Sketches

Communication is astonishingly complicated. Yet, theoretically possible.

To state the obvious, people communicate in different ways. A writer is good at communicating with the written word. A programmer is good at communicating with computers. A graphic designer communicates with people through visuals.

On top of this, people try to communicate different things based on what they value. For example, salesman love to talk, but often they don’t deal with information well. As long as everyone is smiling at the end, all is good. They communicate with emotion. I have a theory some people don’t even know words carry meanings. Instead, they are simply noises that carry reactions. Make noises that sound like “over budget” and you get a bad reaction. Make the “no problem” noise and clients are happy… at least temporarily.

This brings us to another obvious point. If someone is really good at one type of communication, they may be lacking in another. Designers generally don’t make good programers, and visa versa. Writers may not be good speakers. It just isn’t their native tongue.

Now consider the web. What does it take for a web site to communicate effectively? Obviously, the site must be written in such a way that a browser can understand and present the site as intended. Next the content must be clearly organized and presented in a way that is easy for the end user to digest. Finally, there needs to be emotional engagement with the user. The idea is to elicit a response that is in harmony with the information being presented.

A site needs to communicate data between computers, communicate information to people, and generate an emotional reaction from those people. That is a lot to ask of some HTML and CSS. It takes a human touch. And as noted above, it probably takes a team of people with different sets of communication skills to pull it off at the highest level.

How to get all those disparate team members on the same page, however, is another trick all together.

I have noticed there are a lot of businesses that are consistently at the ragged edge of panic. The staff is stressed, frantic, and running around like their hair is on fire. Why? Some would probably say that is the nature of their business. When a client or boss says jump, you have to ask, “How high?” on the way up. It is out of anyone’s control, right?

I’m not so sure. I suspect it is a cultural thing, a state of mind that CAN be influenced far more than one might think. Stress is just a kind of lowest common denominator. Here are a few thoughts on how a business might begin to reign in a culture of panic and mediocrity.

What is normal?

Self-awareness
How much can I actually get done in a day, week, or month? No really. Line up actual progress with past estimates. How accurate are you? Don’t schedule more than you can do. You can’t do more than you can do.

Expect the Unexpected
Extenuating circumstances come around all the time. How much time, on average, do you need to spend on emergency situations? Go look through past projects to see. Set aside that much time in your schedule. That goes for your overall scheduling as well as for each project.

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There was a big philosophical discussion over lunch at Blend the other day. The topic was centered around how people measure success. The obvious and default answer in this culture is social status and a massive bank account. The less glorified, but more significant angle would involve more relationship focused riches. For example, a loving family, good friends, and a life well spent making the world a better place.

If you apply the same sort of introspection to business, it will similarly shift the kind to clients you want to attract. If your goals aren’t focused purely on money and power, what does a perfect client look like? Perhaps it is easiest to start by defining a few things that a perfect client does not have to be.

The perfect client does NOT necessarily offer:

1. Giant brand-name clout
2. An unlimited budget (see also – Why I want to design for free)
3. The most profitable projects
4. Total creative freedom

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I was looking back through my portfolio recently and got thinking about the temporary nature of design. I have stacks of programs, postcards, and posters for events long past. Their message is spent. Who wants to look at them now?

Case-in-point: A while ago I was invited to speak to several graphic design classes at Morningside College. Between classes I drifted down the hall, talking to the professors. When we made it back to the classroom, my portfolio of work was missing. I had left it spread out on a table not five minutes ago and now it was gone! After a quick search of the area, I spotted a large trash can down the hall. You know, the gray ones on wheels that Greg-the-janitor pushes around while cleaning. There on top of the rest of the rubbish was my stack of brochures, posters, and postcards. The culmination of several years of full time design work, flipped in the trash without so much as a look. Finally, an honest critique!

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It can be paralyzing to start a new project from scratch. I sometimes find myself staring at a blank screen and trying to summon something completely new and revolutionary out of thin air. What’s wrong? I’m here in front of my computer, but there is no divine bolt of inspiration. Nothing is working.

The lightning bolt is late.

Okay, maybe I need to explore the creative process beyond a secret Mac-mind-meld that artistic types do while hyped-up on Red Bull. While everyone likes to think they are creating something fresh and unique, the truth is most work is heavily influenced by something else. (Or lots of something elses) We’re not talking plagiarism here. This isn’t intentionally ripping off someone’s work. It is a creative synthesis of ideas, tailored to fit the needs at hand. And that’s okay.

It turns out, the wheel has already been invented.

I wouldn’t need to reinvent the 2×4, or even the stud wall when building a new house. Yet, that is often where I try to start a new design. Graphic design is about communicating visually to the right audience in the right way. Why not take an existing solution and make sure it gets done right? Am I wasting effort trying to come up with something needlessly new? Take the iPod and iTunes for example; it wasn’t something out of left field that people had never seen before. Apple just hit the right balance of innovation and refinement of existing ideas.

Getting it right is more important than doing it first.

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No seriously.

Money causes so many problems. For example:

1. When someone hires you, they want control. This includes time lines, visual direction, everything.
2. Generally, people are not very grateful for the work done. It is expected.
3. They want perfection. They paid for something. It better work. (of course perfection is relative…)

Giving work away turns things upside down. Indulge me a few idealistic benefits:

1. I could choose and control my work, allowing me to become more invested in it.
2. Time lines would be less important than results.
3. People are grateful. Especially receiving something desperately needed or highly valued.
4. Besides, giving things away is fun! Have you tried it?

With discipline, all this becomes a virtuous circle of high quality craftsmanship, sane deadlines, and grateful clientele (Que the angelic choir…). Of course, I’d still go hungry. Believe me, I’ve tried to come up with a scenario where this could pay the bills. Maybe I just charge for out of pocket expenses and offer people the opportunity to repay my gift in proportion to what they feel is fair… Yeah… So nothing I’ve come up with seems like it will keep me in clean socks.

I’m sure there is a workable solution (and I would love to see it if you have one). However, there are so many barriers to overcome!

Here are a few reasons FREE doesn’t work:
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The promise of content management is that my web site can grow and change, without being beholden to those crazy computer types. Control of my website is in my hands.

This sounds all well and good, but then reality comes barging in and screws everything up. Here are a few points where even the best CMS fails to deliver.

1. Exceptions
Computers are built on rules. Everything comes down to yes or no. 1 or 0. In the same way, content management systems are as much about limiting what you can do as enabling you to do more. The same structures that make it possible to add a new paragraph on your about page, also limit you from dropping in a pull quote and making the text flow around it. I am always wanting to do things that the system wasn’t built for. What if I want to add a divider line between sections of content? What if I want a grid of images with captions below each?

A well implemented CMS, based on a well thought out design, can account for most content variations. It CAN. But most don’t. There are too many details, too many unknowns. The content for a new site is usually very poorly defined. And developers building out a site generally don’t have the time or interest in making sure formatting options are refined enough to make a designer happy.
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I don’t know about other designers, but I seem to get caught up in these strange little dances with the clients I’m working with. Well, maybe dance isn’t the right word. It is more like some twisted form of target practice. This is what I mean:

Direct Design
How hard could it be to design an effective website? I mean really?
1. Define a solution that meets the needs and general preferences of the users.
2. Implement the solution.

CLEVER DIAGRAM #1

Oversimplified? Yes. But the idea is there. Define the target, and try to hit it.

This situation happens all the time, but only within the protective walls of your standard college design class.

Level One
It turns out they don’t accept logo designs as payment at Hy-Vee, so I am forced to find someone who will pay for such things. Enter, “the client.”

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