One of the most feared aspects of presenting after the biggest of fears – fear of speaking before an audience – is design. Putting your slides before your audience can be frightening if you have no formal training. So, we are here to help with a new blog series: “Looking at Design”.
Susan says, “What does this info heavy sign have to do with design? Bad design is a lot like this sign post. One of the most important roles of design is to clarify. What’s next? Where should I look? Which is more important? Balance, juxtaposition, hierarchy and flow are all key elements in a good design. What design mistake is depicted in this image? Too much unsorted information is overwhelming to a viewer. This sign is intended to show, with humor, that Portland, Oregon, is the center of the universe. While I am happy that I live in the coolest city, I don’t recommend using this approach if you want your design to be effective and helpful.”
Lucia says, “Since composition is an element of design, I can speak about what I was thinking when I took this photo. I wanted to capture the fun of the multi-directional information – Mecca opposite Portland’s Tri-Met and the city’s Rose Garden opposite Walden Pond. This was not easy to compose, because there were many ways to go about it. What angle to choose. Show entire or partial words on the signs. Focus on the globe at the top. I thought that trying to capture the whole thing would be too cumbersome. Yet, I decided to frame the photo to contain as much of the signposts as possible. I know, a photo can have too much information and I agree with Susan that it’s bad design. And that’s the case here when you look at each individual sign. But taken as a whole it has a clear message. It’s a joke.”
