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Give Me Some More Boring Stuff

As a designer I love work that tests the limits of my creative abilities. The chance to create something that is expressive and visually appealing and that makes you go "Wow" upon first viewing it makes design fun. That is the dream job. But those jobs are few and far between. The truth is, most jobs aren't about the art. They are about communicating. And communicating is dependent upon the target audience and industry one is addressing.

For many industries beautiful works of "art" miss the point. Graphic design is about selling or marketing products and services. Creating beautiful ads where the message is lost because the art is all that the viewer sees is ineffective. Ask any business owner if he would rather have a direct mail piece that was a work of art or one that produces a 20 percent response rate. The answer will always be, "give me the boring stuff that works."

Whenever I create a new logo for a company I usually come up with three to four concepts. Before sending them off to the client I ask someone I trust (Elizabeth) to look at them and let me know what she thinks. Her response is usually dead-on. "This one is really cool," she will say, "but the client will choose this. It's the most conservative." Businesses aren't (usually) about art. They are about function and image. The reason they choose the conservative look is that it most closely meets the image they have of the brand they are trying to build and it is in line with the industry they are in.

There are exceptions to this rule. I have created logos for Massage Therapists, artists and others where the industry (and public) expects something a bit more creative. With these types of businesses the rule is often reversed. These customers want the most creative work you can provide. But they are the exceptions.

A great example of this is the recent website I built for Dymond, Reagor and Colville Law Firm. PDR Law is a group of attorneys based in Denver, Colorado. They wanted a site that was web-standards compliant, easy to use and easy to update, and that was search engine optimized. I built them a custom content management system (using ModX) that met all of those needs. The site has valid CSS and XHTML, looks the same on all browsers and can be viewed nicely on hand-held devices. The site includes newsfeeds coming into it, an RSS feed to keep visitors up to date, and search functionality.

But if you look at PDR Law it isn't an incredible work of art. It is nice to look at. But it isn't art. PDR's average viewer doesn't have an appreciation for Flash animation or a large amount of graphics. What the site does well is address the needs of the user - PDR's clients. The average client for PDR Law is a business owner or someone looking to protect their estate. In other words, the likely user is older and seeking information that is easy access and navigation that makes sense and that is consistent.

One last thing we should all keep focused on. Boring looking to the designer doesn't mean that the work isn't technically competent and well done. Building beautiful websites or print pieces is as much about function, ease of use, and other factors as it is about how aesthetically pleasing it is to look at.

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