Module 3 - Processes of Information Design

Since information design can be considered a broad and new area of interest, so too is the process of information designing and project creation. There are some basic areas that obviously create a structure to build upon when working on a particular project or design. 

First the information being designed, redesigned, or reinterpreted must be gathered, without this critical step there is no project at all. Information such as what makes your client or client’s organization tick, its goals and agendas, its competition, its audience, past information project history, and overall education of the internal workings of the client or organization will help give your project team a head start (Baer 32-36). 

Once the myriad of information has been collected it must be sorted through and given to the team and design project leaders who need to be given the outline, their roles, as well as the instructions and process. However to convey all that information would take an extremely long time and a lot of work, that is why a brief or summary is created from this information.

The brief is a short document (ironic isn’t it?) that usually spans two to ten pages in length depending on the scope of the project being taken on. The brief offers the design team and project management information such as; client information, client sector including information on its competitors, project overview, project goals and requirements, and project logistics which include the project team and roles, key dates, and the budget and hours allocated to the project (50-56).

Once the information is gathered it must be understood properly and what better way to understand something than by “walking in someone else’s shoes”. This is where using the information gathered is used to create imaginary people which are called personas. These personas will give us the insight and understanding necessary to create the perfect design and properly convey the information.

Using the information that was provided in the brief about the target audience, a member of the project team will make up these personas based on that information. The best way to gain this information as well is to talk with your client. Nobody knows more than the client regarding his/her own business and audience. When creating a persona it is best to include not only the demographics such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status, but also including psychographics including personality, values, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. By delving deeper into “character” a project team can gain vast amounts of information to better target their designs at the appropriate audiences (58-60). 

Finally, the design crew will draw up prototypes which will act as the configuration of the design, but not the fully finished design. Think of the prototype as a blueprint for the final design. It is not fully created but has the key information necessary to show the layout of the design. This can also be called a wireframe. A wireframe by definition is “a sketch that allows the design team and client to see a detailed view of how the content will be organized on just a few given pages or sections of your project (72).” By creating this wireframe this will allow for testing. 

 

This step, in my opinion, is the most critical step necessary in any information design project. Live testing allows your design to be scrutinized and critiqued by actual people who will interact with these designs, whether they are signs, websites, or brochures. Testing offers the ability in a sense to test the usability of the design, or rather how the design will work in the hands of its audience. Testing is considered a necessary part of the design process and should be integrated fully. This will help ensure that the project is successful for the client’s audience. One thing to note is that testing should be done early and often. “At project inception, find a selection of representative users and set up a regular testing schedule.” Different types of testing will also ensure the project is successful from top to bottom. Different types of testing include; concept tests, participatory design testing, focus groups, usability testing, and beta/performance testing (79-80, 86-87).

Testing in a blog environment can become difficult because most blogs are designed and implemented by one person, such as myself. The way I have tried to implement testing for my blog is prior to publishing it, I allow friends and family to view the preview of the page and give me feedback. Also publishing the blog for a short time to allow user interface testing and performance design as well allows for my friends and family to see exactly what it looks like in real time.

Personally I feel that these steps outlined in Kim Baer’s book have covered the bases “soup to nuts” if you will when it comes to creating and designing a successful project. I emphasize the use of testing as a large part of any project and believe that designers and project teams should focus their efforts on the audiences intended to view their projects.


AP


Baer, Kim, and Jill Vacarra. Information Design Workbook: Graphic Approaches, Solutions, and Inspiration 30 Case Studies. Beverly, MA: Rockport, 2008. Print.