Ideas

Visual communication depends on creativity taking place with a framework. You can’t give your imagination free reign because you have to come up with ideas about your subject in a context that will not confuse the receiver.

But working with a framework need not stifle creativity. Restrictions provide something to react against, or a tradition to break. The challenge is in pushing the boundary but not necessarily exceeding it.

Most people would agree that creativity means challenging conventions and producing, or being open to, new ideas. Of combining things that are not normally associated together in different or unexpected ways to create something new and exciting.

A good idea is a thought that may offer a new overview of a communication problem, or a starting point for a new solution. Often it adds something new to the message through the wording or design.

A successful idea captures attention and invokes an emotional response. It should be simple and clear and have the capacity for further development.

Practical creativity often follows a familiar pattern that starts with an insight to the nature of the communication problem to be solved, establishes and clarifies the goals that you are trying to achieve, involves a period of desk research or mystery shopping to understand the context of the problem and the target audience, before finally generating ideas and reviewing their value and currency.

Thinking laterally about applying new information or providing a different context to your message is important in creativity. Avoiding habitual solutions by finding a new perspective or angle on a familiar problem allows the creative thinker to see things in a new light.

But where do ideas come from? There are two levels of dialogue that can take place, internal within the creative mind and external with your colleagues. Unlocking those dialogues involves breaking strong forces of internal and external habit. Everyone must feel able to think and to voice ideas that may be unworkable or plain daft.

Tricking your brain into avoiding self-censorship for fear of criticism or rejection often involves using creative tools or role-play. These techniques may include;

• Brainstorming – Ideas by association where all suggestions are welcome
• Nine boxes – your problem in the middle, eight possible solutions around the outside. Take each idea in turn and repeat.
• Opposites – ideas using opposites and conflicts
• Six thinking hats – Edward de Bono’s classic methodology
• Sketching – drawing often triggers new ideas
• Starting at the end – work backwards to discover the prerequisites for success

And finally, there’s your idea, ready to be developed and tested and grown into a full creative solution.

As an untried solution to a problem, your idea only becomes meaningful when it is applied to the communication problem. But when your idea successfully addresses problem, is in line with the goal of your client, reflects the vision and values of their business and is capable of being deeply embedded in all communication channels, then you have your creative solution.

This is Tomorrow

And so to the Whitechapel Gallery to see This is Tomorrow, an account of the production process of this seminal exhibition.

During the 1950s mass production and new technologies were celebrated by the Media. Novel materials were to influence all areas of life, from the daily maintenance of living spaces and the built environment as well as the production of art.

Architect, writer and founder member of Pentagram Theo Crosby’s initial idea for an exhibition involving architects, artists, designers and theorists resulted in This is Tomorrow, which took place at the Whitechapel in 1956 in collaboration with members of the Independent Group. The theme was the ‘modern’ way of living and the exhibition was based on a model of collaborative art practice. The 38 participants formed 12 groups, which worked towards producing one artwork.

Just What Is It that Makes Today’s Homes So Different,
So Appealing? © Whitechapel Gallery

 

 

One of the group members, Richard Hamilton, produced his 1956 collage Just What Is It that Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing? for the exhibition. It is considered by critics and historians to be one of the early works of Pop Art.

An iconic show in its conception and realisation it has continuously interested artists, theorists and curators ever since due to the challenge it posed for the creative practitioners and visitors alike. The former, as each group was formed by an architect, a designer, an artist and a theorist, were requested to amalgamate their individual approaches and produce a work by deploying a new methodology. The public, with no interpretation panels and other information available, had to make their own judgements as to how to navigate inside the gallery and interpret the works they viewed.

Messaging

According to the New York Times, the average person is subjected to over 5,000 advertising messages a day. The more messages we perceive, the greater the background noise.

The more you shout, the more noise is created. Everybody wants to be heard. Everybody shouts. To rise above the noise, you need to shout louder.

Or do you?

What your clients need is a message that cuts through the noise, even if you only whisper.

Formulating and structuring your message is therefore critical to making sure you are heard.

Needs
Establishing the needs of your target group – and therefore the types of messages that are likely to resonate with them – is a key component of your message.

Maslow expressed his triangular hierarchy of needs in 1954. Basic physical needs form the base of the pyramid. Once these are satisfied, people’s desires move up to the next level, safety needs, and then social, esteem and self-actualisation at the apex. We move up and down through these levels depending on our lifestage and circumstances.

To be successful, messages, goods and services need to be aligned with the needs of your target audience at their appropriate lifestage.

For instance, expensive makeup is neither a physiological, safety nor social need. Loreal plays on esteem needs of the professional woman with disposable income ‘because you’re worth it’.

Arguments
Rather than shouting louder, it is better to convince a person with a series of statements establishing your proposition.

That’s right, you came here for an argument.

The first stage in an argument is to delimit the terms of reference. What is in and what is out. Provide too much unnecessary information and your audience gets bored.

Then there has to be a structure to the message to make it worth listening to; a narrative with a beginning, middle and end; a dialogue; a setup and a payoff.

The actual message itself can consist of a primary argument (eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day is healthy) and secondary arguments (fruit and vegetables are cheap and easy to prepare) that help convince the receiver by supporting the main argument.

The optimum message is based on the primary argument, but where there are several supporting arguments, the strongest one is normally used first with the second strongest left until last and the weakest ones in between.

Both primary and secondary arguments may appeal to logic (health benefits) or emotion (better skin tone) to get their point across. However, whilst the receiver can be convinced by rational arguments, logic is no more important than emotion in decision-making.

This is because the receiver firstly identifies with and adopts a position on your message. Based on the position takes, the receiver then filters all the arguments and counter-arguments. If the pros outweigh the cons, then a subconscious decision is made and the receiver rejects the opposition position. In essence, the receivers convince themselves of the course of action to take.

Generally arguments are one-sided, as the receiver can be relied upon to provide the subvocalised opposition. However, two-sided arguments, where the sender expresses the disadvantages as well as the advantages of their position, can suggest honesty and integrity.

Finally, it is important that your audience feels involved and proactive in the messaging process. Your story leads the way, but by allowing the receiver space to work out your message for themselves, they are more likely to come to the desired conclusion.

Aligning your message with the needs of your audience and developing a clear argument gives you the cut-through that you need and the best chance of being heard.

Perception II (discernment)

In previous posts I looked at some theoretical tools to refine and improve messaging. Among these, some of the more practical ones are chunking, perception, scanpaths, wayfinding and content structure;

In perception, there are two key structures involved, difference and discernment.

Discernment and Gestalt pschology
Adjacent objects are generally perceived and processed as a group and considered to have a like meaning. Objects which share similar attributes – size, colour, shape, direction – are also perceptually grouped together.

Grouping objects to create contextual relationships and create implied alignments helps a designer to guide the viewer’s eye through the content.

These principles of perception are explored in the theories of Gestalt psychology, that examine ‘the essence or shape of form’. The phrase ‘The whole is greater than the sum of the parts’ is often used when explaining Gestalt theory.

Fundamental to Gestalt are the laws of Pragnanz, which state that we tend to order things in a manner that is regular, ordered and symmetric;

• Principle of closure – the viewer infers elements in order to complete a regular figure
• Principle of similarity – the viewer groups similar elements together
• Principle of proximity – spatial proximity induces the viewer to perceive a group
• Principle of symmetry – symmetrical images are perceived by the viewer as a group even if separated by distance
• Principle of continuity – The viewer infers continuing patterns
• Principle of common fate – Elements with the same direction are perceived by the viewer as a group

Gestalt psychology is frequently used in user interface design, for example where text fields and buttons are placed with reference to the laws of similarity and proximity.

Designing familiarity in to layouts through consistent placement of similar types of content creates a rhythm and flow in your designs that allow the viewer to process information quickly and efficiently.

Perception I (difference)

In a previous post, I talked about how designers transmit knowledge, share concepts and process information through language, and how structure and legibility affect the visualisation of messages and inform the design decisions you make on a daily basis.

To help your audience understand your messaging, you need to know how they will receive and decode the information you send.

Scientific study has provided designers with a number of theoretical tools to refine and improve their messages. Among these, some of the more practical tools are chunking, perception, scanpaths, wayfinding and content structure.

In perception, there are two key structures involved, difference and discernment.

Difference threshold and Weber’s Law
Understanding our ability to perceive information and distinguish one information set over another can help designers target their messages for maximum impact.

Weber’s Law of Just Noticeable Differences (no, really!) suggests that there is an identifiable minimum amount of change that can be defined for a viewer so that they are able to notice a difference in any one design

If the amount of perceptual change remains a constant (and can thus be predicted unconsciously by the viewer), then it is easier for your audience to process and distinguish between different types of information. This regular rate of change is known as the ‘difference threshold’.

Weber’s Law can be used to help designers make constructive choices in making information follow an obvious hierarchy.

For example, setting a consistent rule for the differential sizing of type headings, say in 4 point increments, establishes a clear information hierarchy in the mind of the audience.

Similarly, decisions on the relative weights of fonts in typeface design can also be informed by identifying the difference threshold.

User testing of visual assumptions against Weber’s Law can help confirm the designer’s intuition regarding aesthetic considerations and help establish clearer communication with the audience.

Science Museum Brand and Identity

© Johnson Banks

I'm very excited by the new Science Museum brand and identity from Johnson Banks currently being rolled out throughout the museum.

'The chosen idea stemmed from research (Johnson Banks) did on codes, puzzles, patterns and basic digital typefaces, and we found a way to shorten the word science so we could create a grid-like ‘stack’ of the letterforms.'

The posters on the London Underground look great, with the distinctive typography (Font: SM Grid from The Foundry) standing out from the visual clutter around them.

Great idea, great structure, great execution.

Evolving English

© British Library

On Tuesday I went to a fascinating lunchtime gallery lecture given by the curators of the Evolving English exhibition at the British Library.

In the course of my visit, what struck me was that no sooner did individuals or institutions try to fix English within a set of rules, so the language evolved as accepted usage changed.

The first part of the exhibition gives an overview of early, middle and then old English, using documents from the permanent collection to chart the development of the language. Whilst the court and state used French, and Latin was the language of the Church, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales was the first widespread text seen in old English, the language of the people.

The rest of the exhibition is non-chronological, but divided into themed pairs;

• Written and spoken English
• Native and foreign English
• English at work and play

The development of English as world language is bound up in the development of England as a nation, with social class and with the literary, scientific, manufacturing and trading links forged with countries round the world.

The growth of the British Empire helped spread English around the globe, and also enabled it to absorb a vast number of new words from other countries into the language.

Structurally, everyday English continues to develop. Useful words are added whilst unnecessary words quietly fall into disuse. Today, young people mix yardie, east asian and estuary English to create a new street language that is owned by its speakers.

Concerns about the decline in the quality of English usage, never far from the headlines, have been regularly expressed since 1712 when Jonathan Swift proposed an ‘Approved English’ committee along lines of the Academie Francaise. This suggestion has never been taken up officially in Britain, so as a language English has been free to adapt, add, appropriate or coin new words as required – and in doing so has evolved into a dynamic and flexible world language.

It's a tool that too many designers ignore.