Excerpts from our educational section called AWP 101

Good design is only slightly superficial

Last year we were bombarded with links from friends and/or heard stories (rumors!) about how lo-fi design is the new hi-fi. The driving force behind this idea was mostly based on the perspective of an imaginary character: that of the hypothetical visitor. The argument assumes that visitors don’t want to feel cheated, manipulated or over-sold on a site that is too polished or classy. They just want the goods. People were citing Craigslist and Google (and, dare I say it, MySpace – ouch, that really does hurt) as the ultimate success stories. Bare-bones design, super-accessible content.

Seems straight-forward enough. And logical in theory. Obviously if John Doe has a computer, knows a bit of code and wants to sell the lovable lawn ornaments he makes in his garage, he doesn’t need a site that looks like Apple. That being said, I don’t go to the doctor and expect to see paint-chipped walls and broken equipment. So what is the compromise?

Design’s Common Ground

Without diving too much into demographics and appealing to your target market, we can start from the ground and work our way up: the thing has to work. In the visual world this means making sure that the important bits are accessible. If there is text, is it easy to read (contrast/size)? Do we know who it represents (branding/logo)? Those are the basics, and easily accomplished…which will only get you halfway to your finished product.

Getting your message across is the second half and is tricky for a number of reasons. Your concept (visually and literally) needs to stand out. In a good way. Is it unique? Picture your finished product lined up with a dozen other competitors’/organizations’ products. Chances are that most of them will look similar, playing it safe with trends that currently work. Some will look amateurish and unprofessional, using too many fonts (and lame ones) poor color choices or lacking any coherent concept. Some will pop. Some will have a message and style that is so fresh, so humbling, you’ll remember it days, weeks later. And if yours isn’t one of those now, learn from it. That doesn’t mean you should borrow (design-speak for “rip-off”) elements or ideas, but learn why it resonates with you. Maybe you like the hand-drawn look or the startlingly simple bold font and high-impact graphic. When you sit down to start your next project, those feelings and concepts that work will come back to you.

That Being Said…

We’re still in a very subjective field. Just because you like it doesn’t mean everyone else will. Hopefully this isn’t the case, but no work of art, website, billboard, business card will be flawless. But if the final result is something that you can be proud of, communicates your message clearly and separates you from the crowd (or at least isn’t re-hashing old trends), then pat yourself on the back and high-five the first person you see: you’re designing!