# a bad mime needs a narrator A teacher once said this in an offhand manner one day in class. It struck quite a nerve with me, as all good metaphors tend to do. I've repeated it often in my own design classes as a reminder to students that quality work should speak for itself. The point of pantomime is to convey an idea through unspoken poses and actions. If the mime needs someone to explain the concepts then they aren't doing their job very well. Similarly, a good design should say what it needs to say as simply and coherently as possible. It should not take extra effort to explain what is happening or what needs to be done. > A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it, it’s not that good. > > — Martin LeBlanc Another related bit of wisdom: I remember a particularly painful presentation by a student who had very little artwork to present. To make up for the lack of art on the wall, he started in on quite an expansive story about the deeper meaning of reality. Of course, this had absolutely nothing to do with the visuals hanging on the wall. After letting him philosophize for awhile, the teacher abruptly interrupted with this wonderful nugget: "I prefer illustrations with my stories. Do you have any pictures to go with this tale?" The poor student couldn't come up with a response and so the presentation ended quickly after that. --- ### idiots _make this its own page?_ "First rule of design: People are idiots" cynical attitude, but also a good rule to follow. The designer's job is to deliver the message as clearly as possible to prevent misinterpretation. Book that puts it more tolerably: "Don't make me think" by [Steve Krug](https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/don-t-make-me-think-key-learning-points-for-ux-design-for-the-web). Contrast this with the ideas of friction and closure in that it is sometimes good to make things a little harder to understand. Being intentionally vague makes the user work a little to understand the information. The user becomes engaged and connected to the piece because they are connecting the dots you have laid out for them. It is a delicate balancing act: you don't want to be too explicit, but you also don't want to confuse and cause misunderstanding. --- tags: #creativity #process #storytelling home: [[! creative process]]