A Designer’s Perspective

As a graphic designer, I am constantly taking note of the designs I encounter everyday. Most people are drawn to what they perceive as good design, but as a designer I look for good typography and more technical aspects of design.

Books
I have always judged a book by its cover. The cover or the spine is what draws me to pick a particular book off the shelf. A well-designed cover can reflect the effort that was put into the content of the book. As an avid reader, I have discovered that this is most often the case. Each year Design Observer holds 50 Books 50 Covers, a design competition that honors the year’s best book designs.

Restaurants
Restaurants are full of design. When I am pursuing the menu I can’t help but notice the typography. A well-designed menu is much easier to follow whether you are a designer or not. In a restaurant, the visual presentation of the dish can be just as important as the atmosphere that is created by the branding. Recently, I went to a restaurant with a family member and was greeted by the dreaded comic sans displaying their hours on the door.

Presentation
Recently, I was sitting through a series of PowerPoint presentations in a marking class fighting the urge to take over the computer and change the font to something other than Arial. I was relieved when the fourth group had chosen to use Garamond. The way information is presented can have a great effect on how well the information is absorbed. Good visuals make information easier to absorb, a fact that Duarte, a presentation design company knows well. Their work takes presentation design to a new level.