Elements of Communication Part 2 by Andy Rutledge

Resources

When you assume, you make an a–well, you know the old saw. We need to keep things G-rated around here.

Quick overview:
Andy continues to dig into the importance of assumed context in communication and conveying meaning he began in part one. When we make incorrect assumptions about context–becoming lazy in our interface copy or email correspondence, we leave ourselves open to miscommunication that can harm not only our projects, but more importantly, our relationships. Andy says that design is communication. He explains why we can’t simply rely on bold, italic, all caps, and punctuation–the physical qualities of text that attempt to convey meaning–that we must work to create the right context within our interactive designs to avoid miscommunication and convey meaning clearly.