reading response #6

"Is it Possible to Touch Somebody's Heart with Design?" by Stefen Sagmeister

First of all, I really love how this is laid out. Sagmeister pays so much attention to every detail, and he really knows how to design books so they're not exactly how you expect them to be. Already this is inspiration for my project; I do not want my board game to be 'typical' or look like the other board games on the shelf, because I think they're crap. They have no visual hierarchy, the colors are everywhere, and there's no more attention paid to the package than the game because it just plasters pictures of people playing it all over. Get creative! Do something innovative with your box! Here are some examples of board games with amazing designs that don't fit the norm:

I know I've used this one before but I still love it! A design student re-worked the Monopoly packaging, bringing it down to its most basic elements and using a warm yet neutral color palette. This makes the game look more classic and timeless, making its history apparent to the person playing it. 

Another design student created this packaging for the Swedish game Pendago. It is so elegant, rich, and modern. I love how the instructions are on the inside top of the box and is reflective. He really thought about using every inch of the packaging to represent the intellectual side of the game, and I want to use every inch of mine to represent the process of working through issues but while being fun.

This cute banana-shaped pouch holds pieces that go to the game Bananagrams. This Scrabble-like game is more fast-paced and has less rules and counting points, allowing the players to think less about how to play and more about what words they'll use. It has a very universal feel; people that speak other languages would probably be able to still play with the addition of a few other characters. I like the simplicity of this game, and I would like mine to be just as simple so the couple can get to the root of the issue without worrying about how they're going to get there.

Overall, the whole notion of designing to touch someone's heart is sort of foreign to me. I am a very, what you would say 'corporate' designer; I like my logos and my layouts to be clean and efficient with little clutter, and although this can touch your heart if done in the proper way, it's never been my goal and often can come off looking sterile and rigid. I've never thought about this concept, but I guess it's what we've been learning all along; we need to learn our clients or our products to properly design for them or it, and the logo or design needs to speak to them if it's going to speak to anyone else. With this project though, my design HAS to touch their hearts. I am, after all, dealing with the subject closest to the heart: love and relationships. 

I may end up solving this problem not through the look and feel, but through the intimate experience of the game. It's only for two people, making it so you have to have alone time with your partner to play it, and it requires you to set the mood to make the experience more enjoyable. The activities that the couple plays are going to be designed to allow them to learn more about each other and create a stronger connection. I think this touches the heart in many ways; the couple should feel like I really understand relationship issues because I've been through them and it's very important to me to keep my relationship healthy and the lines of communication open. 

I feel like that a lot of what Sagmeister says in this pertains to some very personal projects, and the things that touch someone's heart may not do it for others. The t-shirt he wore for his mom during the interview was a nice design, and it was a nice gesture, but how many other people appreciated it? But is that what's important; should we aim to make as many people happy as possible or do a really good job at making one person happy? I think I want to make as many people as happy as I can, and this game should do that.