Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
visual language he or she is creating for such work is terribly important. It not only en-
sures the user's or viewer's unity of experience from one space to another but also helps
direct them through changing levels of information and provides flexibility in visual
presentation appropriate to whatever such changes may be. Being able to control vari-
ations within the system also prevents the experience from becoming monotonous for
the audience.
Consistency and Flexibility Establishing tension between repeated, recognizable visu-
al qualities and the lively, unexpected, or clever manipulation—even violation—of
those qualities in a system-oriented work is a difficult task. At one extreme, designers
risk disintegrating the visual coherence that makes for a unified and memorable exper-
ience by constantly altering the project's visual language in his or her effort to con-
tinually refresh the viewer. At the other extreme, treating material too consistently will
kill the project's energy. In some instances, it might also do the material a disservice
by constraining all elements into a strangled mold that decreases the clarity of either
the concept or informational relationships by not allowing these to flex as they must.
The renowned designer, Massimo Vignelli—known chiefly for his rigorous use of grid
structures—put it this way: “A [structure] is like a cage with a lion in it, and the design-
er is the lion-tamer; playing with the lion is entertaining and safe for the viewer because
of the cage, but there's always a danger that something will go wrong . . . and the lion-
tamer has to know when to get out so he doesn't get eaten.”
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