A1: Communication Design Intro

Introduction

My name is Jasper, I’m a 5th year part-time design major at Carnegie Mellon University who’s working at CMU’s Human Computer Interaction Institute. I focused on holistic and systemic design thinking for much of my time at Carnegie Mellon, and I see sharpening my visual skills as a necessity before graduating. I play for a nationally ranked ultimate frisbee club team, Temper, and at Carnegie Mellon.

Ineffective Communication Design

This is as promotional jersey for youth ultimate frisbee players ranging from 8–19 years of age. The tournament name is “King of Bongo”. Symbolically representing the “o” in “Bongo” with a frisbee has resulted in the unintended communication of the text reading “bong”. Against the gradient background of the jersey, the text has high contrast, thus the word “bong” jumps out at the eye, unfortunately. Discs used for gameplay are always white, so the black text appears to be a separate design element from the disc, further contributing to the unintended communication.

Effective Communication Design

This is an alternative sticker for labeling medicine and other harmful chemicals with a skull and crossbones. Mr. Yuk was developed by UPMC in the 1970’s as the skull and crossbones became heavily associated with The Pittsburgh Pirates. Skull and crossbones began appearing on cereal, gum, and other children’s foods, thus reducing the connection between danger and the skull and crossbones symbol. According to the Ekman Theory, facial expressions are a universally recognized form of communication, thus the symbol isn’t language/culture specific. Designers tested different faces and colors for the sticker, with Mr. Yuk earning the distinction of being most disliked. Finally, the phone number for poison control is prominently listed on the sticker, so parents will easily know what to do if their child accidentally consumes poison.