Information design
So what exactly is information design, then?
Firstly, it's a phrase we're starting to hear more and more often, and that's because it's usually applied to the web. In fact it's a much older concept than that – but its usefulness is particularly obvious when applied to web site design.
Just as graphic design is all about using the way things look on the page or the screen to clarify the content and help guide the reader, user, learner or whatever around, information design aims to achieve the same thing but at a more fundamental level – as well as the look of the finished product, the way the information itself is structured and written is also intended to communicate complex ideas in a clear and concise manner.
Information design brings together a range of different disciplines – information analysis, writing, editing, learning design, graphic design – to make a coherent whole out of a set of 'raw' information. And the approach is just as valid for print as it is for web sites.
My experience of developing complex learning materials for delivery in print, on screen and on the web gives me a unique overview of the process. Guy Forster Information Design brings together all the skills required in one individual (yes, this is a one-person company, in case you were wondering!), and builds on that strength with a network of specialist freelance writers, open learning editors, designers, programmers, printers and others.
For some examples of the variety of my work, see the on-line portfolio.
So if you have a complex information project to deliver, in whatever medium, contact me for expert advice, ideas and inspiration.
