I Forgot to Tell It Has To Be a Better Design

I once worked with a visual designer. One day she came up with a design, and if it’s not because I just read Dale Carnegie’s book about appreciation earlier that day, I would jump out of my seat and scream “What the…!!!”

The design was supposed to be an improvement of the old design, and the one that she designed is worse. I tried to guide her to a solution, I sent links to some basic design principles, I shared some articles about design, hoping that she could come up with a better design. She just didn’t understand layout, font, and colors. That was a nightmare!

I even heard she said to her colleague “They don’t understand design”, referring to me and my team. Perhaps I should tell her, just like what Dilbert should say to the visual designer : “Come up with a new design that’s better than the old one.”

I think design covers so much more than the aesthetic. Design is fundamentally more. Design is usability. It is Information Architecture. It is Accessibility. This is all design.

– Mark Boulton

Yes design is an art. But designing for digital media is a different thing. You can’t just do whatever you want. Your design should support readability, easy navigation, and speed. Again, it’s my fault, forgot to tell that it has to be a better design 🙂