What are you conveying?
What is the true measure of design? Many critique the elements of design by starting with preferences about color, type, or layout. But the true starting place for judging the value of design is conveyance.
    “Conveyance” may be defined as 1: a [legal] document effecting a property transfer 2: the transmission of information 3: something that serves as a means of transportation.
    In design communication, conveyance means that each aspect of a design (text, color, components or images) can be used to help transfer the message or theme to the audience—in short, to communicate. That should be the task of the designer, to construct a bridge between you and your target audience. Sometimes this requires analysis, sometimes intuition. But, however it is accomplished, three things must happen:
    1. Conveyance requires research—the audience must be known, not just identified.
    2. Conveyance requires creativity—must be unique and interesting in order to be noticed.
    3. Conveyance requires coordination—each aspect of the concept, composition and components needs to be centered on the audience and purpose.

Designer, brand thyself: Our new look

The results of our new self-branding efforts are seen in all our communications. Shown here are our website, stationery and sample card. We hope they communicate not just our passion for design but our philosophy as well.

It has been said that the hardest client to work for is yourself. This past year we developed a new branding for our stationery, web site and sales materials, and now we know this proverb is true.
    For Design Corps branding we naturally had to use something from the World War II era to be consistent. And, with our emphasis on design as communication, we settled on a military "code-letter" matrix, like something that might have been used by Military Intelligence and Signal Security services. In a sense, effective design and visual communication is a way to "decode" sometimes cryptic corporate information and language into a message that means something to your target audience. Thus, the new Design Corps tagline—“turning information into communication”.
    Check out the new Design Corps web site. In the coming weeks we will have even more information and resources useful to buyers of design and creative services.