Design is not window dressing, information architecture is not boxes and arrows

Information design offers great benefits to all sorts of businesses and organisations. Clear instructions and diagrams can reduce misunderstanding, easy to navigate catalogues save customers time and frustration.

What makes good information design?

The goal of information design is for users act without any difficulty. Good information design goes un-noticed; no-one rings your customer helpline for advice or complaint, no-one makes a costly or hazardous mistake and no-one spends too long trying to find or understand something. Flat pack instructions have a notoriety for being confusing, for the user this is frustrating and time consuming, for the information designer this is failure.

Making it easy

parkulator

The SCS Group have a reputation for making engineering simple to understand and easy to use. The regulations and requirements for car park smoke extract systems are not easy to understand and specify without specialist knowlege. In-Text Design worked with the engineers to develop a 'car parkulator' which, with a series of moveable disks enabled customers specify and order the appropriate and safe system. Everyone wins - the customer is able to specify with minimum fuss, the company engineers spend less time quoting and more time selling.