Thoughts on Design

I was reading How to Change the World today, and came upon something unexpected. Insight into graphic design.

The Curse of Knowledge. Lots of research in economics and psychology shows that when we know something, it becomes hard for us to imagine not knowing it. As a result, we become lousy communicators. Think of a lawyer who can’t give you a straight, comprehensible answer to a legal question. His vast knowledge and experience renders him unable to fathom how little you know.

“The Curse of Knowledge.” You might not see how this applies to graphic design, but it does. As I said in my last post:

Does your design still say what you think it does? Most of the time it will, sometimes it won’t. It’s easy to let your preconceived ideas about a design cloud your judgment, and influence your design.

Clients may be particularly bad at this, but never doubt that designers can do this to themselves too. It’ can be easy to see a project as a whole, but you must be very careful to set that knowledge aside when proofing each individual piece. You know the address of the event, but did you clearly state the address in your design? Make sure that your design says exactly what you think it does. Don’t rely on a good memory, prior knowledge or other proof-readers. Set aside what you know, set aside what you think is there, and proof what you see. Don’t let the “curse of knowledge” ruin your design.