[Web4lib] controlling bad design

[Mary Beth Faccioli]

Seems I'm coming around again to issues faced years back.  I'll be digging out old material on this and recompiling, but I also am wondering about any current takes.

I'm finding that the minimalist presentation approach that encourages the use of images and visual approaches (some call it Presentation Zen) is creating another wave of terrible stuff being added to web pages and presentations, and I need to address this at my current organization.

If you have various people in your organization who are doing their own content creation on the web using some kind of content management approach, or people newly empowered to create presentations for online delivery and other purposes, and you have some kind of 1) policy statement or 2) best design practices in place regarding the use of animations, clip art etc. - would you be willing to share those with me through links or other means (attachment in an email sent to me perhaps)?  Also, any good links to very straightforward resources that have basic design principles and things to avoid would be appreciated.  I look at a number of blogs on presentation but I'm wondering if anyone on the list can recommend any gems that are pithy and clear.

Thanks in advance -

Mary Beth Faccioli, MLIS
Instructional Design & Technology Consultant
Colorado State Library