A few notes from Josef Muller-Brockmann’s Grid Systems in Graphic Design

Grid divides 2D space into smaller fields. Fields may be the same or different in size.

Vertical distance between fields: at least 1 line of text.

Horizontal distance between fields depends on size of type and illustrations used.

The smallest illustration corresponds to the smallest grid field (???)

All illustrations, photos, stats, etc. have the size of 1, 2, 3, or 4 grid fields.

The fewer the differences in size of the illustrations, the quieter the impressed created by the design.

Standard typefaces listed in the book: Garamond, Caslon, Bakersville, Bedoni, Clarendon, Berthhold, Times, Helvetica, Univers.

Columns should be 10 words wide.

Margins of the same size never result in interesting design.

Basic principles from Michael Freeman’s Space : Japanese Design Solutions for Compact Living:

1. Enjoy – somethings should be small (ie tea ceremony rooms)

2. Maximize – partition, compartmentalize. Multiple levels. Temporal partitions.

3. Compress

4. Open – remove partitions.

5. Conceal – multifuntional design elements.

Probably useful strategies for designing anything compact

Excellent piece and follow-up by Adam Greenfield for site re-design, also valuable for initial design. Using this at work right now.

5 questions and the 6th question.

1. who is this site for?

2. what is this site for?

3. what isn’t this site doing for its users that it should be?

4. what about your own needs? what do you want to see from a redesign?

5. what sites do these things particularly well?

6. what does this site already do well?

Notes on the Design of Everyday Things

Principles of design for understandibility and usability

Provide a good conceptual model
Make things visible
The Principle of Mapping
The Principle of Feedback

The three requirements for a system to be explorable:

1. In each state of the system, the user must readily see and be able to do the allowable actions.
2. The results of the action must be both visible and easy to interpret.
3. Actions should be without cost

Seven principles for transforming difficult tasks into simple ones:

1. Use both knowledge in the world and knowledge in the head
2. Simplify the structure of tasks
3. Make things visible: bridge the gulf of Execution and Evaluation.
4. Get the mappings right
5. Exploit the power of contraints both natural and artificial
6. Design for error
7. When all else fails, standardize

Re: mapping. Make sure the user can determine the relationships:
* between intentions and possible actions
* between actions and the effects on the system
* between actual system state and what is perceivable by sight, sound, or feel
* between the perceived system state and the needs, intentions, and expectations of the user

Whenever the number of functions and required operations exceeeds the number of controls, the design becomes arbitrary, unnatural and complicated.

People usually blame themselves for errors

When there is a problem, people are apt to focus on it to exclusion of other factors, thus performing dangerous actions like sticking a knife in the toaster to get a stuck piece of bread.