Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
and our design messages. Design is not art, although there is art in it. Artists can, more
or less, follow their creative impulses and create whatever it is they want to express. But
designers work in a business environment. At all times, designers need to be aware of
the end user and how best to solve (or prevent) a problem from the user's point of view.
Art, in and of itself, can be considered good or bad. Good art may move people; it may
change their lives in some way. If so, wonderful. But good design must necessarily have
an impact on people's lives, no matter how seemingly small. Good design changes
things.
When most people think about design, they think about superficial things—about how
things look. But design goes much deeper than that. Design is more than aesthetics, yet
things that are well designed, including graphics, often have high aesthetic quality. Well-
designed things look good. But does this matter? Isn't the content all that matters? In
Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things
(Basic Books, 2004),
author and designer Donald Norman suggests that good-looking designs actually work
better. When it comes to physical products, such as user interfaces and displays,
Norman argues that the emotional aspects of a design may often be as important to the
product's ultimate success as the practical elements. Says Norman:
Attractive things make people feel good, which in turn makes them
think more creatively...positive emotions are critical to learning,
curiosity, and creative thought.
In the case of presentation visuals, graphics must be free of errors and they must be
accurate. But our visuals—like it or not—also touch our audiences at an emotional level.
People make instant judgments about whether something is attractive, trustworthy,
professional, too slick, and so on. This is a visceral reaction—and it matters.
The role of sketching and planning analog
Nancy Duarte
CEO of Duarte Design and best-selling author. Her firm creates
presentations for the world's leading brands and thought leaders.
www.duarte.com
Nancy Duarte shares the process her firm went through to build
a file that pushes the limits of PowerPoint features. The best
