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Sylvia Harris ’80MFA
November/December 2004
by Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow ’01

Sylvia Harris is a design strategist who studies how people process and understand information in the public realm. She taught at the School of Art from 1990 to 2000 and now works independently from her home in Brooklyn. She is the principal of “The Vote Project,” a continuing effort to investigate, and educate citizens about, the role of design in the voting process. Harris is a fellow of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Design.

Y: Isn’t design just for architects and fashion? What does it have to do with voting?

H: If the officials in Palm Beach County had consulted designers when they redesigned the butterfly ballot [for the 2000 election], they might have designed it properly and not lost all those votes. The election administrator knew that the elderly population was having problems, so she redesigned the ballot in order to help them. But she redesigned it in a way that made it more confusing—because she didn’t understand basic design principles.

Y: Are there any conspiracy theories floating around in the design community about intentionally confusing ballot design? Or is it sheer incompetence?

H: I wouldn’t even call it incompetence. It was ignorance in that case. I would say that many, many election officials want to do the right thing, but they don’t realize that there’s a comprehensive art and science to laying out information so that people can understand it.

Y: How did you approach your study of voting?

H: We looked at every stage of the process. The voting cycle begins with education—helping people learn what their rights are. The educational materials that the government produces could be much better. Voting registration forms are also notoriously bad. Navigation is something that’s way overlooked. It’s really important that street signs be clear, that precincts be marked. More people need to be asked as they leave the polls, “Well, how did it go? Did you find your way here, did you get lost? Did you cast a vote at all or did you give up?”

Y: What’s an example of good information design?

H: Bank applications. They’re very easy to use, because they want your money.

Y: You were the lead design strategist for the 2000 census. What made the census bureau decide to hire a designer?

H: I was teaching a class at Yale’s graduate school of graphic design. We decided to redesign the census as a class project. At the end of it, I said, “We have all this work—what are we going to do with it?” So I called the census bureau. And the timing was just right—they were very concerned about the declining response to the census. They said, “Yes! Come on down!”

Y: Did they let you change anything?

H: We changed everything. We gave it a brand identity, we changed the color palette and improved the layout. Essentially, we tried to move it from looking like an SAT-type test to a much more friendly, commercial-type form.

Y: Are you a pioneer in bringing friendly design to  government forms?

H: Maybe. There are not that many graphic designers who work in the public realm. The public realm not only doesn’t pay as well, but the process can be frustrating. You’re dealing with governments and bureaucracies and the general public. I made a commitment to do this kind of work because I thought it was a great way to do the work I love and have a positive effect in the world. When I was at Yale, one of my role models was my teacher Bradbury Thompson. He worked for the federal government and designed many of the postage stamps in the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

Y: Is there a project you’ve found particularly  challenging?

I’ve been working on the U.S. Postal Service stamp advisory committee. Congress is forever coming up with ideas for stamps that are politically motivated. Some of them are great, like the breast cancer stamp. Some are really awful, but I can’t mention names—they probably went to Yale for all I know.

Y: What’s an example of a place that’s crying out for better information design?

One time I went to a big major hospital here in New York. I asked the man at the front desk, “Do you have a map?” He said, “What do you think we are? A subway system?” And I remember thinking, “Yes! You are a transit system.” I wanted all the cues and bells and whistles that go along with that. And they had none, because they thought they were a hospital.

Y: Is design in the private sector more effective than the public sector?

There’s no contest. The amount of money spent on an ad campaign for Coca-Cola far outweighs what’s spent in the city of New York communicating with people. The private sector understands the value of good design. If you communicate well, you get what you want.  

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