I’m walking away from this class with one idea in particular. The tools are now in place that anyone can make a Web site–or any work of design–so what sets a site apart is good design.
I hope to God that I’ve left this class with a better understanding of that than when I began after looking at and discussing successful design for a semester. Honestly though, I think maybe what was most effective to learning was producing poor design. And slowly realizing/being told why it was poor.
Admittedly, sometimes that would just add to my confusion. But my hope is that after a little break from the expectations of weekly assignments, I’ll be able to step back and realize what effect the class had. Design will feel just a little bit more intuitive.
I can’t now confidently articulate much about what makes a design effective, but I can confidently talk about why design is important. To use a Web site as an example again–knowing the difference between a bad Web site and a good Web site often comes down to design. On a good Web site, I can navigate quickly and seemingly intuitively. Even if I’ve never been to that site before I can see where to find the information I want or I am drawn to information that interests me. On a bad Web site I get frustrated trying to find something I want or I never know the potential for interesting information because I never find my way to it. These issues come down to design.
Good design makes information accessible. It’s just a matter of knowing how to create such design.
In my career, I hope to assist a small social good operation wanting help communicating their work/story/message. Design could come into play in a number of ways. I could design Web pages or newsletter, e-newsletters, e-mail campaigns, etc. Design is essential in online communications because people are flooded with messages wanting their attention every minute of the day. I need to know how to make mine stand apart.
This class, especially in combination with Professor Xu’s usability class, has increased my ability to do that.