Visual Voice

I am an ardent believer in information over decoration, but I also appreciate the need for aesthetics, style, and beauty.

STEP Magazine

For centuries artists have told stories through paintings, illuminated manuscripts, and other art forms. Yet in the news business the idea of the news "looking good" is often regarded negatively.

In the January/February 2004 issue of STEP magazine, Steven Heller, author, educator, and senior art director of the New York Times Book Review, writes an essay called "The curse of the "D" word." The "D" being decorator. Heller says that while being a good decorator takes skill and sophistication, decoration isn't necessarily good or bad.

"Decoration plays an integral role in the total design scheme. It is not merely wallpaper (and what's wrong with beautiful wallpaper, anyway?). Good decoration is that which enhances or frames a product or message." "The facade of a building or the cover of a brochure sparks a responsive chord even when type is absent. Decorative and ornamental elements are backdrops yet possess the power to draw attention, which prepares the audience to receive the message."

But Heller also cautions that decoration can be "the ignorant application of dysfunctional doodads that are total anachronisms." We've all seen a lot of bad decorative "design" and what it all has in common is that it gets in the way of the information instead of enhancing it.

Essentially, what a designer does is marry information and art. That's no easy task. Beauty and information are right-brain, left-brain concepts. Too much of one or the other can throw the message out of whack.

Mood, color, decorative elements, photography, and illustration are all born out of information, yet many times we downplay the importance of visual appeal and the power it has to attract the reader to the information. It's a fast-moving, visual world that is becoming more and more visual. It's not our job to throw visuals on the page and see what sticks, but rather to edit all information down to the essential elements, decorative and informative, and tie all the pieces together.

We are in an era of simplicity and stripped-down design, which I love, but let's not strip it down so far that it becomes visually sterile.

We need a visual kick in the pants every now and then. Sometimes, good decoration can help.

Resource:
"15 Rules for Rebuilding the World," from Wired Magazine
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.03/play.html