Design Thinking
for Journalists
Angelica McKinley @angelicadesigns
A 3 hour masterclass for non-designers
Lena Groeger @lenagroeger
Who we are.
Lena & Angelica
Design in the real world.
Craigslist
Norman Doors
Highway Signs
Public Safety
Touch & Face Recognition
And Vote the Way You Intended
Florida November 2018
Virginia November 2018 proposal
It’s not all about looks
PRO TIP
Draw a vase
Draw a vase
[ways people can enjoy flowers at home]
Traditional Design
Design Today
Design for the user
#UserCentricDesigns: �Social App for Runners
Building Meaningful User Experiences
A User Centric 52 Places
Break into 4 groups:
Kids
Couples
Retirees
College Students
Brainstorm 10 attributes for your user group
Kids
Couples
Retirees
College Students
active
relaxed
social
romantic
adventurous
stable
cost money
free/cheap
Pick 2 spectrums and fill out the user matrix
What would you put on the home screen for your user group?
Let’s take a break!
The principles.
Contrast
Contrast: Size
Don’t be a wimp!
PRO TIP
Contrast: Color
Contrast: White Space
Call attention to the most important thing on the page!
PRO TIP
Contrast: the most important thing
Align
ment
Alignment: Left, Right, Center, Justified
Don’t center everything!
PRO TIP
But really, which is the stronger line?
But really, which is the stronger line?
Alignment: Tables
Alignment: Breaking the rules
Have a good reason to break convention
PRO TIP
Exercise: Spot the misalignment
Repetition
Repetition
Repetition
Repetition
Repetition
Repetition
Repetition: Consistency across platforms
Repetition: Consistency within a piece
Train your audience
PRO TIP
Repetition: Small multiples
Hierarchy
Hierarchy
Hierarchy: Grouping & proximity
Things that go together in your mind should go together on the page
PRO TIP
Hierarchy: Typography
Hierarchy: Posters & Ads
To review:
Let’s take a break!
Typography
Main types of types
Pick 1 or 2 fonts for your piece. If 2, make them very different.
PRO TIP
Am I the same? Maybe I am
But not exactly? I’m confused
I am clearly and unambiguously
VERY DIFFERENT
Consolas
Roboto
Roboto
Alfa Slab One
You have lots of variation with just one type family… use it!
Variations like bold, italic, and differences in go a long way.
size
Avoid ALL CAPS as much as possible.
PRO TIP
The National Weather Service finally stopped using ALL CAPS in 2016
(it took them several decades)
Not only is ALL CAPS hard to read, it also takes up much more space.
Of course, if you’re trying to make something hard to read...
… then all caps is the perfect choice.
Color
Test for color-blindness
PRO TIP
Color resources
Interaction Design &
the User
Sometimes you only spot a problem when the user gets involved
Affordances (physical)
Affordances (digital)
Buttons that look like buttons
Search fields
Blue underlined text for links
Headlines, bylines
Standard icons
Make it obvious what’s clickable
PRO TIP
Don’t make me think!
Exercise: Pick an app, identify 5 design elements that help you navigate it
If you’re going to break convention, you put an extra cost on your user
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
PRO TIP
How the user really feels
Design for Ambiguity/Flexibility
Design for Inclusiveness
You matter!
PRO TIP
Thanks!
@angelicadesigns
@lenagroeger