The talk I did at http://supermondays.org Newcastle University Mon 25th July 2011. "The design process is a well-run kitchen: many skilled chefs and great tools…and often a sweary Gordon at the helm. Leanne Johnson, Head of Design & Studio at Mobious, will take us through the critical ingredients needed for good design and why they’re important. She will also talk about why good design is NOT subjective, and why you’ll get hit with a wooden spoon if you approach her with ‘Brush Script’." Please view with my accompanying presentation notes, as there is sadly no video from the venue and it makes much more sense that way ;)

1. Call me Delia
Angry chefs, bad fonts and wooden spoons
Leanne Johnson
@minxlj
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2. design
Cooking is like love. It should be entered
into with abandon or not at all
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3. Fried egg? F*ck off.
I’m not here sweating my
f*cking b*llocks off to cook some
d*ckhead a fried egg.
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4. What is good design?
What is bad design?
What is design?
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5. What is design?
“Design is a relationship between form and content”
- Paul Rand
form
follows
function
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6. What is design?
• Design is mostly misunderstood to be only aesthetics - this is
completely wrong
• It’s visual communication. And invisible.
• Design should provoke an emotional or physical response.
Design is not just what it looks like, and feels like;
design is how it works - Steve Jobs
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7. Bad design kills*
• Form without considering function
• Inappropriate or misleading use of style
• Homogenous - trying to please everyone
*with spoons
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8. Bad design kills*
• Form without considering function
• Inappropriate or misleading use of style
• Homogenous - trying to please everyone
Contrary to popular belief,
it’s not this!
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9. Bad design, more killing
• Inappropriate use or
perception
Ouch.
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10. So what makes good design?
• Good design uses the nature of the medium as an advantage,
not a restriction - nobody ever insisted books should be
made of cheese
• Good design answers a communication need and prompts an
emotional or physical response
• Content first
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11. Critical ingredients
• Your most important tool
is not ever THIS:
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12. Critical ingredients
• Your most important tool
is not ever THIS: ...but these
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13. Critical ingredients
• Research, research, research!
• Context - always ask why, where, who
“Always design a thing by considering it in its larger context.
A chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an
environment, an environment in a city plan”
- Eliel Saarinen
??
?
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14. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
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15. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
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16. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
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17. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
• Relationship and proximity
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18. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
• Relationship and proximity
• Colour
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19. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
• Relationship and proximity
• Colour
• Hierarchy
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20. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
• Relationship and proximity
• Colour
• Hierarchy
• Type
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21. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality
• Space
• Simplicity
• Relationship and proximity
• Colour
• Hierarchy
• Type
• Alignment
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22. Critical ingredients
Shopping list
• Personality - how does this need to be perceived?
• Space - lack of clutter; give content room to be seen
• Simplicity - ‘just enough’ is more
• Relationship and proximity - group related items
• Colour - use psychological responses, and give consistency
• Hierarchy - important elements should take centre stage
• Type - appropriate personality, and a well-designed font
• Alignment - no random objects (and don’t forget the milk)
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23. Taste is subjective.
(Good) design is not.
Go on Gordon, you tell ‘em
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24. Leanne, it’s sh*t.
• You’re wrong ;-)
• Poorly constructed feedback is damaging to the design
process - seek out proper critique
• Pleasing everyone results in blandness
If nobody hates it, nobody can love it because
there’s nothing to feel.
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25. Oh and you might need this, for
the occasional client...
Leanne Johnson
@minxlj
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