Design is both a strategic and a creative process that, when successful, results in an articulate visual message. Visual communication design must be accountable to the demands of the content-the story, the message, the facts, and so on; the needs of an audience; and the ever-changing technologies that support an exchange between those with a message to send and those with an interest in receiving the message. This communication effort is complicated for even the most seasoned designers or journalists. This column will explore design issues through the critique of contemporary examples from around the world, with a complementary discussion of potential research questions as well as practical ways to apply the lessons learned in professional or teaching situations.

My personal approach to this column is to make it as useful and interesting as possible. I hope to add to the arsenal of skills and resources that all of us employ to make sense of this thing called "design." Finally, my goal is to make it fun, because fun is good; and to make it meaningful, because meaning is just as good.

By Design for Volume 14.1, Volume 14.3