It is about the way we understand things, the way we perceive, decode and interpret intended messages and meanings in any place for any purpose. From web forms to cultural aesthetics and from the business environment to civic life.
Some of them are required in order to understand the world around us, others may be needed for more vital usage (e.g. ‘Way Out’ signs).
In today’s growing Information Society, the ability to navigate through signs and communication messages may sometimes equal normality of living.
It is argued that ‘when the design of information is left to chance the result is information anxiety’[1].
This can be avoided with the organisation of meanings, which is accompanied by the proper design and placement in the daily space.
Information Design has to do with the taxonomy of signs and messages.
It is about the perceptions people develop about the world via the communication function (from websites, online videos and paper products, to road billboards and buildings).
It is the public ID (identity) of communicative intentions.
Getting wrong may result to poor messaging systems or bad taste imagery. But getting it right may contribute positively to people’s sense of well-being. It may even boost business or growth activities such as tourism or urban development and restoration or areas.
The politics of better living and the happiness economy movement in Europe[2] is directly connected to the aesthetics of the living environment, along with the social, economic, as well as commercial effectiveness of signing systems.
In this framework, what becomes quite relevant is the concept of Aesthetic well-being[3], that includes works of art, but also experiences within rich urban environments. Its generic meaning can be found in the Aristotelian concept of good life as a balanced and harmonious whole.
[1] Erik Spiekermann, 2002 on aiga.org.
[2] For instance, see Layard, Richard (2005) Happiness: lessons from a new science (Penguin, London, UK)
[3] See for instance Arto Haapala’s writings at the University of Helsinki.
