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[
GRAPHICAL INTERFACE ]
In
the communication savvy era of the 1990s good old fashioned
communication between writer and designer is more important
than ever. Queensland University of Technology publications
manager, Ian Wynne reports.
THERE’S NOTHING QUITE like seeing your half-formed concept
given wings by a graphic designer of real talent. It’s like
reading prose so powerful it brings goosebumps to your skin.
And it’s oh so different to the sinking feeling when
you discover your designer has a completely different vision
of your work to the one you expressed so clearly at the briefing.
How did these wires get so crossed? – you ask as
you see the dollars mount in expensive revisions which somehow
never quite capture the spirit of what you wanted in the first
place. How could I, who use words to distil the most complex
concepts into simple English, fail so abysmally in making
myself understood?
The answer is simple. If men are from Mars and women
from Venus, and a few minor communication breakdowns result,
then designers and writers are galaxies apart. Creative talents
both, the processes which turn thoughts into words and those
which turn thoughts into graphics are vastly different – and
if you recognise this up front you can save a lot of confusion
– and money.
Whether you’re looking for a cover to capture the spirit
of your annual report, or a prospectus which will knock
the socks off your business competitors, the chances are you
won’t have a clear vision of exactly what you want
it to look like.
That’s good!. The last thing you want at the briefing
stage is to have a visual image of the final product.
Telling the designer exactly what to do is the worst possible
approach. An over-prescriptive brief stifles creative
ability. Tell your designer instead who your readers are,
how old they are, and what you need to tell them – not
how the designer should tell it to them.
HERE ARE A FEW POINTERS >
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