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‘Be a complete human being with moral and intellectual integrity and thoroughgoing technical competence. Be a transformer!’1
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‘Be a complete human being with moral and intellectual integrity and thoroughgoing technical competence. Be a transformer!’1
Because it is easy to use, good design always looks as if it is easy to do. But its rarity points to a surprising level of expertise that’s required.
The transformer model of information design addresses the problem of skills, motivation and roles.
It was developed in the 1930s by the Isotype Institute2 to develop their pioneering visual explanations and infographics. Their work depended both on good data from social scientists and on compelling graphic execution by graphic artists. They developed the specialist role of transformer – an intermediary who could interpret content, brief designers, and act as the reader’s representative.
The best writers, editors, journalists and art directors act as transformers, although they may not use the term. Occasionally the role has been revived – notably in the 1970s at the Open University and the British Museum of Natural History.3
Good transformers need a well-honed critical judgement, a wide repertoire of potential solutions, a deep empathy with users who may have different backgrounds and goals, and the humility to accept criticism and subject solutions to testing.
It’s about understanding and engineering the relationship between what you say, how you say it, and the resulting effects.
Michael Macdonald-Ross wrote in 1974:
Our message is humanistic: break down the barriers in the interests of the reader. Take responsibility for the success or failure of the communication. Do not accept a label or a slot on a production line. Be a complete human being with moral and intellectual integrity and thoroughgoing technical competence. Be a transformer!
1. Macdonald-Ross, M., & Waller, R. (2000). The transformer revisited. Information Design Journal, 9(2-3), 177-193.
2. Neurath, M., & Kinross, R. (2009). The transformer: Principles of making Isotype charts. Hyphen Press.
3. Perks, S. (2015). Transforming the Natural History Museum in London: Isotype and the new exhibition scheme. In S. Macdonald & H. Rees Leahy (Eds.), Museum Media. The International Handbooks of Museum Studies, 3, 389-418.