Two’s a crowd.

Others had offered input like “Let’s make it not so boring. Let’s make it pretty. And can we add more cowbell? I mean, more colors?” Hmm, more cowbell might work, but more colors (While pretty, yes. And more interesting, yes.) now seem to be getting in the way.

I was talking with a co-worker recently, and she said we’d gotten feedback that people wanted more copy to do some explaining. “There was just not enough copy.” And I had to wonder, I don’t think people necessarily want more text. I think people want clarity.

I was also working on a project with a color system to help navigate viewers though the purchasing process. One color did the job. So why add another? For interest? That made it more interesting. But now the viewer now had to remember a combination of colors to associate with the section. It’s inefficient.

As designers/communicators I think we might need to step up and “untrain” our clients from muddling their way through our materials and train them to get used to seeing and using solid, effective ways of communication – even if it means a less “pretty” design or less “flowery” prose. I’d like to encourage us to think less about what’s exciting and pretty and focus more on the efficacy of how we communicate.

Advertisement