Slate Magazine’s Signage & Wayfinding Series

Link: The Secret Language of Signs

If you’ve been on or around the interwebs in the past couple weeks, you’ve no doubt seen or heard about this one. Julia Turner, Slate Magazine’s deputy editor, has put together a great series on the effectiveness of signs and better ways to navigate. If you haven’t given them a read, head over and check it out. Be sure to check out the video of Julia and designer David Gibson investigating New York’s Penn Station: http://www.slatev.com/video/wayfinders-guide-penn-station/

Hidden History in the Paris Métro

Link: History dans le Metro

Recent renovations in some Paris Metro stations revealed mid-century ads and posters that were just covered up and left during construction in the 60s. Pretty amazing to read about some of the stuff that was found. This article over at AIGA tells about the discovery and shows some of the posters and things. If you’re a fan of the Paris Metro like me you might find it interesting!

GOOD Magazine’s 10 Ways to Become the Designer You Want To Be

Links: 10 Steps to Becoming the Designer You Want to Be & 10 More Steps to Becoming the Designer You Want to Be

As part of GOOD Magazine’s partnership with frog design’s publication Design Mind, designer Laura Seargeant Richardson shares 10 steps (and 10 more) to stay inspired and grow as a designer. Whether you are a creative fresh out of school or a seasoned professional, these steps are great motivation for anyone. I especially enjoyed #6: create a new idea every day. Some great stuff.

Milton Glaser Awarded National Medal of Arts

Links: Glaser Gets Award from Obama, Glaser on Art and Obama & President Obama Presents National Medals of Arts & Humanities

Last month legendary designer Milton Glaser became the first graphic designer in history to be awarded the National Medal of Arts by the President for his contributions to communication and graphic arts. Author Steven Heller gives a quick write up of the event over on The Daily Heller. Congratulations to Mr. Glaser, it couldn’t have been given to a more deserving gentleman. The video of the entire ceremony can be seen over at whitehouse.gov.

idsgn Interviews Paul Shaw About The (Mostly) True History of Helvetica and the NYC Subway

Link: Design Discussions: Paul Shaw and the NYC Subway

Skylar over at idsgn recently sat down with designer and historian Paul Shaw to discuss his book Helvetica and the New York Subway System: The True (Maybe) Story. Mr. Shaw talks about the research that went into writing the original essay for AIGA Voice and the further discoveries that led to turning it into a book. Pretty interesting story that sheds some light on the confusing use of Helvetica (or lack thereof) in the New York Subway System.

That’s it for this edition of Around the Way, I hope you take the time to check out some of these great articles. If you really enjoy one or want to suggest an article for the next post, please leave your feedback in the comments!

The style is characterized by a heavy influence from nature — flowing lines, aggressive curves and organic shapes — and the belief in unified design, in which artists and architects should see projects as a whole piece and have a hand in the design of everything from the structure to furnishings. The commission of the style, especially in France, was unique in that Art Nouveau’s main clientele were middle-class shop owners and small manufacturers — “new money”, so to speak — as opposed to large wealthy families or state-funded endeavors. This resulted in Art Nouveau being considered a more personal, social style, frequently employed in cafes, music halls and residential complexes.

The Porte Dauphine Metro station enclosure, designed by Guimard in 1899. One of three such enclosures, and the only one in its original location.

(Image source)

In Paris, the main representative of the Art Nouveau style was Hector Guimard. Perhaps most remembered for the avant-garde Paris Metro enclosures designed for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, he enjoyed a relatively brief period of success. Although a gifted architect and pioneer in the movement, Guimard struggled to maintain prominence through clients and commissions. The movement’s eventual sharp decline in continental Europe didn’t help matters either. With the arrival of Modernism, the Art Nouveau style and buildings became expendable as artistic tastes changed, often regarded as vulgar and exhibitionist. Ultimately, a large number of buildings designed by Guimard have been demolished, as was the case with many innovative buildings that didn’t follow the convention of later styles.

Early Life & Career

Hector Guimard was born in Lyon, France in 1867. Unfortunately, much of Guimard’s family life remains a mystery. He was a very private person, and not much is known about the relationships with his father or brother, or even what prompted them to leave Lyon.

Once in Paris, Guimard attended the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, where he was introduced to the ideas of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and rationalist thought. This provided the foundation for Guimard’s developing exploration of Art Nouveau ideals. He rejected the French classicism that dominated his schooling, and instead anticipated future styles like Modernism. Guimard understood his place in the present artistic movement and continually stayed one step ahead of it.

He was attracted to English architecture, and while still in school had the opportunity to study abroad in Great Britain. Whereas most of his classmates traditionally went to Italy to study classical architecture, Guimard was drawn to English styles where decorative arts had long been directly associated with architecture. His developing style naturally shared the spirit of Art Nouveau, whether he intended it to or not. He avoided direct references to the natural world, but often incorporated the energy and forms of organics and vegetation. As his style developed he began to embrace the unity of Art Nouveau, and took great care defining the interior layouts of his work as well as the exterior space. This developed into his guiding principle of total architecture — that interiors reiterate the visual propositions of the exterior.

Guimard was no stranger to emotions, and let them flow through his work. His draftsmanship was aggressive and almost violent, but his refinements were careful and vaguely feminine. He was regarded as an obstinate rebel, prideful and flaunting his innovations, although later in life he adopted a more mature, sober style. The periods of his life were greatly evident in his work — early work was brash and experimental, while later works became more comfortable and elegant. His later work continued to show evidence of attempts to refine and renew his style, always searching for a way to stay relevant.

In spite of his pride, Guimard sincerely and consistently meant his architecture to improve living conditions and to offer a cultural identity to the poorest members of society. In his early career he worked largely on commission, but was challenged in finding clients. Commissions from his clients were smaller in financial and social scope, and his relative obscurity due to this hindered his ability to attract larger, more prominent projects. Regardless, he made it a point to develop meaningful relationships with his clients, as demonstrated by his close ties with the Nozal family, for whom he designed many hotels and other buildings. Guimard found clients (and work) through family friends, their friends, professional networks and artist collectives. He developed a tight network of acquaintances, however this led to a lack of socially diverse clients and somewhat homogenized his work. Most of his clients were not terribly wealthy and therefore could not afford to have Guimard design the integrated interior elements and furnishings he prided himself on. Guimard often took on particularly challenging projects from his clients, those with tight spaces, narrow foundations or corner properties that allowed him to be creative with his solutions. He frequently turned down more comfortable and conventional spaces in favor of more challenging ones.

Rise to Prominence

Hector Guimard’s first real success came in 1897 with the completion of Castel Beranger. A large set of apartments built between 1895 and 1897 in Paris, Castel Beranger was Guimard’s first high-profile and prominent project. It was regarded as a serious work of art and the debut of his professional career. The project was built with the Art Nouveau ideals of harmony and continuity. Each element of Castel Barenger proved a part of the global design — floors, paneling, stained glass, fixtures, fireplaces and door handles were all designed specifically in context with the rest of the building. His emphasis on the interior was further influenced by a trip to Brussels in 1895 to meet architect Victor Horta, the father of Art Nouveau architecture in Europe. Horta influenced Guimard’s early style and encouraged the discovery of his own personal style and direction.

Castel Beranger, Paris, designed in 1895 and completed in 1898. It was regarded as “deranged” by his contemporaries.

(Image source)

In Castel Beranger Guimard invented a truly French Art Nouveau work of architecture. It was something truly of his own style, not simply an imitation of Victor Horta. His creative development during the project was astounding, and he was able to integrate a wide array of decoration and furnishings, all of his own design. Castel Beranger brought him an incredible amount of publicity, winning awards and featuring prominently in French exhibitions. It also brought him many commissions, including the Paris Metro entrances assignment in 1899.

The front gate of Castel Beranger, also designed by Guimard, features ornate ironwork of the “whiplash curves” inspired by Victor Horta.

(Image source)

The period following his success with Castel Beranger is seen as an extension of the developments he made with that project. Much of his work since exhibited an almost experimental graphic style, keen use of color and materials, and an influence of organics (frequently shells) and German timber framing. These demonstrated his belief in the supremacy of line and linear structure. Impressed by his work at Castel Beranger, other notable French architects began to follow his lead by this time.

Villa Bluette in Hermanville sur Mer, designed by Guimard in 1899. Note his experiments with German-style half-timber.

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The styles of this period were not without criticism however, and even his work on the Paris Metro entrances, right down to the lettering style, drew fire from the public. They found Guimard to be too ahead of his time, his art too uncompromising and original. The abstract forms in his buildings may have even scared off potential clients. Between 1903 and 1909 was a period of doubt and soul-searching for Guimard. He built much less, his work was less free and experimental, and his projects outside of Paris were fraught with administrative problems.

Hotel Guimard, Paris, Guimard’s wedding gift to his new wife Adeline.

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Much of Guimard’s personal life, as with his family life, remains a mystery. In 1909 he married Adeline Oppenheim, a rich American woman who brought unfamiliar affluence to Guimard’s life. After his marriage he settled down and his style matured. He designed more domestic residences, with elegant styles and materials and a much less aggressive approach to form and line. He also underwent a transition to more anonymous, but more profitable, industrial projects. Later in his career he worked largely on a speculative basis, selling completed designs in an attempt to stay successful. He tried his hand at mass produced furnishings, but all were immediate failures. Many of his later creative efforts proved unsuccessful as well, and after World War I he abandoned the decorative arts completely.

Hotel Mezzara in Paris, designed by Guimard in 1910.

(Image source)

Following the war Art Deco rose to prominence. Guimard attempted to focus on the more technical side of his work and patented systems for rapid construction, many used on projects of his own. While he attempted to adopt the new ideas of Art Deco, he remained largely attached to Art Nouveau. He ended his career amidst failure and complete indifference. Guimard went into exile with his wife following the Nazi party’s anti-Semitic movements, and fled to New York in 1938; he died there in 1942.

Legacy

Hector Guimard left an obscure legacy marked by a disappearance of much of his work. Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi was one of the few Art Nouveau architects to escape the fate of demolition and obscurity that befell Guimard and his contemporaries. Outside of his brief times in the spotlight, his work was largely ignored. He watched many of his own buildings fall within this lifetime.

Guimard was as much a designer and engineer as he was an architect, and involved himself in every aspect of his buildings. Many argue he was a better designer than a builder, but skilled in all forms of design. His legacy continues to decline as his body of work continues to disappear. His furniture, stained glass windows and architectural plans often survive when a building does not, but lose much of their meaning when removed from the buildings they were designed for. Much of his documentation and personal correspondence has been lost as well, either retained by his wife or never existed in the first place. Many of Guimard’s clients were personal and family friends who may not have had formal agreements or plans with him to begin with.

Conclusion

Guimard believed in the principles of logic, harmony and sentiment: logic in that he was a respectful follower of the rationalists, but also a fervent disciple of modernity; harmony in an aspiration to unify all the elements of a building, both architecture and decoration; and sentiment in that he placed his artistic ambitions within a specific historical context, and the aesthetic by which he would modernize the living spaces of his clients.

He had a strong and often difficult personality, with many regarding him as being hard to work with. His isolationist attitude, along with his desire to be the sole author of his architecture, earned him few followers and students during his lifetime. In spite of his craft and originality, his pride earned him only scorn rather than the support and acceptance that might have better preserved his legacy.

As designers we are problem solvers. It’s our responsibility to dig deeper into our assignments and find the real underlying problems we are tasked with solving. Part of the puzzle is accomplishing the goals of our clients, the other half is meeting the needs and desires of the end user. We are problem-solving for the users as well, discovering and designing the the best way for them to engage products, services and interactions of all sorts.

Changing Your Mindset

Shifting the focus outward, from your perspective to the user’s, can be difficult to understand. How do you think like someone you don’t even know? It’s not something that happens overnight, but takes a conscious effort to practice a different way of thinking. How do you change one’s mindset to focus on the users?

• Ask questions. Lots of them, and most importantly “why”. Who is the target audience? What are their wants and needs? Why is it important or why does it matter? Ask your audience what the real underlying problem is, ask what their needs are and develop a solution that keeps them in mind.
• Keep an eye for detail. Often it’s the little things that make the biggest difference to users.
• Respect the user. We’re all busy people, we all have specific needs depending on the situation, and most of us have very little time to spare. Be understanding of people’s needs, time, resources and especially patience.
• See the entire situation as well as each individual piece. Understand how users will interact with the project as a whole, as well as how individual people will react to the bits and pieces throughout the process.
• Put yourself in their shoes. How would you react in a given situation? Imagine the users’ feelings and have empathy for their experiences.
• Observe. Listen. Sit back and watch how regular people use a system or interact with an environment. Seeing first-hand how people react is a valuable part of the process.
• Use your common sense. Have a basic understanding of human behaviors and emotions. Knowing what frustrates or confuses you is the first step to understanding how someone else might feel using it.
• Look past the assignment to the underlying problem. What is your client trying to accomplish, what is the message, why is it important, and how will you help users make the most of the experience.
• Simplify. Make things simple, clear and intuitive. Reduce confusion by reducing features and choices. What are the absolutely necessary elements or features, and what would be nice to have (but can be thrown out)?
• Perhaps the most important: you are not the target audience. Neither is the client most of the time. Get past what you think would be cool, what the client thinks they need, and focus on really understanding the people who’ll be frequently interacting with the end product.

It takes a shift in perception and might be hard at first to put yourself in the mind of your audience, but the benefits are worth it. A user-centered approach brings about a better connection with your audience and results in a more successful product or service.

What Questions to Ask

The best thing you can do to start gathering data about your users is to ask questions. Ask a lot of questions, of your clients and of the users themselves. So what questions should you be asking?

• Who is the target audience, more specifically who are they as individuals? What do they do? What sort of lifestyles do they lead?
• Who are the most important or prominent types of users? Who are primary, secondary, tertiary and auxiliary audiences?
• Why are they important to the client? Why are they the target?
• What do the users need to know? What are they looking for or trying to accomplish?
• Why does the audience need to know that information? Why is it important to them?
• What scenarios can you place those users in?
• What information or features will meet their needs?
• How do you want your users to respond emotionally? Will you reassure them, inspire them, or motivate them somehow?
• What are their physical needs or requirements? Where will they interact with the piece? Will they read or study in one sitting or over time? Will they need to read it once or repeatedly? Will users speak languages other than English? Are they sight-impaired, color blind, deaf or physically disabled? What other accessibility concerns will you need to address?

There are certainly more specific questions you can ask, but will differ depending on the project. Understanding these basic insights will help form the basis of your user research.

Taking Research Further

Aside from asking some basic questions of your clients or users, there are a few different ways user research can be conducted, depending on budget. These can take place at different stages in the creative process, but done continually, and successfully, can improve the quality and success of the finished piece.

Start from a solid creative brief

This is important in any creative process, in any scenario. I’ve talked about the benefits of a creative brief before, and I’m sure most everyone has come into contact with them at one point or another. Starting from a solid brief will form the foundation of the project, and shared understanding between clients and creatives of what the goals are, what’s needed, and what will be delivered. Don’t drive without wearing your seatbelt, don’t create without a brief.

Focus Groups

Focus groups can be a little tricky. Some people value them, some people don’t, and they’re admittedly an old school method. There is a tendency for results to become skewed — when people know they’re being tested they’ll answer differently, or at least align with the dominant personality in the group. When done right, through one-on-one research or ethnographic observation, they can yield some valuable behavioral data and observations of natural human interactions.

Personas

Personas can be valuable in situations where the budget may not allow for much qualitative research. It may sound like playing pretend, but can actually help you and clients get into the mindsets of potential users. What you do is basically take the general audience information you’ve gathered so far and create 3–5 “personas”, profiles of potential (but fictional) individuals within that audience group. Name them, give them jobs and lifestyles, and imagine what they’d say or how they’d behave — a housewife in her 30s will think very differently than a middle-aged CEO. By using a little bit of common sense and knowledge of human behavior you can gauge how different segments of users will interact with a product.

Scenarios

Scenarios are taking the idea of personas one step further. Once you have profiles of potential users, start to think about how they’ll interact with the product, what information they might be looking for, and possible alternative uses or routes to get there. By plotting out how a user will use a product and move through the information, you can anticipate potential pitfalls and prevent any hang-ups.

Usability Testing

Probably the best research tool is conducting usability testing. This is done at later stages in the project, when things are near complete but still need to be beta tested, so to speak. Putting a real product in front of real users and observing how they interact has obvious benefits. That research can then be used to further refine the product in its final stages and increase its chances of success when released to the public.

Benefits of User-Centered Thought

The idea of user-centered design, user experience or usability are becoming hot topics in the industry, and it’s easy to see why. By focusing on the end users as individual humans there is the potential to create a better connection to the people we serve, who use these products and services every day. Instead of merely selling a product we are now creating a relationship with the audience. User research provides us with better informed directives and actionable ideas, and allows designers to see new opportunities that may have been outside their personal experience. Lastly, user-centric thought makes it easy to find and develop new and better solutions to the problems we (and our users) face, now and into the future.

There are many associated terms and buzzwords — usability, user experience (UX), human centered design (HCD), user interface design (UI), etc. Regardless of what you call it or which practice you align with, it comes from the understanding that every piece of designed information will have an audience other than ourselves, and that information needs to be designed in a way that meets the audience’s needs. Information design is ultimately a human-centered practice.

Considering the User In All Forms of Design

While it makes sense to think that a user-centered approach really only applies to complex information systems — interactive spaces, environments, etc. — that’s not necessarily the case. Almost every design project will have some kind of information that needs to be communicated to an audience. In other words, every project will have users, and there are opportunities at every step in the creative process to focus on them.

Researching Users

The first step is embracing the fact that user-centered design is driven by research. By studying them we gain insight into their needs, behaviors and expectations. Many situations involve a diverse audience; start by identifying all possible audiences and really getting into their heads. Who are they, what do they want or need, what scenarios will they play a part in, and ultimately what information or functions will meet their needs? Taking this first step will define the foundation of the creative process.

How do you start understanding your users? Ask them. Find a sampling of your target, and talk to them, asking them questions and watching how they respond to given situations. If focus groups and user studies are out of budget, develop fictional personas and scenarios. Describe the personalities, behaviors and lives of possible individuals (using a little bit of common sense) and do a little role-playing. Just don’t go overboard on research, a little bit can go a long way, and too much can skew results and diminish returns.

Understanding Users

Once you’ve discovered and documented the folks who’ll be using your product or service, take the time to really understand them. Dig deeper for those hidden motivations and unspoken truths. Learn what they actually want and need, as opposed to what we think they need. Most users have a simple request: “give me the information I need, and in the most convenient way.” We often have the tendency to over-share, providing as much information as possible, but most people don’t need that. Information overload causes confusion and frustration, driving users away.

While avoiding information overload, understand that all users absorb information differently. Some prefer it audibly, others visually. Some understand better by reading, some favor imagery. For those reading, some will quickly scan a chunk of information while others will linger and study. Then there’s the issue of accessibility. What special needs do your users have that will weigh on how information is presented?

Prototyping With Users in Mind

As information designers it’s our job to translate and interpret information in a way that will best serve our users. In basing creative explorations on thorough research, we can develop prototypes that address the needs and desires of the people using them. Using that insight a hierarchy of information can be developed to present the necessary information in order of importance and in logical sequence. Content and features should be subject to radical simplification. Complexity creates cognitive noise, hindering information absorption. Think about what is absolutely necessary and what should be cut. This applies to the language of the content too — heavy technical terms and lofty concepts make information harder to understand. Most users are everyday people, who better understand plain, everyday language.

In the pursuit of a usable end-product, there are commonly accepted notions of what works well, but don’t lean too heavily on standards and best practices. Nonstandard does not necessarily mean unusable; ignore tradition and innovate! Find new solutions that are equally as intuitive and elicit an emotional response from users.

Evaluating User Behavior

Facilitate the interaction between users and prototypes, and then evaluate the results. Ask the right questions, observe the responses and the process the cues. Nothing helps refine a product better than user testing. Find a selection of your audience and let them experience the prototype. Sometimes it’s successful and is quickly moved to implementation, and other times additional insights are gained about how to improve the product further. Consider how user behavior can continually be evaluated to improve future iterations and similar projects down the road.

Now that we’ve established how a user-centric approach can potentially be applied to the creative process in any form of design, let’s focus on some larger scale information systems where it’s crucially important.

Considering the User in Navigation

Where else could this concept of user-centered design be more applicable than the process of navigating a space? We all find ourselves in unfamiliar surroundings from time to time, and in the process we occasionally get lost and look for signs and visual clues to help us find our way. It’s crucial for designers to think about the users when developing navigational systems. Using principles of effective wayfinding design (link to previous article) will address many usability issues, but here are some additional things to consider when designing:

• Study user circulation patterns. Perhaps the one of the most important tasks to complete before implementing navigational systems is to define how users are currently navigating a given space. What are the circulation paths, how do visitors get here in the first place, where is their destination, and what’s the best way to get there? Understanding how a space is currently used will lend insight into how it can be improved.
• Place signs at decision points. When a visitor reaches an intersection on a given route, they need to know what to do next. Determine what points along the path require a decision and provide help to the user. Place messages where people need to find them — dead ends, turns or anywhere they might need to change direction.
• Don’t abandon users. Going hand-in-hand with placing signs at important points, the lack of signage can also pose a problem. Don’t send users down a certain path only to have them reach a decision point with no information. Abandoning users leads them to abandon your system, causing frustration and increased anxiety, something they don’t need in an unfamiliar place.
• Provide an overview, with additional information in sequence. Simply put, give users a map. Help them see the big picture, then lead them through with sequential bits of information — landmarks or other markers of some sort. Guide users through a space by providing cues that pull them further down the path to their destination.
• Communicate information quickly and concisely. Within a navigation system, users are usually on the go. Design for the first-time visitor, but also for return visitors that routinely circulate the space. Provide bite-sized information that people can quickly process as they continue down their path.
• Consider audience needs. What physical requirements or limitations will users have? How will you make concessions for wheelchairs or the sight-impaired? With a diverse audience comes a diverse list of needs that can be addressed by adhering to accessibility requirements. Within large urban environments you’ll also encounter many users from different cultures. Take into account multiple language support and iconography that can communicate across language barriers.
• Follow design guidelines. Designing for users also applies to the physicality of the signage itself. How big will the signs need to be and what are the size restrictions in a given area? Certain shapes and colors support specific messages, so take those into consideration and avoid the pitfalls. Legibility is also of great importance, and some typefaces will work better at differing sizes or viewing distances.
• Define a place. Use design elements, materials and atmospherics to help define a sense of place. Placemaking can help users determine where they are in a system, and when they’ve made a transition from one designated place to the next. Many urban environments do this through the use of designated districts.
• Be consistent. Within any system, consistency is key to helping users navigate. Common design patterns create recognizable systems among the clutter of messages people are constantly faced with. Help users know what they’re looking for by repeating styles and visual elements.
• Environments are linear systems. Users in a wayfinding system travel from point to point to point. By creating clear paths along visible sightlines users will be able to see (or at least anticipate) the next points along their paths.

Considering the User in Interaction

Designing for the user is also important in any type of interaction — websites, kiosks, or pretty much anything with a user interface. An interface must be simple and intuitive enough to use without having to rely on a manual or any type of instruction. Ignoring usability will lead to a cluttered and confusing interface that will drive people away before they can figure out how to use it. Consider the following when designing for interaction:

• Prioritize what’s important. Presenting all the information up front, all at once, can overwhelm people. Instead determine what the most important messages or calls-to-action are and provide information in sequence. This can apply to the entire system architecture as well as on a screen-by-screen basis — what is the most important content on this page, and what’s the most important within the entire system?
• Limit choices. In the 1950s psychologist George Miller did a study on the cognitive capacity of young adults. He determined that people could process seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information in their working memory, and that number diminished with age. In general, people have less difficulty processing fewer choices. Feeding them only a handful of clear options at a given time will help them make better decisions and be more successful reaching their destination.
• Invest in content management systems. In building a website, for example, the target audience aren’t the only users — your clients are users as well. Many companies opt to administer and manage their own websites, and it’s easy to forget they will be using these systems, albeit in a different way than end-users. Deploying some sort of content management system can save time and resources (and ultimately money) for site management teams.
• Embrace the trifecta. Design, content and technology. In the past these three have been frequently handled by separate departments, but with the focus shifting to integrated teams this is rapidly changing. When considering the user, all three share the same goals and should work in tandem. It’s equally important for the people developing the three to have an understanding and appreciation for each other as well. Understanding content strategy and information architecture helps us to be better designers.
• Know the difference between interactive content and printed content. Writing for the web (or any sort of interactive system) is different than writing for a brochure. Shorter, more direct chunks of information typically work better, with direct calls-to-action that lead users deeper into the system. Also write with users in mind — plain language, simple and clear directives, and fewer dense chunks of information.
• Accommodate different behaviors. There are two types of users — searchers who know what they’re looking for, and browsers who explore what’s there. Structure the information in a way that appeals to both types. Provide information that can be easily found and provide a way to search for something specific.
• Ration the information. This goes back to sharing too much, too quickly. Give users bite-sized pieces of information at each point in the process, and let them decide if they want to dive deeper into the information that interests them. If the information is useful and well-formulated, they’ll bite.
• Don’t rely on standards. Standards compliant is one thing, leaning heavily on so-called best practices is another. Use commonly accepted standards and practices as guidelines, but don’t let them constrain the creative process. “Best practices” may stifle innovation. The interactive medium is constantly evolving, as are the things that people find intuitive. As users become more surrounded by and exposed to technology and interaction in the world around them, their comfort level will increase. Reward that by trying something new (and testing to make sure it works). If we all stuck to the “3-click rule” or keeping it “above the fold” we’d never get anywhere. Develop an interface that allows a user to easily and successfully obtain the information they need and they’ll never think twice about how many clicks it took or where it is on the page.
• Interactive systems are nonlinear. While desired user conversion paths and funnels can be constructed, interactive systems are largely nonlinear. Things like navigation systems and site maps can allow users to jump directly from one page to the next.
• Consistency is key. It’s important to construct interfaces and navigation systems that stay relatively consistent throughout the user experience. Interfaces that change, navigation that moves around the page, and multiple navigation systems create confusion that may cause the user to abandon the system and move on.

Considering the User in Interpretation

The last information system we’ll touch on is interpretation. Interpretive pieces tell a story, whether it’s historical, scientific or otherwise. These include exhibits, attractions, interpretive displays or information graphics — pieces that take a complex idea or story and communicate it in a way that a diverse range of users will understand and remember. If it’s not designed to engage the user and hold their attention, they’ll walk away and abandon the story. Here are some things to think about:

• Develop a hierarchy of information. Interpretive pieces usually contain a fair amount of information, and often utilize multiple environments to communicate that information. Develop a hierarchy to present the information in a way that makes it easy for someone to know where to begin and how to flow through the rest.
• Tell a story. Interpretation involves telling a story of some sort, so use that to your advantage. Use every element at your disposal — the content, imagery, graphic elements and the space around you — to engage and immerse the audience in the story you want to tell.
• Entertain the audience. In order for users to really buy the story, it should evoke an emotional response. Entertain them, excite them and inspire them to dive deeper into the story. The challenge is how to take complex information and make it understandable and attractive to everyday people.
• Make it social. Let the information be fun and encourage social experiences rather than private ones. By doing so users can watch and learn how other users interact with the information and options presented. Shared experiences bring people together and multiply the processing and understanding of information.
• Experiment with interaction. Interpretative experiences don’t have to be limited to chunks of information on wall plaques. Bring in other mediums that let users interact with the story (perhaps even tell it themselves) and experience it in a physical way. Physical exhibits let users actively engage multiple senses, while interactive components add sound and motion to a stationary place. Experiment with the integration of physical and digital mediums.
• Be conscious of the environment. Most interpretive pieces involve open spaces in which users aren’t constrained to single pathways. Much like user circulation, plan how people will move through the space and present information in a way that can be understood and reached from multiple directions. Design the space in a way that draws users around and through it.
• Accommodate different behaviors. Much like with interaction, there are a couple types of users for an interpretive piece — streakers, strollers and studiers. Streakers move quickly, they’ve most likely been there before and know what they’re looking for. Strollers move at a pretty constant pace and absorb information as they go, seeing the environment as a whole and understanding the basic overview. Studiers do just that, they linger and interpret each exhibit or chunk of information individually and then systematically move on to the next. How will the information be designed to accommodate the behaviors of all these people?
• Get them talking. Engage users, entertain them and then get them thinking. Let them experience the story and then inspire them to think about the bigger picture. Send them on their way and encourage continued dialogue even after they leave the interpretive space. Further discovery on the users’ part will lead to greater understanding of the information presented after the fact.

Conclusion

In closing, information design is about the audience, the users, the people ultimately involved and interacting with the pieces and products we design. They are the ones who will be benefiting from them, so it only makes sense to concentrate on their needs as we put these pieces together. As designers embracing a user-centric approach, we are doing things that have a purpose and usefulness to the people that use the things we design. It’s our way of making a difference. User centered design has the potential to make navigation easier, interaction simpler and more usable and interpretation more understandable, thereby making our clients more successful in the long run.

It’s been great to see such a positive response from the community to a valuable initiative such as this. As I said before, it’s ideas like Processed Identity that do a lot to communicate the value of what we do and communicate the intricate process that we all go through for our clients. Here are a few highlights from the first few months:

• The first study by creative firm We Are Him + Her detailing how they came to develop their own identity, which you can read here.
• A pretty interesting discussion around how many creative concepts to show to clients.
• The second study by firm Hexanine on designing an identity for the Shevet Achim organization, which can be found here.
• A great article by founder Steve Zelle communicating the value of the creative process to clients.

If you haven’t checked out Processed Identity yet, swing by and see what’s new. Be sure to give both Processed Identity (@processed_id) and founder Steve Zelle (@idapostle) a follow on the Twitters.

The new Processed Identity home page