Design, data and delivery are the three D’s of communicating with color. They are the essential ingredients to using the power of color in a way that benefits the customer communication strategy. When you evaluate your customer communication to determine if you are using good information design techniques, using your data effectively and appropriately, and delivering a valuable experience for the recipient, you may be surprised what you find.

Why should I care about design?

Good question. Over the last 25 years a large number of HVTO documents have emerged from the print rooms of corporate and print-for-pay bill printers around the world. Many of those billing statements, regulatory notices, term change addendums, and other HVTO documents have never had the benefit of the guiding hand of a qualified designer.

Many of these documents were programmed by forms programmers and forms designers who were skilled in the use of specific products associated with HVTO print devices. Their mission was to get as much text as possible on the page to keep the number of pages destined for the envelope to a minimum. There was often a preprinted shell to get the corporate logo on to the sheet, but that was the limit of color. Gray bars and black lines were used to segment information, but rarely was there an effort to use information design techniques to ensure that the information and calls to action (pay the bill!) would be heeded.

As HVTO professionals we were rarely challenged to do better because we were already pushing the limits of the technology. Times have changed, and that is no longer good enough to stay competitive. Bill printers are being challenged by their internal and external customers to create customer-facing documents that are easier to read, easier to understand, and easier to pay.

Nathan Shedroff, in Information Interaction Design: Unified Field Theory of Design, says, “One of the most important skills for almost everyone to have in the next decade and beyond will be those that allow us to create valuable, compelling, and empowering information and experiences for others.”  That is our mission in the HVTO world; to use the power of design to inform and educate our customers using the best the current technology has to offer for document formatting, workflow, campaign management, and now, color.

Does that mean that there can be no communication without color? No, but information design with color optimizes your ability to direct the attention of the bill recipient. Better navigation and better information retention lead to a better experience for the customer and often leads to fewer calls to the call center. That’s why you should care about Design.

Next time we’ll talk about the data.  Where does it come from? What can you really do with it? Can you enhance it?  What are the privacy issues? And, don’t forget, this is a dialogue. Send your questions, ideas, concerns and challenges, and let’s make it a conversation

Pat McGrew, EDP, is the Data Center and Transaction Segment Evangelist at Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group.  Her email address is Pat.McGrew@kodak.com