Week 2 Reading

Okay, re-reading the syllabus…I’m going to give a response rather than a summary, as I did last week (in which 200 words was just inconceivable) –make it comprehensive and personal rather than regurgitative....

As guiding principles go (Chapters 1-5), I think Krug is spot-on. Our reading for this week summed up:

·      CHP. 3: Everything rests at a glance.

·      CHP. 4: “3 mindless, unambiguous clicks = 1 click that requires thought.”

·      CHP. 5: Clearcut the words like you should the content.

While I read I am reminded: as a designer, my two major weaknesses are a) prioritization and b) brevity. The former causes the latter. Choosing what to keep and what to throw away, when it is your own handmade material, is like choosing which child to drown in the bathtub. (you choose the scenario) But ultimately, it has to be done. Often, if it’s similar content, like multiple files of 1 kind of my work, I line up the ones that display the best work, most versatile, and wipe the rest. Then, as Krug says (“Get rid of half what’s left.”), I cut it down some more. This I do mostly arbitrarily, as again, I’m terrible at making these choices. They’re my babies.

But when it comes to prioritization in hierarchy, I feel intuitive enough to do this well. Once the stacking is in place, it’s a matter of managing visual cues, (e.g., “The more importantsomething is, the more prominent it is…”) maintaining a consistent and logical design, and editing while you go. As hard (yet swift in many cases) as it is, editing can be the most cathartic part of the process –when you realize and actualize simplicity in its most efficient form, you are left with elegance. And yet elegance –similar to how the trimmed characteristics of the shape of a jet can determine how maneuverable and thus powerful it can be– can make design more stunning, and functionally more effective. 

What I find most intriguing with this book so far, aside from its succinctness, is that it’s common sense that we perceive, but tend to forget to repeat to ourselves. It’s powerful information laid out in the most simple of terms, like a Daniel Pink or Malcom Gladwell book.