Thank you, design

We are surrounded by design all day everyday. Some good and some that could use some improvement. Time and money is spent to delivery you an easy to use interface for life. As we navigate our day we are presented with many items founded on strong design concepts:

- Street Signs

You need to be made aware of vital directions, road construction, hazardous conditions and speed as you zip up and down the road. Many important principles can be found in street signs, such as universal colors, icons and fonts. For the most part, informational signs are green, speed is white and hazards are orange or red. The shapes of the signs and icons can also help you pick out information quickly when conditions are not ideal and also help people with color blindness.

- Fonts (typography)

There is design in a font, ah Yes! A lot of study and research goes into the way you review text. Take a look at most major printed news papers, they will use a serif font. The serif font helps guide your eye across the page. Computer screens work best with a sans serif font as the refresh rate of the screen is picked up by our eye.

- Advertising

Never before have we been faced with so much advertising from almost any imaginable direction. Advertisers want to play to your emotions so the message sticks with you at the shopping store. A lot of design is at play to make sure the message is memorable to you and you remember the brand when at the check out line.

- Web and mobile applications

The web does not have an instructional brochure, but there are a few key concepts that have surfaced that we have adopted as good design. A clean menu, while the message might be different, a menu will make or break your interface. Clear messages with vibrant images. Responsive design that will conform to many platforms.

Your design needs to contain:

- Clear message
If you are making a web site, what do you want to tell the user? Information, sell ads or products?

- Goal aka, call to action.

Not only to yourself, but show others your project and make sure your goal is clear. Before you start your next project, document your goal and revisit it during the project to make sure you are true to your original idea.

- KISS.
In the 1960's the Navy deployed a vital principle still used today, keep it simple stupid. Another version of this can be, do not make me think. When a user is interacting with your message, make the goal clear and easy to follow. Reviewing web logs can help make sure the user is not confused on a web application and the main goal is accomplished quickly.

Thank you, design for making the world easier to navigate.

Good design goes to heaven; bad design goes everywhere. — MIEKE GERRITZEN