A1 — Identifying Communication Design

Unfortunately, this is the third floor of the College of Fine Arts— in the picture above, students enter through this door to use or visit studios. I believe that the entire building is a prime example of ineffective communication design. It is quite easy to get lost in — for example, if I didn’t decide to curiously wander into the door pictured above, I would have never found the CFA 318 studio room; it didn’t have a label, a sign, or even pictures to denote that the room I was looking for was indeed in this area. Furthermore, the entire building seems to have varied layouts on each floor, and directions aren’t very detailed or student-friendly. The CFA also has a Mezzanine in between its first and second floors, causing even more confusion. I can imagine that freshman or non-CFA-oriented majors will not be able to effectively navigate the premises.

I felt like this piece was an example of effective communication design. Coincidentally, I found this Originals A Cappella poster pinned on a wall on the first floor of the College of Fine Arts. First of all white-on-black is easier on the eyes than black-on-white. It gets straight to the point; readers need only about ten to fifteen seconds to receive the message that this poster conveys. The poster effectively presents necessary information — such as what, when, and where — in an organized fashion.