Limitations of the ‘Visual Designer’ — design beyond what can be seen
Author’s note: I originally started drafting this piece in early 2021 after attending the In/Visible Talks with the help of the D&I Scholarship from Google. Since then I have expanded my thoughts on the topic after being employed in tech as a Visual Designer specializing in Data Viz, which I elaborate and build on in this post.
Defining design as…solely aesthetic?
When I began my career transition to UX Design in 2019, I was immediately intrigued by Visual Design. As I started my coursework, I was eager to jump into the visual aspects of the process. It was what I was “good at.” My skills got the attention of my peers and it was the talent that those around me believed would “get me the job” above all else.
Maybe in some ways, they were right, but I think the reality is a bit more complicated than that.
Visual design is most often the first thing non-designers perceive design to be — what you can see, the colors, aesthetics, and such.
There is this dominant idea that to be a “good designer” (that alone is subjective), you have to have flawless visual design chops and impeccable taste.
(As a beginner, however, your taste level often exceeds your talent — as stated in this quote by Ira Glass. This was especially true for me.)
But design is so much more than the visual. Design shapes everything around us, even if we are not aware of it.
Plus, not everything visually appealing is necessarily designed well or usable.
Opening my horizons
Considering visual appeal alone is a bit narrow-minded and limiting. Characterizing “good design” only by what can be seen is exclusionary, especially concerning accessibility.
What about the other senses and perceptions beyond what is visible? How about the systems that determine what is considered “good?”
During the In/Visible Talks 2021, I attended a session by speaker Bruce Mau called Design the Invisible. He introduced concepts that got me thinking more holistically about design, reframing my mindset. I think the introduction to the talk (cited below) sums it up well:
In the 20th century, Artist Marcel Duchamp liberated art from the tyranny of the eye. He said, “I was interested in ideas — not merely in visual products.” Duchamp won freedom from the limitations of what he called “retinal” art and imagined that art could be “in service to the mind”. It’s time to do the same for design, to imagine design beyond the limitations of the visual.
I began to think about the impact of design on our planet, our society, and people’s lives. What is design beyond what can be seen?
Mau brought up the concept of “life-centered design” as opposed to simply “human-centered.”
We tend to operate in hierarchies, believing humans to be at the top of the pyramid, and within that, there are sub-hierarchies determined by privilege.
- Is all good design embodied by what is in service to capitalism?
- Is ‘better’ design a practice that considers the multitudes? The margins? The excluded? (Hint: All of the above.)
- What aesthetics matter and which ones don’t? Who decides what matters?
These are the questions I’ve begun to ask myself daily in my design practice.
With great design power comes great responsibility
To be frank, design can be dangerous.
My background in fashion design is an example of this. The fashion industry is one of the most environmentally harmful industries in the world. On the surface, I’d just been designing children’s clothing with cute and playful prints. Lurking beneath, there was rampant labor exploitation and environmental destruction. I was shielded from that reality day-to-day and complicit in the system of harm fronted by design and excess consumption. I decided to leave the industry in part because of that.
It forced me to think, what are my design talents in service to?
And morbidly, what are aesthetics when your world is on the brink of collapse? Existential yes, but important to consider.
Digital design (UX, Product Design) is not immune to this either. There are plenty of examples out there of this, which other people have described at length.
However, I’m urged not to be cynical and tasked to be optimistic. To evolve as a designer I’m to understand this reality and take responsibility for my decisions as a practitioner. I must be inclusive, question the why, and design beyond visual aesthetics.
Inclusive thinking = better design
Lately, I’m reframing my design goals, especially now as a data visualization designer. With every project, I think about…
- How can I include people who can’t engage with information visually?
- How can I craft a story in words around my work to support and explain the visuals in an accessible way?
- How can I make the visual easier to perceive? What options am I providing to those who access what I design?
To design for a better future, I must approach my work where I’m inclusive of those that interact with technology differently from me and whose impression of the world differs from my lived experience.
I have been deeply focused on accessible design practice in the past year. Practice is the keyword here. I am always learning something new. I share my knowledge and resources with others who may know less than I do.
On that note, here is a helpful resource list from The A11y Project + a resource for creating more accessible data viz.
Evolving in community
Recently, I attended Outlier Conf 2022 hosted by the Data Visualization Society. I felt very inspired to keep improving my craft within the niche.
It was repeatedly emphasized that the discipline is evolving beyond what’s visual. Innovations like data sonification, data smellscapes, and experiences that combine multiple sensory inputs were introduced.
Sessions dove deep into designing data for cognitive load, using appropriate language and labeling when describing marginalized groups, and designing with consideration of those who have limited access to technology or slower connection speeds — to name only a few topics.
I’m excited for the evolution of my career as I bring all these learnings into my work. Sometimes all the considerations feel daunting. Sometimes the digital design realm broadly feels like a capitalistic hellscape. Still, I must take heed, pick my battles, and choose my path wisely.
“My design practice is in service to others, not to myself.”
Now, say that again.
My Related-Reading List:
- Design Justice by Sasha Costanza-Chock (status: near finished)
- Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Neil (status: up next)
- Ruined by Design by Mike Monterio (status: complete)
Aria is a Designer and Creative Technologist from New York City. She’s currently working as a Designer at the Data Visualization and Storytelling agency, The DataFace. You can find her on LinkedIn, Twitter, and her Portfolio.
