Posted: November 29th, 2009 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Media And Advertising | Tags: bad design | View Comments
5:00 pm. I get a phone call from a woman who posted an ad on Craig’s List last week, looking for someone to help her promote her new website. I’m excited that she responded to my resume.
5:30 pm. She’s telling me a long story about her traumatic time in the hospital and how it led her to a new outlook on life, and motivated her to start her own company.
5:45 pm. What she really wants, she says, is for her site to get a mention on the Today show. Do I think I can make that happen? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: March 31st, 2009 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Work | Tags: bad design, coffee cup, design | View Comments
Assume that they know what they’re doing better than you do. That’s why you’re paying them. (Right?)
If you want the header to stand out more, don’t say “What if we make the font bigger on the header, and give it a brightly-colored background?”
Instead, say “Can you please make the header stand out more?”
Then, shut the fuck up.
The main reason there are so many mediocre designs in the commercial world is because of failure to adhere to this one simple rule.
If you really think you know better than the creative does how to make a good creative, then either a) you hired the wrong person, or b) you missed your calling, and you’d better hurry up and catch it, before it runs over somebody.
p.s. I’m not a designer either, but there are some aspects of my background that could be used by a skilled rationalist to label me as “creative.”
image by whatleydude
