Uncomplicated

More and more I’ve been checking out Cooper’s blog. It’s all very brilliant, but I especially love how they break design theory down into bite size chunks. They create an ongoing dialogue about design theory for those of us who want to learn more, but don’t necessarily have the time to sit at a coffee shop and contemplate dense design discourse.

My recent favorite is a simple explanation of personas by Chris Noessel. It combines two of my favorite things: the Simpsons and straightforward communication of ideas (is that too specific to be one of my favorite things?). Beyond giving me a great way to talk to clients/co-workers about proper use of personas, Noessel highlights how important it is to find a common language with those you work with. Too often we become wrapped up in our own little corner of the world with our special vocabulary, and we forget that people may not be familiar with all of the concepts and techniques that we cite. We have to find strong examples and illustrations of our ideas in order to get our point across, lest we find ourselves looking across the table to find an assortment of blank faces, glazed-over eyes and, in extreme cases, drool.

Beyond boardroom embarrassment, it’s a shame when good ideas and simple solutions are thrown to the wayside because people can’t understand what in the world you’re talking about. And we certainly shouldn’t look at finding ways to clearly explain our ideas as a chore or as ‘dumbing it down’ for the masses. It’s our job as designers to be clear communicators- whether verbally or visually. Indi Young in her book Mental Models notes that we design types tend to flaunt the scholarly language. She suggests keeping an eye on this and returning such vague phrases as ‘Implement written culinary method’ to colloquial language, which would go something along the lines of ‘follow the directions on the back of the macaroni box.”

Design, much like life, does not have to be complicated.