Putting design into context

Do we all possess the qualities to be a graphical guru without knowing it? Kai Merriott puts us in the picture...

Most of us know the basic rules of design, even if we weren't formally taught the nuts and bolts. But successful design seems to rely on the context we're designing for.

If you're the sole owner of the thing you're designing, then you'll probably come up with the goods. Throw another person into the mix - a client, or senior member of staff - and the design unravels.

Let's randomly pluck an example out of the air - a surprise birthday party for your partner.

You have one rule - it's going to be a classy affair. You want people to dress up and leave their kids at home (after all, you can't have jam fingers stickying up your decor).Now you need to design an invitation. What pictures do you reach for? Jolly party clipart, perhaps?

Perhaps not. This would make it look like a children's party.
You're more likely to find something that reflects the colours of your tastefully decorated pad.

That's because you're designing this to convey a certain mood, and to set people's expectations about the sort of party they're

being invited to.

Next you'll think about the words. There's no point waffling on. You just want to provide the basics. First off, where's the party? Then when is it and what time does it start? Is it formal? Can I bring my partner? What about my jam-fingered kids?

So here goes...

And then you're probably thinking... maybe a different font. This isn't a jumble sale. So you go for something more tasteful than Comic Sans...

And there you have it. Basic design rules in practice:

• The colours and pictures reflect the style of party you're trying to convey
• You thought about the audience - the questions they are likely to ask on receipt of this invitation (and answered them)
• You thought about the layout - note how "Adults only" is subtly relegated it to the bottom right because making the no-child rule too big a feature might cause upset
• You thought about the font - using the wrong typeface would make the invitation look amateurish

All this proves is that design is based on simple common sense - and we can all do it.

The best professional designers are able to bring this common sense into the workplace. They're also able to confidently stick with a design in the face of rejection - or fear of rejection. That's because they know what will work, what won't work and how to persuade other people why theirs is the best direction to take.

Sometimes, a perfectly good design by someone new to the profession - whether it's an e-learning course, a website or a poster - gets muddied because they are worried what their seniors might think. That's when you get a half-baked design that attempts to keep everyone happy (NB: this is attempting to defy the laws of human nature).

Imagine if you had to design the above invitation for work. Suddenly, the old fears creep in. Will the boss like it? Will it do its job? Perhaps I should add more words or more colours - or fewer words and more colours? Or cartoons, or photographs, or....arrgh!!!
Without the boss, you become bolder, freer and ultimately more successful.

If you're designing in a work context, block out all thoughts of who might look at it. When it comes to 'selling' the idea to others, don't panic. This isn't as scary as it sounds. It just means you have to believe in your design while you're explaining it to others.

So - to recap as a simple three-point plan of action - 1) stick to your objective 2) considering the audience above everything and 3) don't worry about extraneous factors. This will make it easier to your remain true to your design and sell why you've done it that way.

If you don't believe in your design - and you've created a clipart-laden invitation in Comic Sans - then I'm afraid it's back to the drawing board.

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