Whether you’re creating a real estate brochure, building a web site or decorating a restaurant effective design is crucial.
I‚Äôm not talking about the kind of design that wins awards from other designers…but the kind that actually works.
Effective design should do one thing…remind people of the right things.
When you’re scanning your email you recognize spam before you read it. Why? Because it reminds you of spam.
When the Obama campaign decided it wanted to be historic, they didn’t run around saying, “This campaign is historic.” They started borrowing elements from historic documents and using them in their design. And subconsciously millions of Americans started thinking, “This campaign is historic”.
And it’s not just about look and feel. In our Colorado mountain town we had a new restaurant open that couldn’t figure out who they were. They always had classical music playing, used linen table cloths but they served ketchup in the little packets. It just didn’t fit. They had no idea what they were trying to remind people of and they lasted less than three months.
It doesn’t cost any more to have effective design than ineffective design. The important part is to figure out what it is you’re trying to remind people of and go do that.
Jon Dale 
great blog!! Interesting that you write this as I have a meeting with a prospect tomorrow to be considered as his interior designer for his restaurant. Thank Jon!!
Wendy,
I hope this helps at your meeting tomorrow. Good luck!
Thanks,
Jon
It costs the same to print bad design. Great post Jon. Design is just as much about messaging as it is about function.
Hi John. I am curious what in your definition are ‘right’ things.
Philippe Starcks notion of design is that it can help human evolution. It can make the world a better place. He has a clear perspective on the future. Mayb the goal of design should be more that rememberance alone?
Stefan,
I agree. There’s potentially much more to design than being a reminder.
However, in many cases where design doesn’t “work” it’s because it fails to remind people of the right things.
The right things are the things you want people to think of when they look at your design. It’s up to you to figure out what those things are.
That said, if you’re designing a menu for an upscale restaurant, you probably don’t want to remind people of a greasy spoon diner.