Effectiveness of Communication Designs
By, Anna Riegger
OBJECTIVE:
Our first project objective was to compare and contrast communication designs. To do so, I have selected an object that is integral to my life as an athlete: a pace clock.
INEFFECTIVE PACE CLOCK:
It’s 5:30 AM as I hop in the water. “Everyone must start swimming by the ‘30’ on the clock!” Coach instructs. It’s early, I am in the furthest lane and masked by my dark, mirrored goggles I am unable to read the small numbers defining the tick marks on the clock. The rest of the team pushes off the wall and begins the practice while I am left in the dust (or bubbles).
EFFECTIVE PACE CLOCK:
Once again, its 5:30 AM. “Practice begins on the ‘30’” Coach declares. In the furthest lane, with my dark and foggy goggles, the pace clock illuminates the room. I quickly glance at the display to see the bright outlined numbers 23, 24, 25…29, 30. I inhale deeply and push off from the wall on time with my teammates for the start of a great practice.
CONTEXT:
A pace clock is situated at a the side or end of a lane, a great distance from the most of the athletes in the pool. During practice a swimmer must find the current time at just a quick glance to know when he or she should continue swimming. With dark and foggy goggles and a long practice ahead for the swimmer, the communication design is extremely important and essential to functionality.
COMPARISON:
The analog pace clock is a great example of an ineffective design communication. Although it may look simple and effective up close, when considering the context and design functionality the clock clearly does not meet the goal. The analog contains many values patterned in a circle. While this pattern allows for great use of space, it actually impairs the functionality of the clock. The font is decreased to account for all the numbers which increases the visual difficulty. Of these twelve numbers on the analog face, only one or two are used at a time. When the athlete is only looking for one number at a given moment, these additional numbers are considered excessive and unnecessary. Furthermore, elements such as the wide layout of the clock numbers, octagonal edges and hands of the clock draw the eye across frame, but effectively work against the main goal of the clock and detracts from finding the current time. The color scheme is dull, although the white background and dark font contrast is easy on the eyes. Overall, out of context this clock design could work, but in this function, the design communication can be greatly improved.
In contrast, the digital pace clock is a very effective design communication. The digital pace clock only contains numerical digits of importance. This effect saves space and does not distract the viewer, especially when the viewer has only a short glance to give. Furthermore, the values are nearly twice the size of those in the analog clock and illuminates via red neon glow, proving much more effective for those looking on from afar. In addition, the width and height of the words paired with the black background and contrasted neon color allows the viewer to easily make out each digit. The digital pace clock only contains four digits, yet the pattern of dots making up each digit catches the eye and encourages further examination. This design effectively communicates the important functions of a pace clock for the swimmer during his or her practice.
