Design is communication

A while back I wrote an article about one of my most influential experiences studying Graphic Design: the requirement of one of my instructors that we show up for any ‘first crit’ with no fewer than 30 thumbnails. But there was another experience, with another instructor, that perhaps had an even greater impact on me and on the way I guide and teach other designers.

While Heemong Kim’s requirement centered on the start of any project, Nancy Bockbrader’s signature element came at the finish: every project, no matter how big or small, had to include a paper explaining the ‘why’ behind the design decisions made in the course of the assignment. It could be as short as a paragraph or two, but if you couldn’t explain in clear language the reasoning for your typeface selection, color palette or any other visual language, you just weren’t done.