http://www.jrcdesign.com/hablamos/index.html

http://www.hablamosjuntos.org/signage/symbols/default.symbols.asp

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1866269/healing_for_hospital_signs_that_dont_work/

http://www.prlog.org/11716304-brady-launches-new-hospital-signs-with-universal-wayfinding-symbols.html

One of the most fundamental metaphors of the web is navigation. We navigate through web sites like we do spaces. Carefully planned navigation can keep you safe from malicious phishing in the same way that placed signs in the built environment can keep you out of a bad neighborhood. Navigation on an e-commerce site can make the difference between a sale or not, much in the same way that the placement of checkout registers in brick and mortar stores can be the difference between  a happy customer and an aggravated one. Drawing from that same metaphor, it is also worth mentioning that there are navigation standards on the web just as there are in the built environment. Top level navigation is usually not found at the bottom of the browser screen. That is because of some obvious and some less obvious reasons which are far to deep to be articulated within the scope of this article. In retail stores checkout registers are usually located near the entrance/exit or at the front of the store. Again, this is because of some obvious and some less so obvious reasons.

The point to take away is that many people have spent hours upon hours trying to figure wayfinding out. For both web and the built environment, they carefully observe and study people. They learn and apply that knowledge immediately. They test relentlessly.

Wayfinding is navigation. Navigation involves studying traffic patterns, emotional responses, the needs of the traveler, the location or destinations. Flaws in the architecture ( Wait… architects are perfect right!? ) and a million other variables both seen and unseen. It’s where data can really stretch it’s legs and become information. It’s important.

Navigation is important If your business has a website. So important that if your navigation is good, it can increase your sales by 19%. That’s just with good navigation alone. Does your website have a well thought out navigation structure? Does it work, is it growing with your business, is it good? Now imagine what kind of sales increases you could expect to see from all of the other components of your website if you gave them a review. It has the mind-blowing potential to double what you are currently bringing in. But you might not know it unless you bring in a professional to review and audit your site.

Growing your business involves research and observation just like navigation. You have to see what works and what doesn’t. You have to find an opportunity and you have to know when to jump at it. You have to define some destinations, make the journey, and reach your goals.

Navigation, wayfinding, whatever you call it, It is important… and it takes a professional to lead the way.

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But over time I did buy a professional grade banjo. Still have it. And a few others as well.

The holy grail for most banjo players is a pre-WW2 Gibson original RB 5-string flathead.

Depending on the model, it would probably cost you at least forty-five grand and in some cases over one hundred thousand dollars.

“WHAT!” you say? A BANJO?! Oh, yeah. And they are worth the money. At least to the banjo player who has that kind of money. And an understanding spouse who doesn’t mind seeing a few (or many) years of wages compressed into a chunk of wood and metal.

So what’s the difference with these banjos? Well, there is certainly a quality difference between my original Kay banjo and my professional Imperial banjo. Better wood, better metal, better details. Really there is no comparison. My Imperial banjo, which I paid around $1,000 in 1978 is infinitely better. Is that pre-war Gibson $40,000 or $100,000 dollars better than my banjo? If you think so, it is. After a certain point, perception, desire, envy and bragging rights can push pricing to crazy levels. Would I ever buy one if I could find one? Ask me after I win the lottery.

So what does crazy banjo pricing have to do with design? Go on eBay and enter “logo design” and you can find hundreds of firms with designs starting at $20.00 or even less. Some offer “unlimited revisions and variations until you’re completely satisfied with your design.” Enter “custom web design” and there are around 100 people offering design, usually around $150 for a web page. Is it worth it? Well, in the days of internet communication, a webpage may be the first, and sometimes only, visual your client will have for your company. What is that visual worth to you? Good looking design also needs to be good working design, be it a logo, brochure, sign system or web page. And the best working designs are usually the result of a great collaboration between the client and the designer. Collaboration takes time, time is money.

Graphic design can be many things. It can be a photograph, painting, drawing, type, digital, three dimensional. But its sole purpose is to communicate. In a world where you can buy a pre-made logo for $25 and where a graphic designer is considered anyone who has photoshop on their mac, good design is valuable, and good design is good communication, therefore, the job of a designer can be multidimensional.

I recently graduated from Arizona State University’s Visual Communication program. When I told people I was receiving a Bachelor of Science degree instead of a Bachelor of Art, they seemed surprised. And it was hard to explain to people why I wasn’t getting an art degree. Yes, a designer has to be creative and I did learn how to draw and sketch, but I learned how to draw and sketch in a way that communicated a concept in a quick and effective manner. However, my education was so much more than that.

The most valuable thing I learned in design school was to experience as much as possible. Experience all sort of things, not only with design but anything. The more a designer is educated in various areas the more they can relate to the project, client, and audience. If a designer gets a job designing a logo for a new concert hall, then they will most likely gather all the information they can about various types of music, instruments, composers, as well as go and experience a concert themselves.

Designers have to be many things. They have to be inventors of ideas, they have to be psychologists and know how people perceive and see things. They have to be artists and connect with people on an emotional level, and they have to be scientists and plan, strategize, and experiment. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so the more designers get out and experience the world around them, and the more knowledge they acquire, will only be more beneficial to their creative process.

Make the Site Donor-Friendly
• Have a simple and straight-forward process for people to give donate money.
• Make the actual donation process as painless as possible.

Make the Site Media-Friendly
• Make it easy for journalists to find information about the organization.
• Media attention brings in more donations directly and simply raises the profile of the
organization.

Make the Site Volunteer-Friendly
• Make it easy for visitors of the site to find information on how they can get involved.
• Providing multiple means of contact makes it easier for volunteers to get in touch.

Make Sure the Organization’s Purpose is Immediately Apparent
• Don’t take for granted what visitors to the site will already know about the organization.

Make Sure the Content Takes Center Stage.
• the design should revolve around the content and the mission.

Include a News Section, Blog or Social Media Presence.
• It is the fastest way to deliver new information.
• Current news gets people to come back on a regular basis.

Are you lost yet? Does the paragraph above have the droning “Wah-Wah-Wah” drone of Charlie Brown’s teacher? If you are a web geek, probably not. But if you are a regular person who uses the web only for Facebook or to see how many times your name appears through a Google search, you probably are.

So let’s talk in English now.

Working with a web-designer can be a confusing task if they throw their industry lexicon around. And it can quickly become a frustrating experience if they don’t explain those terms to their client either.

These are five tips for web-designers when talking with clients:

1. Use similes and metaphor to help clarify actions. Compare a website’s functionality with how other everyday things work, like home appliances or cars. Try to use basic universal comparisons as much a possible. For example, the website’s layout is like a car’s frame or that the photo gallery is an interactive component like a car’s radio.

2. Draw the client pictures to explain visual elements. A picture is worth a thousand words even if it is a quick thumbnail. According to this information , there are a lot of introverted designers roaming around out there. If you are not good at explaining things with words, draw a picture for your client. Most people understand pictures.

3. Keep it simple. Sometimes when talking about the web, explaining the design process can muddle the discussion’s progress. Think about the goal of what you are trying to say and go with it. Remember that people are always smarter than you think, but they won’t tolerate nonsense. Clarity is the key to success.

4. If you have to explain your terminology, make it a value to your client’s business. For example, If you are building a site that has social networking and community features, it is a good idea to introduce some lexicon into the discussion to help get the client excited about their own involvement. That way they can use the site as a promotional tool, and actually understand what it is they are promoting. This knowledge could pay off in dividends later down the road.

5. Adapt the language to avoid confusion. Web designers know what things are called, just as everyone knows the difference between a square and triangle. However, sometimes two of the same words can have similar meanings but they are two different things. For example, if the site has two items that do two different functions don’t call them both the same name, create a new name for each item. Standards aside, just remember that this is about you and the client, not the client and the word wide web. Create terms that you both can relate to and understand.

When we design and build websites, we should always talk with our clients in a comprehendible way. The more they understand what we are talking about, the more they are willing to talk about the project and the process and in the business of communication, communicating is critical.

So how do we design educational exhibits for “kids”? Even though I have two boys with a fairly significant age difference (the oldest being nearly six and the younger only nine months), I find myself using the blanket term of “kids” in design conversation to describe a quite varied span of age groups. Of course it is obvious when you observe children of different ages experience things – they look and interpret them in completely different ways from one another. Interestingly enough, this important variable of age appropriateness doesn’t seem to to come up in team meetings and various discussions nearly as much as it should. The general idea seems to be “lets just make it simple, playful and interactive and we’ll have a successful and memorable exhibit for ‘kids’.”

Is this enough, or should there be more of a focus on what is being presented (and to whom), rather than how it is being presented? How far into the abstract can we go in any given age group (2-5 years, 6-9 years, 10+ etc)? These are big and intriguing questions, to which I don’t have the answers right now. However, for the cause of good design (and more importantly the education/enjoyment of my boys), I look forward to exploring more of how children (and adults too, I guess) of all ages experience and absorb information.

And you can install them anywhere – in visibility triangles and all other public land spaces. However, these are blatant billboards – small ones, but still billboards. Billboards require permits . Political signs do not. So we are marketed products on public property, without permits, all while impeding a driver’s visibility while driving. Not that these are actually a big deal compared to the other side of this corner of 44th Street and Indian School.
 

Back to the political messages…The use of QR codes is also a great touch for these political banners. Now these marketing bandits want you to take time out from your texting time while driving—since the size of these are really not oriented to the pedestrian—to snap the photo and go to their website. How thoughtful for them to give us more opportunities to pull our attention away from the wheel.
 
Don’t get me wrong… it is ingenious. Sort of like the buying of silver coins through your credit card, getting bonus bucks or flying miles, and then paying the card off with those same coins. Wish I would thought of that. It is so simple, just like this is…But it is wrong.
 

This is my public space as well. And yours. What if everyone decides to do this? When is enough enough?
Watch this video.

I’ve been playing the five string banjo for around 40 years. I’m pretty good, in fact I may be an expert on it. Certainly though, there are other players much more expert than I am. If I were to practice like I did many years ago, three to six hours a day, I’d be considered one of those experts as well.

And I’ve been a design professional for over 25 years. When I was hired by a large architecture firm over twenty years ago, I was considered the “sign expert” by the president of the firm. I didn’t consider myself to be that expert, but they expected someone with a knowledge base. So I did what any expert would do. Learn.

Books about sign systems and “way finding” had mostly yet to be written. I asked questions of fabricators and other designers. I read blueprints to better understand the architectural design process. I wasn’t afraid to ask dumb questions because to my way of thinking, there are no dumb questions. Unless you don’t ask them. I’ve come to realize that a true expert doesn’t know everything, but they do know what questions to ask and where to find the answers they need.

Over time, one successful project became many successful projects. Challenges were met, and most of them were completed to everyone’s satisfaction. Those that weren’t probably added more to my knowledge of this business; given the opportunity, what could have been done differently to make the project successful?

Over time I became that expert the firm’s owner expected when I was hired. I still ask questions because each project is different in its own way. You build on the commonalities and learn more from those differences. A project might be a university campus, or a medical facility, a history exhibit or the development of a symbol set. You question how people will move through a space, or navigate a website. What do they expect to see and what do they need to see? All add to the overall growth of information that can make the next project better, useful and compelling to its intended audience.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to convince a potential client that we can handle their project, and make it exciting, even though we haven’t done anything like it previously. But we’ve had clients take that leap with us. We’d never designed a symbol set, and hadn’t done a research paper since college when Hablamos Juntos hired us to develop a group of health care symbols. We hadn’t designed museum displays when we were hired by the Arizona Science Center to showcase the history of Phoenix. But we had enough enthusiasm, and enough knowledge that comes with expertise in our field, that the clients gave us an opportunity.

They were convinced we knew what we knew, and that we could ask the right questions. And that we would listen and learn. And become their experts.