The Steps of Information Design: Simply Complex

The steps in the process of Information Design can be condensed down into 4 basic steps, that can be understood by all, but don't necessarily capture the essence of the complexities found in individual scenarios.

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Depending on the situation, you are likely to spend more time on one of these steps than others. Which one will depend on a number of factors, like what kind of information you're designing, who you're designing for, what your goals are, etc. For example, a new design company working with a client for the very first time will likely spend a considerable amount of time gathering information and learning about the client. Much more so than an established company working with a long term client as they will already possess much of that information. In that case, they may place more importance on the planning steps as they determine which members of the team will do what jobs.

One can easily argue for any one of these steps to be the most important. In reality though, none of them work without the others. You can't implement an effective design plan without knowing your client, your audience, or the plan of attack. You can't learn about the audience without knowing about your client. You can't learn about your client without knowing who is going to gather that information. And any combination therein. Take one of those away and it's like cutting the circuit: your light bulb won't brighten.

So while situations dictate which step gets the most focus, every Information Design situation will include these in some manner. One has to understand that each of these steps have their own steps to success, but as an overview of the entire process, I think these 4 steps are pretty good at encompassing everything one would need to know. I do have one addition to make though. It's not necessarily a step #5 per se, but more a step 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a.

ADJUST.

Adjust, adjust, adjust as you go along this process. If you fail to adjust as you go, then odds are you're going to come up short of your goal. You cannot lock yourself in and be inflexible within the process. You have to be aware of as much as you can, and react accordingly. The Information Design Workbook mentions how "Content can be a moving target" (41), and I find this description to be quite apt. You're hunting, you're not shooting at stationery targets. Hitting a deer in mid-leap is a completely different task that hitting the bullseye at 50 yards.

Think you know your client? - What happens if they have an unexpected stock market hit? What does that do to the information you have in your possession?

You know who is going to do what on this project? - What happens when your project manager is fired for sexual harassment?

You know everything there is to know about your audience? - What happens when a newspaper article gets published denouncing similar products and parents are no longer interested in what you're selling?

About to implement your design plan? - What happens when the client changes their mind about wanting print ads instead of digital?

This is one of those rules that just SEEMS like a 'common-sense' approach on the surface, but ends up boggling the mind at how many people and businesses don't seem to possess common sense. It shouldn't have to be a "rule" but that seems to be the only way to get people to pay attention.

I think effective blogging is a perfect example of this process, including adjusting, at work.

1. Learn about the client - in this case the client is usually yourself, but you really need to put extensive thought into the image and information you wish to project.

2. Plan - How are you going to blog? Web? Mobile? Video? All of them? How often? How do you handle comments and feedback? These are all questions (among many many others) that you ask yourself before you even begin. And then constantly again and again as you go.

3. Learn about your audience - who are you targeting? What else is out there that targets the same people?

4. Implement your design - Blog, blog, blog so hopefully people will read, read, read.

Along the way you analyze what's working and what's not and shift your thought processes.

On a personal level, I find myself putting much more thought into this blog as time progresses. Since this started as an assignment rather than a personal project, I approached the steps out of order, in that I started by implementing my design before having a concrete plan. The more I learn, the more I adjust my way of thinking, and it'll be interesting to see where it ends up by the end of this course.