage designers to help provide their communication needs. In the article “Time for Change” Clement Mok wrote, “Truth is, designers are critical to many projects, but entrenched professional boundaries tend to cause business and civic leaders and others outside the design profession to treat designers in a disadvantaged was (even though we’re sometimes granted a certain special ‘hipster’ status).”

As designers we must examine why we are often left out of the process.
The profession and practice of design can help society benefit from the advantages of available information resources, but first graphic designers will have to embrace new roles and responsibilities. “We need to be more specific and clear about what it is we do and get much more immersed in our clients’ work and needs as part of a team, not some phantom who comes, does something cool and then leaves,” said Mok.

Are ethics involved?
The United States Census reminds us of the variety of constituencies with whom public and private institutions must be able to communicate clearly. Elderly, immigrant, non-native speakers of English, the functionally illiterate, physically challenged and young populations each have special needs. Meeting our nation’s ideal of equality requires that institutions be able to speak and listen to these groups effectively.

In the AIGA Voice article “In Search of Ethics in Graphic Design,” Associate Professor Paul Nini of The Ohio State University proposes a code of ethical conduct titled The Designer’s Responsibility to Audience Members and Users. The proposal describes not only a responsibility to recognize the needs of audiences but also for how designers should utilize this information and understanding in ways that are not exploitative.

Why do you design?
Back to one of the first questions: If a graphic designer had been involved with the voter registration card, would the situation have turned out any better?
It may seem unfair or even scary to put all this responsibility on graphic designers. It should help to realize that many of the skills required to solve these kinds of problems are the skills you are currently developing. Designers are usually good at questioning why things are the way they are. Designers are usually good at looking at situations from unusual perspectives. These are the skills you practice when you see the world, when you brainstorm ideas and when you participate in class critiques. To get deeper at this issue, AIGA published a booklet that looks at the question, “Why do you design?” The book suggests most designers are the kind of people who don’t like to take no for an answer. Most designers are the kind of people who believe that progress is important. Most designers are the kind of people who want to do something positive with their creativity.

Where do we go from here?
All citizens should demand higher quality communications. All institutions, public and private, should recognize that the production of clear, effective communication requires the participation of professional designers and audience input. All graphic designers should approach projects as problem-solving activities that require an understanding of the client’s communication objectives, an understanding of special needs of the intended audience and an understanding of the context of the communication.

And remember to vote on November 2.

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RESOURCES

Links in main text:
/content.cfm/accreditation
/content.cfm/getoutthevote
http://www.designobserver.com/archives/000190.html
/content.cfm?Alias=timeforchange
http://journal.aiga.org/content.cfm?ContentAlias=%5Fgetfullarticle&aid=611418
/content.cfm/why_design

 

Christopher Vice is chair of the Department of Visual Communication Design at Herron School of Art and Design and principal of sine qua non, a design consulting practice. Christopher was Vice President of Brand Marketing at Sapient. Previously, he focused on brand strategy and communication design for Global 500 companies including Mercedes-Benz, Citibank and Viacom. Other work includes editorial design for The Getty Foundation, Beach Culture magazine, Surfer magazine and Southern California Institute of Architecture. Christopher’s work has been featured in publications including IDEA: International Graphic Art Tokyo, I.D. Magazine and Émigré.

Want to learn more about designing information?
There are many excellent resources for learning more about designing information.

AIGA Design Forum: Information Design looks at characteristics and issues connected to this interesting and often misunderstood area of design. It contains articles both general and specialized that address issues, constraints and characteristics and attempts to formulate a working definition for those who are new to the subject.

International Institute for Information Design was founded to develop research and practice in optimizing information and information systems for knowledge transfer in everyday life, business, education and science. The main concern of the International Institute for Information Design is to contribute to a better understanding within the human community with respect to cultural and economic issues by means of improved visual and other than visual communication. Special attention is paid to the potential of graphic information design to overcome both social and language barriers.

InfoDesign: Understanding by Design supports the growth and application of information design. Information design helps people and organizations achieve understanding through the creation of relevant, clear and memorable information. Launched in 2004, this site is dedicated to the growth and improvement of the information and experience industries through the provision of a centralized online resource that serves all interested audiences. ‘InfoDesign: Understanding by Design’ is a non-profit informational resource. This excellent site is maintained by Peter J. Bogaards.

xBlog, ISSN 1543-7477, is a weblog that features design and visual thinking linking. You'll find links to sites discussing visual thinking, web design, art, creativity, information architecture and design, graphic design, symbols, typography, photography, information graphics, illustration, interface design, usability, language and more. The xBlog has been published continually since 11 Nov 1999. xBlog is powered by WordPress and edited by Bill Keaggy.

Publisher
AIGA Transitions is published once a month, October through May, eight times a year by AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), 164 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, www.aiga.org. The executive editor is Christopher Vice, chair of the Department of Visual Communication Design at Herron School of Art and Design. AIGA Transitions is a benefit of student membership and is not available to nonmembers. AIGA seeks articles for this publication from knowledgeable, respected and experienced authors whose opinions are deemed relevant to the student and educator community. The opinions expressed by the authors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or judgment of AIGA; further, they represent only one point of view and are not intended to be an exhaustive treatment. For further discussion of the issues with your colleagues and peers, please visit the AIGA Design Forum at www.aiga.org.