These are posts that emphasize John LeMasney’s understanding and appreciation of the tenets and principles of design.
Expectation effect is when the personal expectations of a user affects their perception and behavior.
Examples are everywhere. Advertising uses the expectation effect to convince people that their claims will work, even when there is no evidence of it.
In this illustration, I made an advertisement for Microsoft Windows 8 that makes use of the expectation effect.
Errors are a part of design because designers need to consider that users may try to use their design in unintended ways, and try to offer guidance or reminders about how to use a system correctly.
In general, there are two kinds of errors: Slips and Mistakes.
Slips occur when a user does something out of unconscious habit, such as driving past a turn on a commonly traveled route towards a well-known destination, or visiting a website that they visit all the time, when trying to get to a new one. An example of a preventable slip in software is when you use the word attachment in your Gmail, but don’t add an attachment, Gmail reminds you that you may want to add the attachment before sending.
Mistakes, however, occur when a user makes a conscious mistake, like driving too far into a parking space and bumping the front of your car. Cars can prevent this kind of issue with alarms that let you know when you are about to run into something while parking or backing up.
In this illustration, I created an error dialog that makes the user admit that they are sure that they want to remove a lot of potentially precious data.
The Development Cycle is a studied and recognized series of actions in a design process that tend to lead to more successful production outcomes.
The Requirements part of the process is a discovery process, where stakeholders are given a formal way of reporting their needs through codified inquiry. Simply asking what someone “likes” or “needs” may result in a less effective response than a form that asks qualifiable, reliable questions about the product in question.
The Design part of the process is where the requirements are turned into actions in the design. Stakeholder requirements drive the answers to the key questions of the design.
Development is where the real product is produced, incorporating all the requirements and design.
Testing is where the product is used, reviewed, and benchmarked. If needs arise at any stage in the development cycle, they are reincorporated at the next cycle. After a few cycles, a product may stabilize.
The entry point design principle is about making your entry point a place for your user to get past, then enter the deeper space of your place, product, or site. There are a few things to keep in mind in designing a good entry point: Low barriers to entry, incentives to drive users past the entry point, and strong clues about intended navigation or navigation options. A prime example of a great physical entry point is a store that does not interrupt your entry with any sensory interruption, like high traffic between users and the space, or lemonade-stand style interruptions as you enter. Navigation cues should be especially easy to figure out in a store or web site, and should not compete with advertisements or other distractions. There should be incentives for the user to go deeper, such as reminders of popular products or services, and invitations to use them.
In my illustration, I decided to show how entry point theory is applied at lemasney.com.
Desire lines are a development tool that a designer can use from the way that people actually interact with an interface, space, or object before finalizing features, paths, or navigation. It is often used in designing walking paths in a new space to help determine the best place to put a paved path. It is also used in interface design for software and industrial design for tools and other objects, but can be applied in lots of situations.
In this illustration, I made thin lines indicating paths (desire lines) that people used to get from one place to another in a space, and wider pathways reacting to the desired lines that most people chose that might be paved and formalized.
Here is a final image of the workspace that I used to create the new Tame the Web (TTW) logo using Inkscape, with the help of Michael Stephens. Michael has been the heart of TTW since its inception, and wanted to have a logo to present his organization to a larger audience. He reached out on Facebook (where I get most of my work) and asked about logos on his page. He got some feedback, and in the process, Lori Reed decided to tag me, and I responded that I’d love to be involved in the logo if possible, and that I’d work for free. Michael contacted me and we began. I asked him to fill out the design brief on this site (it’s in the menu above) and when I got the response, I did this.
I tend to start logo work with the fonts. In this particular case, I used some of the information from the design brief to create a possible logo. In the brief, Michael talked about the past branding work that he had done and what had been present. He wrote that a heart symbol had always been a constant in identifying TTW. He also shared a palette, some quotes, and some clarifications in order for us to work through the logo. Michael understands brand. When he saw the image above, he said that the logo I proposed was beautiful, but that it was not the right feel. He said that it had a certain old-timey feel to it, and that he was looking for something a bit more contemporary. I understood, and decided to focus on fonts, as I usually do. He told me he liked a few of the fonts in the first submission, and I decided to focus on those.
In this revision, I took the fonts that Michael liked and tried a few subtle differences, including the pipe between elements,. the kerning, and the imagery. I never thought the whip would go very far. 🙂 I sent them to him, and he said that he loved the curve in the line, but that straight spoke to him more. He also liked the tighter kerning in some of the versions. He liked the horizontal version as well.
After he gave me feedback I focused just on the elements and kerning that he liked, and decided to incorporate the palette he had suggested, with deep blues. I grabbed one of my favorite deep blue palettes, and applied the colors to the elements. I sent it back.
But there was still the issue of the missing heart. I decided to play a bit with text and image to introduce hearts, which Michael enjoyed. We agreed that the solid blue heart worked best, and worked best ahead of the title.
Here are the final two versions of the logo, one horizontally aligned, and one block sized. I absolutely loved the opportunity, and I’m so grateful to work with someone like Michael. Even though I always have great, creative, and interesting clients, Michael was a standout.
Technology and the Arts Special: Art All Night Trenton 2013
