About

Designing communication with empathy

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People aren't products

Design has two sides that make it either fun or frustrating. It can be used to serve solutions or create propaganda. Soulful movies and the soulless ads that interrupt them are both carefully crafted products of design. They help illustrate the different ends of design: to impose or empower. Design feeds us information, but that doesn't automatically make it nourishing. Design is shaped by its organization of value. Those values are off when a user is beaten and badgered by ads, popups, unnecessary features, and click-arounds.

Mindful users feel the intentions underneath a design. Their gut tells them what it values, and it's not always what the messaging claims. In my eyes, serving money-grabbing or attention-holding with design talent is a kind of malpractice. Designing with these intentions usually means a willingness to impose someone else's interests over the user's needs.

The other side of design is warm, caring, and interested in those needs. Creativity is used to solve real life problems by excavating truth, revealing what's important, and applying it skillfully and honestly. Attention is earned by clarity instead of tricks, and wealth is earned by the fair exchange of value. When the job is done, everyone goes home happy.

Graphic design is fundamentally about communication, but with an exciting visual twist. In the beginning there's a huge gap between speaker and audience. Then with empathy and creativity, graphic design can be used to carry out the message and make the connection. I feel inspired when language and design are combined to brighten the world.

Summary

Experience

Education

Tools

Notes

View my full resume at Linkedin.com/in/kalebkendall
Available for work and volunteering opportunities.
To work with me on a project or get in touch, send a message to hi(at)kalebkendall.com.

Hobbies and interests