This form was different. This was not a product of multiple rounds of photocopying and faxing. This was a true original, printed on a 50 lb. offset sheet. The information had an easily-understood order of importance. The text was large enough to be read by most people, but not too large like a children’s book. There was no confusion like “okay, am I supposed to write above the line or below the line?” They even included 1-color icons next to headlines letting you know why your time was valuable. And it satisfied the “make it colorful” request I get from nearly every client.

If I could do two things differently, I would have used the same heirarchy of lettered sections, then numbered questions in the separate Guide. The Guide only had numbered explanations separated by long sentences of bold-oblique text explaining why there was a section break.

I would also like to see an online version. I’m sure the Census Bureau is adept at reading poor handwriting like mine, but wouldn’t an online form be faster for them to receive my input? They estimate 38 minutes to complete the form, so there would have to be some way the respondent could draft parts of the form, and come back later to fill in the rest.

I just wanted to share this exmple of design making a difference. Hopefully non-designers appreciate it when their address gets picked for the mandatory survey.

Has anybody else experienced design making a difference?