Welcome to Room557

It’s Kinda Like Space Invaders

When I was nine, I really sucked at Space Invaders. Those little buggers always got the best of me and I’d sit for hours and try to defeat the marching drones to no avail. I was beat. I got fed up. I unplugged the console and put it in the closet. Done. Bye Bye, Atari 2600.

Thanks...

If you've come to this site via Imprint.com or Salon.com, thanks for stopping by — and thanks to Aaron for the feature and passing it on to Salon. As you might note, this is a pretty new blog-thing, so feel free to check back every now and again (and check out the Facebook and Twitter links, too).

There's No "Easy" Button In Design

(At least not that I've found...)

Earlier this week, we were reviewing projects in class. A student presented an idea with merit, but with an unimpressive formal follow-through.

I asked: "This seems like a less interesting way to present this. Why'd you do it this way instead of that way?".

Their response: "This way was easier"...

[Easy has become a commodity.]

This began a class discussion of "easy" in design... particularly while still in school.

Quote of the Day

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Storytime: Mexicali Soup

More often than I care to recall, I’ve said in a meeting that wasn’t going well: “It’s sort of like Mexicali Soup.” The room falls silent and a puzzled (or annoyed) look falls across the table.

“You know, the old story about a mother making soup for the family. After everyone has their say about what they don’t like in the soup they’re left with a pot of hot water.”... (crickets chirping).

The story is a children’s classic and one that I’ve not only read, but remember. It also has more to say about the design process — especially in a design-by-committee situation — than anything written for a post-collegiate audience.

The moral of the story in this context: Try not to let folks dilute your design to the point of it becoming Mexicali soup — you'd be best served to start over (with a fresh point-of-view).

Quote of the Day: Another Series

While we're at it, we pick up a lot of banter in the halls. Some bits are worth repeating... like this one:

GDIF: Jumpers

When you read a line of text, while your eye is taking in each word, your mind in interested in the periphery and preparing for what comes next. Our brains are good like that and peripheral vision comes in handy from time to time. In this case, when you track across a line and you come across a word that is unsupported by the text underneath, the mind assumes that this is the last line of a paragraph. However, this is not always the case. Microsoft Word and InDesign have a habit of leaving jumpers, or words hanging out on a line with nothing to support them underneath.

This is my own made-up term, but it seems pretty applicable. Like widows, orphans and bad-hyphens, fix them. Break them to the next line. Track the lines above and below to adjust them — not so much that it effects page coloration, but enough to remedy the rag (and every designer has their own rules for how far is too far).

If you can't do it with subtlety, try editing the text, adjusting the column or a myriad of other things... the point is: just take care of it.

[A natural line break (and paragraph end) on the right... and a jumper on the left.]

Good Design Is Fundamental (GDIF): A series

Good Design Is Fundamental (GDIF) (or What You’ve Forgotten From Typography 101)... That's what we'll call a short series of reminders here in Room 557.

The past 20 years have brought more changes to the worlds design and communication than the previous 200 — obviously, the PC and the internet have changed the face of more than one industry (travel, journalism, retail, health care to name a few), but the impact that this new technology has had on the realm of visual communication is one we can — and should — care about.

However, in the blinding gleam of all of this new technology, we forget our manners and upbringing: orphans are bad, quotes should be smart, and we should be in control of our parts-and-pieces — not turn it over wholesale to the application to take care of.

Hopefully the bits here can serve as a reminder.