JG wrote:
> Graphic designers are not the only ones who fail to fully understand the
> causal and contextual relationships of their creation. Designers in other
> disciplines are equally fascinated by, if not obsessed with, the cause at
> the expense of the effect. For these people, design becomes an end in
> itself and not a means to an end.
For example, London's Millennium Bridge.
Having read the McGovern article, I'm grateful for having it drawn to my
attention but puzzled at the nit-picking analysis. It looks, and reads,
as a polemical column making one plain point that web pages should be
designed round information delivery rather than aesthetics *that do not
take information into account.* As someone who tries to teach the design
and analysis of *data graphics*, I am happy with that point. Graphics can
be very effective at delivering a message, but are often "designed" by
artists who lack a knowledge or understanding of the message. Hence
graph(ic)s can be trite, misleading or downright wrong. Sometimes a graphic
will directly contradict the text it was purported to support. Like the
Millennium Bridge, the designer went for looks rather than fitness for
purpose.
R. Allan Reese Email: [log in to unmask]
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