I agree completely with the author. An important stage in the design process that seems to have been omitted in Palm Beach is the testing stage. If they had made the effort to test the ballot before putting it into service, this flaw may have surfaced.
An interesting news story now surfacing is that the 3000 votes for Buchanan came from predominantly African-American precints, not the Jewish neighborhoods that were reported by the press. If only good design could eliminate the political spin process!
Submitted by johnfoerster on Fri, 11/17/2000 - 08:36.
Graphically the ballot was ordinary, but I found it clear and easy to use. I'm 62 years old. I'm also a graphic designer with forty years experience and considered to be good at what I do. The problem appears to be with the way votes are counted and not the ballot itself
Submitted by allan mirkin on Wed, 11/29/2000 - 09:20.
Great article!! There are some inherent truths about design that we all need to keep in mind, and the foremost is to make sure that the design "works", i.e, communicates what is intended. It is unfortunate that particularly poignant example of "design gone wrong" might have such disastrous consequences for our nation and our world. I think the ballot debacle has really brought the importance of good design into the minds of the general public. Let us hope that one positive outcome -- regardless of the result of the election itself -- is that this increased sensivity leads to a greater appreciation for our profession.
The following article in USA Today is a nice complement, I think:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest.htm
absolutely
I agree completely with the author. An important stage in the design process that seems to have been omitted in Palm Beach is the testing stage. If they had made the effort to test the ballot before putting it into service, this flaw may have surfaced.
An interesting news story now surfacing is that the 3000 votes for Buchanan came from predominantly African-American precints, not the Jewish neighborhoods that were reported by the press. If only good design could eliminate the political spin process!
2nd graders
here in chicago they had a 2nd graders "vote" on on of these ballots with no errors…
the ballot was clear to me.
Graphically the ballot was ordinary, but I found it clear and easy to use. I'm 62 years old. I'm also a graphic designer with forty years experience and considered to be good at what I do. The problem appears to be with the way votes are counted and not the ballot itself
A nice complementary article in USA Today
Great article!! There are some inherent truths about design that we all need to keep in mind, and the foremost is to make sure that the design "works", i.e, communicates what is intended. It is unfortunate that particularly poignant example of "design gone wrong" might have such disastrous consequences for our nation and our world. I think the ballot debacle has really brought the importance of good design into the minds of the general public. Let us hope that one positive outcome -- regardless of the result of the election itself -- is that this increased sensivity leads to a greater appreciation for our profession.
The following article in USA Today is a nice complement, I think:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest.htm