Pretty doesn't equal Effective

I took the last week off writing so I could mull over some things and take care of the hefty list of to-dos I had before me last week. We had a yard sale over the weekend, and I was struck by a few things that apply directly to the way the church creates and communicates.

Obviously the goal with any yard sale is that people show up. Without people showing up, you won't sell any of the glorious goods you are trying to get rid of. So, the first issue becomes creating signs that communicate clearly and effectively.

My parents put some signs together made of shiny paper cut in the shape of arrows. They weren't particularly attractive in my opinion, but to add to that, they put orange and black streamers hanging off the signs. Lovely. The thing I noticed however, is that the signs were extremely effective. Now, as a designer I strive to produce attractive work, but all too often I see things that look pretty, but don't communicate. I regularly see signs that are attractively designed, but don't work. They are too small or too subtle. I need to know to turn left to get to the food court or the worship center. A subtle sign that blends in nicely is not good design. Design, after all, is the balance of aesthetics and communication.

The other major lesson I learned is that I don't know everything. My parents decided to have the yard sale on Friday and Saturday instead of just Friday. I spent much of Thursday telling my wife not to worry when no one showed up on Friday, because that just isn't a good day for a yard sale. To prove my ineptitude, more people showed up on Friday than I have ever seen at a yard sale. It was amazing. The reason I didn't know people would show up is simple...I don't know the audience as well as I thought. I knew them only well enough to make the wrong assumption. In the church, assumptions are made regularly about who attends, and how to capture the attention of those who don't. Very rarely, however, do we actually talk to those who don't attend in order to provide an appropriate design piece.

Good design isn't just about looking pretty. It is about developing a piece that communicates effectively and yields results. If we are too focused on looks, or aren't evaluating the success of our products post production, most likely, we aren't nearly as effective as we think we are.