Sunday, November 14, 2010

Stage 6 - Communication

Stage 6 is about breaking down the art of communicating.  It is something that designers must constantly do.  We communicate through visual language to our clients, audience, and corporations.  This chapter offers very helpful tips on organization, quality, presentation methods and techniques when communicating.

I found this chapter helpful, especially in the section about "The Art of Presentation."  I think time is everything and Aspelund mentions it in the tailor's rule.  He points out that designers must account for the time it takes to plan for the presentation itself as well as the time it takes to meet the deadline.  It's a double-duty task and I agree with his statement.  Designers are constantly thinking out loud, even without words.  By planning ahead and taking the time, I think it is less likely that there will be accidents along the way.

The methods and techniques mentioned are also very useful.  Pencil, colored pencils, markers, pens, power points, and models are all techniques that can be utilized to create a designer's presentation.  Some are more traditional than others, but all are equally effective if they are integrated in the presentation properly.  As long as there is a beginning, middle, and end, then the presentation will have met the basic standard.

The presentation is just like a performance.  Designers must prepare for this performance and know the direction of it.  Do the research.  It is important to know who the audience is and what language to use.  Is slang more effective than formal?  If so, then the presentation could be produced using more images than words.  I think Aspelund has very honest insights on the art of presenting and overall communication.  I will be looking forward to implementing these methods and techniques to my own work.

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