- Consistency in design can be a wonderful thing.
It helps the viewer digest the information,
provides a sense of cohesiveness,
and conveys clarity and order.
Without elements that remain consistent,
the viewer can be lost in a sea of varied forms.
As human beings, we look for patterns.
It's how we think.
We organize form into recognizable symbols.
We assign meaning to an element that we see repeated.
A stop sign with a red background tells me to stop,
a purple one is less clear,
or when I put a headline in the same place on each page,
the viewer expects to always see it there.
I can guide the viewer by maintaining consistency
in type sizes or styles for specific information,
layout, position and color.
Consistency is also a great asset
when a designer is working with complex information.
Websites that are easy to navigate
have consistent elements.
The navigation stays the same from page to page.
Column delineate different kinds of content.
Even if the page is dense with complicated content,
I know where I can go.
I once had a client at a major corporation
who hated the corporate typeface in color.
On each project, he suggested
we switched to a different font and color.
While this led to some interesting layouts,
the result was a confused identity
that the viewer couldn't recognize.
Think of it this way,
we know that an item is an Apple item,
even if we don't see the logo.
The color, typography and layout choices,
give us that information.
The dark side of consistency is the boring part.
Too much of the same thing can become wallpaper,
we stop seeing it.
A layout fails when the designer is so rigidly
within a small set of elements
that there is no room for surprise, variety, and change.
When every page looks identical,
regardless of the content, it becomes dull.
The viewer will eventually grow bored
and set it aside, or go to another website.
A very wise designer once told me,
"A wedding invitation should not look the same
"as a funeral announcement."
The fine line here, is to maintain enough consistency
to help the viewer understand the content
but to allow for change.
Even the most utilitarian communications
should be clear but interesting.
People enjoy solutions that are surprising
and keep their interest.