Internally to Adaptive Path, we have a series of mailing lists that help us keep in touch with each other, discuss design topics or even just talk about current issues.
A recent post came from Dan Saffer where he pointed us all to these tongue-in-cheek stickers that could be used to call out “bad design”. These stickers offer warning label-style comments such as “Consult a typographer” or “Severe lack of creativity” and “Good idea wasted by poor execution”.
Dan’s intention was to share a funny take on the honest frustration that many designers feel when they see design that could have been better. The result he got on the mailing list was a very typical and spirited debate. Rather that writing a post about the stickers myself, I thought I’d just share the conversation.
First, here is the site: http://www.design-police.org/
Dan: We need a set of these. And to make a set for IxD/IA!
Kim: Absolutely brilliant. We should definitely make some for IxD/IA!
Peter: I’m sorry. This is the kind of holier-than-thou crap about inconsequential bullshit that has encouraged marginalizing designers because they behave as a bunch of mindless aesthetes with no concern for issues other than appropriate typography, and little interest in things that actually matter.
Dan: Since when is good visual design inconsequential bullshit? Aesthetics matter, and good typography and composition are essential parts of that. It’s all part of a chain: bad type –> bad visuals –> bad experience. Ignore this stuff and you get sloppy, ugly work.
Is it more mindless to not care about how something looks, or to practice good visual design? Good experiences are made up of good details.
Jesse: I completely agree with Dan that aesthetics matter, but to Peter’s point, if I were a bettin’ man, I wouldn’t wager that “Kern this!” is the most important or valuable message a client needs to hear.
Dan: Oh god no, I’d never use these for a client. I assumed these were stickers for internal reviews.
Peter: I’m not saying aesthetics aren’t important. I’m saying that the attitude exhibited by this set of stickers is indicative of a mindless condescension that has lead to the marginalization of the practice of visual design. It’s no different than “usability engineers” who decry the state of the Web and want to impose their small-minded ruleset.
While your point (”bad type –> bad visuals –> bad experience”) has validity, what it doesn’t recognize is that tone matters. And this catty attempt at humor represented by this design-police is exactly why they are ignored.
Kim: I saw these as a joke - funny, haha, humorous, poking fun in the same way the video “make the logo bigger” is funny. I never saw these as a serious endeavor or something to be used in a professional setting.
Creating them for IxD and IA would be a way of poking fun at ourselves and the things that we continually hear in our practice.
I cannot tell you how many times my husband (a print advertising graphic designer) looks at print ads with disgust and espouses “Man, they need to kern that!” He thought the stickers were funny, but was disappointed that they lacked the traditional copy editor marks, using text instead.
Andrew: I’m not a fan of these. I remember a while back when there was so much discussion about make Design a licensable practice. I thought it was arrogant then, I think it’s still an offensive idea.
That’s not to say that these stickers (which were created as an obvious joke) embody this sentiment. I simply feel that there might be a more positive way to express the inside joke. I love the KERN hoodie from Veer. I think not only is it clever, but it conveys a wink-wink to other designers without offending the ignorant. These stickers seem to take the joke a little too far.
Like Kim’s husband, I’ve done it a thousand times where I get angry at poor typography, incorrect color balance in duotones, mis-registration or poor copy. Jannine’s heard an earful. But, if I were ever to express that to that designer or that secretary, I’d probably try a more educative and sympathetic approach.
That’s not to say we can’t have our fun with poor design. There is a some seriously shitty work out there. So, if the spirit of things like this are meant to be playful or as an inside joke, there’s fun in that.
What’s the interaction design equivalent version of the KERN hoodie?
Kate: Interesting points. While I agree with Peter that the “I’m entitled to judge because I know more and better than you” is mean-spirited and plays to the worst of egoist-designers-as-gods, there is the opportunity to have something like stickers that highlight moving toward a greater good.
For example, “legible from space” and “Microscope required” are a comment on “hey, buddy! Folks aren’t going to read this because of a *serious* flaw that you oughtta fix.” That’s more like the Billboard Liberation League’s public service messages than the League of Self-Appointed Extraordinary Designers self-serving know-it-all.
I’d be happy to have similar stickers (depending on message) and I would use them. But I also want a set that celebrate effective design. Red=no. Green=yes. We should support honest celebration of good things…not center ourselves on being police and judges.
Domino magazine has stickers that you can use to tag ideas you like. It’s helpful and warm and engaging. If we could bring a “make the world better” smile into the stickers, it would make them much more human…more like us.
There you have it. A brief insight into what we talk about at the office. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the stickers, on criticising design or if you’d like to hear more of our ramblings.
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