Communication is key
Speaking and writing are designer’s core tools.
We, the designers, communicate. Mostly visually. We communicate through posters, books, through envisioning digital and physical products. Our job is to communicate — an idea; a concept, a thought, a strategy. We articulate the input given by the clients and try to communicate with the end users.
Why are we then so bad when it comes to speaking and writing? This starts with one of our main tools — email, but then also expands to putting our concepts into a written form.
Are we only able to communicate visually? Purely with the help of composition, color, typography, illustration and photography?
Communication is an acquired skill that needs practice. Recognizing it’s value is the first step towards being a great designer and a team member (a team leader especially).
Writing, as you know, helps us articulate and form the ideas in our head. It forces us to create structures from what originally is a mushy substance called an idea. This, then is a great base to communicate and build on that idea with your team.
Bad design could have been saved with better communication. Not with better designs or content. Just by communicating. On time, and with clarity.
Take the time to talk with your team. Take the time to talk with your client. Weigh what’s important, and make better designs by having everyone on the same page.
On that note, I bring you one presentation from this months Interaction‘14, held in Amsterdam. Davide is focusing on the common language between different stakeholders.
This is an incredibly valuable opportunity that we designers can take to step up and contribute to create the great experiences and services they envision, taking our vision, tools and understanding to a different level. But we need to learn the new skills to play at this table, a table that’s often speaking a different language with a lot of politics and different stakeholders.
