Communication Design Fundamentals Project 1
Identifying Communication Design
Introduction
Hi, my name is Michelle! I’m currently a senior studying Business Administration with a minor in Design. I’m taking CDF because I want to learn more about visually communicating a message or topic effectively through design. I also want to learn more about different mediums of design such as print design.
Effective Example
The effective example that I chose was a disposable camera that is intended for anyone that wants to take quick pictures with a light, inexpensive film camera. The goal of the disposable camera is achieved because the textual and visual instructions make it simple for anyone to pick up the camera and start using it to capture content. The textual instructions are concise and laid out in a clear grid. The text is paired with pictures of the camera which makes it easy for anyone to understand how to roll the scroll to the right to take the next picture, how to turn flash on/off, and how to know which button to press to take a picture. Additionally, the amount of exposures left is shown through the number indicator at the top of the camera. There are also dots to indicate numbers in between the bigger numbers. Colors and shapes are used to point to important features of the camera such as the red triangle pointing at the scroll at the top right of the camera. Yellow arrows are also used to point to specific parts of the camera in combination with the textual instructions.
Ineffective Example
The ineffective example that I chose was the instructions for an iPad screen protector. The goal of the instruction manual is to easily guide the user in setting up the screen protector on the iPad. The screen protector pack came with the main instruction guide and instruction stickers. Although the textual instructions on the main guide are somewhat simple, the visuals don't necessarily correspond with the text instructions. For example, the screen protector is for an iPad Pro but the pictures on the instruction guide show an iPad Air which can be confusing for the process of putting on the screen protector. Also, the instruction stickers don’t complement the main instruction guide; For example, the numbers on the main instruction guide don’t match the numbers found on the instruction stickers. Lastly, the colors of the stickers in the pictures on the instruction guide also don’t match the colors of the actual stickers. Red is consistently used to show different ideas such as at the very top it tells the user to “Stop” and watch the video. But then red is also used to show the number of steps and also is used as the color for the arrows in the visuals.
