What Have We Learned from Communication Design Failure

ABSTRACT In closing, the guest editors of this Visible Language special series reflect on the failures identified in the various papers and interpret what this suggests for design education and research in the context of changing practice. The failures cited in this series point out the fractures in our understanding and practices from user-centered, digital, process-oriented, cultural, ethical and even safety-oriented perspectives. Three common themes are explored as context: theory, ethics and process. The need to update design education and identify research needs are discussed based on what the papers in this series suggest. Fractures in our understanding and practice of communication design are evident in the "Communication Design Failure" series. Before discussing what these faults might suggest to design education or research, it is worthwhile to take a moment for an overview of the papers, to identify their common characteristics because the three themes that emerge signal a shift in attention. Such reflection helps us to better learn from failure. IDENTIFYING COMMON THEMES * Theory Five authors anchored their discussion with theory that structured their critical approach to failure (see table 1). The theories ranged from a detailed analytic use of visual rhetoric (van der Waarde) to an examination of semiotics and semiology along with individual interpretations and applications (Storkerson). Diffusion theory (Lee) and an anthropological approach to communication theory (Singer) took another perspective on meaning in design, while critical realism grounded a more extensive look at stakeholders (Doherty). Theory is often dismissed as inconsequential in design, yet here theory is explored and used purposefully. * Ethics Ethical failures were cited in terms of information authenticity (Lee) and in terms of safety located in the realm of information confusion based on overload and lack of integration (Roesler) or based on confusing form (Singer). Designers do not often consider the harm information can inflict. The examples of failure raise the question of truth telling. Whether it is an intentionally misleading form in the case of Singer's ambulance/mailbox for example, or a careless rendering of history in the case of Lee's Ibn Battuta Mall, the question is what responsibility the designer has relative to the character of the content and form presented to a public. In the case of Three Mile Island control panels (Roesler), process shortcomings, while typical of the time, led to near disaster. As abundant information is more easily distributed and accessible to the public, two approaches to information ethics are apparent: "let the recipient beware" places responsibility on the user of information to determine its truthfulness, the other is to hold those who produce it responsible for accurate and clear information. Neither approach by itself will solve the ethically rooted quality problem. For example, the proliferation and persistence of 'urban legends' are a clear demonstration of the scope of misinformation and the inability to eliminate it. * Process All of the contributors to the Failure series discussed a changing design process from various points of view including in particular: stakeholders, decision-making and systems. Recognition of more complex relationships among stakeholders and how to manage their requirements, desires, conflicting needs and priorities was dealt with directly (Doherty, van der Waarde, McDonald) or indirectly (Barnes et al.). Managing expectations and results from various stakeholder perspectives is a result of a broader understanding of design process and who the process and result impacts and serves. These can be delicate and politically charged relationships that directly alter the design result. Closely related to this is the issue of decision-making. In the past designers have understood their role to be that of artist/creator, with significant decision-making power if they had a good relationship with their client, or conversely they understood their role as handmaiden to their client's decisions. …