Know your users first
Users are the people who will read, listen to or use your message. Ask four questions: Who are they (age, language, reading level)? What do they already know? Where will they see it (phone, wall, bus)? Why do they need it?
A message that is clear to its maker may not be clear to the user. Design for the user, not for yourself.
Designing content for users
- One main message. Say the most important thing first and make it the biggest.
- Simple words and short sentences. Use the words your users use.
- Order and groups. Put related items close and use space between groups.
- Readable text. Big size, strong contrast between text and background. Never use colour alone to give meaning. Add a word or a shape.
- Right medium. A wall poster for a school corridor, a voice message for people who cannot read, a short video for a how-to.
- Everyone can use it. This is universal design: sign plus sound, text plus picture, for the widest range of people.
Evaluating the design
To evaluate means to test the design with real users and see what happens. Ask a few users from your target group to read or use it. Watch them without helping. Note where they pause, get it wrong or ask questions. Then ask: Did they get the main message? How long did they take? What did they like or find hard?
Even five testers show most of the big problems. Use numbers when you can: for example, "3 out of 5 could read it from 4 metres".
Improving and repeating
Use what you saw. Change one or two things at a time, such as text size or colour, so you know what helped. Then test again. This loop is: design โ test โ improve โ test again.
You stop when the people you designed for can use it easily. A design is never about how pretty it is. It is about whether it works.
Try it
Make a poster for your class about "water is precious". Show it to three people for five seconds each and ask what the message was. Change the poster using what they say, then test with three new people. Count the improvement.
Key formulas and definitions
- Loop: Know the user โ One clear message โ Choose medium โ Test โ Improve โ Test again
- Test result = (users who succeeded) / (users tested), e.g. 3 / 5
- Readable = big enough text + strong contrast + short distance or large size
- Universal design: more than one way to receive the message
Worked examples
1. A poster has 10 lines of tiny grey text. Give three changes that help the users.
Keep only the most important 2 or 3 lines, increase the text size, and use dark text on a light background. Add one picture that shows the meaning.
2. You test a notice with 5 pupils and 2 can read it from the back of the room. What fraction and percent can read it, and what should you do?
2 / 5 = 40 percent. Make the text bigger and darker, then test again with new pupils.
3. A health message must reach older villagers who do not read well. Choose a medium and say why.
A spoken announcement with big pictures. Voice does not need reading, and pictures show the meaning. Add short text for those who can read.
4. After a change, 4 of 5 testers could read a poster, compared with 1 of 5 before. By how many percentage points did it improve?
Before: 20 percent. After: 80 percent. Improvement = 80 โ 20 = 60 percentage points.
Common mistakes
- Designing for yourself instead of for the users.
- Putting many messages on one poster, so the main message is lost.
- Using colour alone to carry meaning, which fails for people who cannot tell the colours apart.
- Skipping the test, or changing everything at once so you cannot tell what helped.