Communication Design Quarterly Apr 2013 Open Access

Cargo cults in information design

Michael J. Albers East Carolina University

Abstract

There are a multitude of rules of writing and design. Cargo cult design occurs when designers rigidly apply a design rule without a clear understanding of why the rule exists or whether it applies to the situation. The rules moved into the status of being a rule for a reason. It is important for designers to understand those reasons so they can critically analyze the situation and make decisions about the applicability of the rule. Successful design requires deeply understanding and working within the situational context and not blindly applying generic rules.

Journal
Communication Design Quarterly
Published
2013-04-01
DOI
10.1145/2466489.2466501
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Open Access
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Topics
technical communication
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References (10) · 1 in this index

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