The thing that most resonates from Edward Tufte’s overview of the iPhone interface are his parting words. “Clutter and overload are not an attribute of information, they are failures of design. If the information is in chaos don’t start throwing out information, instead fix the design. And that is exactly what the iPhone platform has done.” This is a much different perspective to view design through than I am used to. Rather than looking to sift through information, design should help to organize and simplify it. Often when I am designing something I try to reduce the information to what is essential rather than looking for ways to make the design fit the information. Using the perspective to view infographics makes me realize why they are so appealing to the masses. The internet is full of them and new infographics seemingly pop up everyday. Infographics take on this approach wholeheartedly. The most successful inforgraphics do not reduce the information presented rather they present it in a design that is effective. Thinking about the iPhone platform as achieving this is very helpful in applying it to my own design process. My takeaway, “To clarify add detail.”
Post Categories