Design is Communication

Have you ever tried to explain yourself but have done it so badly you dug yourself into a big hole trying to do so?  The initial explanation usually isn’t that bad. A few wrong words, a few things left out and voila, the wrong message is sent. The message isn’t that far off but it’s missed the mark enough so that you have to go back and explain again.

From Ditch to Hole

Design is like that. Create the wrong initial impression of your company or idea and you are in a ditch.  Compound that with more bad design choices and you’re not just in a ditch, you are in a deep hole.  Getting out of that hole means building a ladder to get yourself out. Work that could have gone towards building staircase up a mountain instead.

From the Beginning

How does this happen? By not evaluating the initial design result. Was the first design element understood properly? You have to investigate that or else you might be digging a hole with further design elements. If you don’t get feedback at the beginning you are moving forward blindly. Maybe you will be lucky and the design was spot on, but just as likely your could be digging a deep hole with each subsequent design iteration.


Drawing and commentary © 2017 Marty Coleman | napkindad.com

“You can be misunderstood once. After that you are just communicating poorly.” – Adapted from a quote by Josh Collinsworth