7 things you could learn from a designer otherwise known as 5 1/2 things you could learn from a designer.

Someone from somewhere (I'm not saying who yet because I haven't asked them if I could post this and I think that's a little bit rude) has asked me to come in and talk to their company about graphic design. When I sat down to write them an email I found myself writing like I blog. I kept wanting to put links and pictures in, so in the spirit of 'this collaboration thing' I thought I'd post my stuff so far up here.

I'm trying to write '7 things you could learn from a designer' but I've only got 5 1/2 so far. Can anyone think of another 2?

1. How to make your presentations instantly look better.
Why people usually over complicate stuff just because Microsoft have given them the tools to do this. Just because you can make 3D type in PowerPoint doesn't mean that you have to. Good design should let the content be the 'hero' not your wizardry with PowerPoint transitions.

How to make your presentations better in one stroke? Select all, click the text formating palette and choose one font. There, that's better isn't it?

2. Why you should never, ever, ever use Comic Sans.
Ok, let me say this again. Comic Sans is designed to look like the typography found in old comics. So unless you work for DC Comics, please, please, please don't use Comic Sans. It doesn't look friendly, it doesn't look fun, it's doesn't look funky, it looks shit.

3. What usability means and why it's becoming more important.
Great usability is the ultimate in good design. This is so obvious, but we're only just starting to talk about it. There are so many examples around us everyday, the Underground map, the BBC News website, almost all Apple products. As David Ogilvy said, "You can't save souls in an empty church".

As communication gets so more complicated usability is becoming so much more important in getting through to people. Make it easy for people to get to your stuff.

4. How design is the new management consultancy.
How companies are starting to turn to designers to solve complex business problems, or at least provide a different perspective. Because true design thinking means that design is a verb and not a noun. It's a better way of thinking and not a production process that's applied at the end of a project.

"Design is habitually brought in too late, used simply to paint and decorate products for which the major decisions have already been made. Thus we have products that are easy to build, designed by technically minded people, but that are not desirable or usable."
Clive Grinyer (director of Orange's Design & Usability Innovation team

And other examples...

5. Some names for your contacts book and an exhibition you must go and see this month.
Who Alan Fletcher was and when his exhibition is on at the Design Museum.

And other names...

6. I want to write something about the designers process, but I'm not sure what yet. It'll probably be something about how you store up loads and loads of stimulus in your visual brain and then you release that stimulus when the brief requires it. In other words you're Never Not Working.

Comments

[David]

Number 7: humility (if my memory serves me correctly, it was Kenneth Grange who was once asked what sort of designer he was - his reply: 'a humble one').

And (if it's a UK audience) it's always worth paraphrasing 'Desert Island Discs' - if you could choose only one of those seven things, which one would it be?

And a book, apart from The Bible and Shakespeare?

[simon]

I was once told by a very smart man that every 'creative' should ask themselves this question;
Are you in love with the art inside of you, or you inside the arts?

Ive always thought it an interesting starting point for anyone thinking about working in the creative industry to ask themselves as it'll help them understand what sort of 'creative' they're going to be.

[Caspian]

I recently used to agree wholeheartedly about #2 (Burn Comic Sans) until I saw this: http://www.mordy.com/pics/live_trace.jpg
made from Comic Life. Seems to make a valid presentation.

[Ben]

Caspian - that's a comic, so using Comic Sans is OK. That's the point.

[miscmash]

Perhaps there's something about graphic design being 'transformational' that's missing here

Yes, content should be the hero. But I don't think you can divorce content from its representation; design 'frames' the content as it were. Design has the potential to make content much more interesting, useable and compelling, or, much more frustrating and annoying (as in your Comic Sans bugbear). So, it's both an opportunity and a burden in this respect

As a favour to friends, I often take their CVs and - without changing the content - feel that I can make them twice as marketable through design improvements alone. I just love that can kind of stuff

[Alex]

Maybe you could elaborate on the importance of design beyond presentations and on to communications generally (ie getting your message across to an audience that doesn't necessarily want your message). You could even explain kerning (I'm not a designer, but I found your kerning post really interesting; I'm slowly learning to talk to designers without sounding like a total idiot).

[Ben]

Everyone loves the kerning post.

Yes I should do that and I should cover leading and chiaroscuro and a whole bunch of stuff like that.

[Richard]

This is connected to your No.6 and storing stuff up: I'd say, "never think you know enough" and suggest they get that little book by James Webb Young who suggests a system for it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technique-Producing-McGraw-Hill-Advertising-Classic/dp/0071410945/sr=1-1/qid=1163365614/ref=sr_1_1/202-9401676-2266231?ie=UTF8&s=books

And while they're on Amazon they might as well buy the Paul Arden book at the same time (for a bargain price).

Also, that thing Tschichold sad about upholding the principle of identity between content and expression has always stuck with me. He also said something about the great benefits of studying great work (as in, analysing why it's great).

(Not sure if that's any help; it's late and my brain stopped working properly hours ago).

[Marcus Brown]

Regardless of all the tools, and all the software available that make design look easy, design is still a craft. Good design has a heritage, an understanding of where it comes from and where it could be in ten years time. It's something learned and has value, and good designers are people that should be listened too.

So that's two points.

1. Listen to your designers
2. Graphic design has a history and a tradition.

[Ben]

This is good stuff guys. Keep 'em coming. And thanks.

[Richard]

This ones just come up here, and it's very specific. In the same way that Comic Sans is BAD (no doubt about it), white space is GOOD.

[Bronte]

If your wanting more points to discuss you could talk about C.R.A.P. The for main elements of design- contrast, repition, alignment and proximity. Apply all these elements successfully and your almost garunteed a successful design. By the way... the comment about Comic Sans is so true, I hate that font. I hope this helps!