Read My Design

The article “Reading Design” by Dean Allen is a focus on the importance of good typography choices and the ability to read design. He uses an example by Warren Chappell who wrote the book A Short History of the Printed Word. Allen was blown away by the way the elements on the page—the body type and typesetting— gave the words on the page an “organic, breathing presence”. Everything on the page seemed to be visually perfect, from the margins to the text block to the illustration placements. Allen suggests that this method of designing like Chappell will benefit designers if they view their work as being written rather than assembled. 

Allen points out that as designers, we can’t just arrange words on the page. We have to carefully think about the meaning of the word(s) and make the best typographic decisions possible. As he states, “the primary goal of communication design [is] to make vital, engaging work intended above all to be read. To use design to communicate.” Text should no longer be considered a graphic element. Text is and should be meant to be read. As a designer, one way to get better at readability is to not be ignorant of what editors do and to study what they know and learn from them. Allen strongly suggests that “above all, read what you are designing, and imagine reading it for the first time, like someone who just found it.”

Through this article, I was a little confused about the meaning of the word “read” since there are various meanings. Read can refer to the ability to understand what is being said but it could also refer to the legibility, like whether the typographic appearance is able to be read. I think this article is probably stressing the idea of both, but it’s hard to know for sure what one they consider more important. Although, my guess is that each is equally important. 

One thing I thought was interesting that Allen brought up in the article was how a designer’s work is like an extension of himself. I have noticed quite often how when a designer, and this includes myself, is critiqued for their work, it is taken more as a attack on them personally. As a designer, I am realizing that I need to be more open to critiques and to separate myself from my designs. It’s important to hear a solid unbiased critique as design isn’t and shouldn’t be subjective and I shouldn’t design based only on what I like. These critiques are the best way for me to learn and grow as a designer. But I also need to try new things or I won’t learn, and this article has challenged me to think more outside the box and to explore different typographic elements.

-k

Allen, Dean. (2001). Reading Design. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 128. 

          http://www.alistapart.com/articles/readingdesign/