Making-Original-Products-presentationzen

Presentation Design
A common misunderstanding about design is that it is something that comes
at the end—like the frosting and the “Happy Birthday!” on a cake. But this is
not what I mean by design. For me, design does not wait until the end. Rather,
it comes at the beginning, right from the start. Design is necessary to organize
information in a way that makes things clearer; it can make things easier for the
viewer or the user. Design is also a medium for persuasion. It is not decoration.
Design is about people creating solutions that help or improve the lives of
other people—often in profound ways, and often in ways that are quite small
and unnoticed. When we design, we need to be concerned with how other
people interpret our design solutions and messages. Design is not art, although
there is art in it. Artists can, more or less, follow their creative impulses and
create whatever it is they want to express. But designers work in a business
environment. At all times, designers need to be aware of the end user and how
best to solve (or prevent) a problem from the user’s point of view. Art is good
or bad in and of itself. Good art may move people; it may change their lives in
some way. If so, wonderful. But good design must necessarily have an impact
on people’s lives, no matter how seemingly small. Good design changes things.
Design is much more than aesthetics, yet things that are well-designed,
including graphics, often have high aesthetic quality. Well-designed things
look good. In the world of design, there is more than one solution to a single
problem. You need to explore, but ultimately you need to look for the most
appropriate solution for the problem, given the context of your information.
Design is about making conscious decisions about inclusion and exclusion.
In the case of presentation visuals, graphics must be free of errors and they
must be accurate. But our visuals—like it or not—also touch our audiences at
an emotional level. People make instant judgments about whether something
is attractive, trustworthy, professional, too slick, and so on. This is a visceral
reaction—and it matters.
132 Presentation Zen