Library graphic design best practices and approval processes
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore graphic design best practices and approval processes used by librarians.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used an online, qualitative survey to collect data on librarians’ design processes and best practices. The responses were reviewed to determine categories and themes of librarians’ design processes and best practices to gain an understanding of the state of graphic design in libraries.
Findings
The majority of the respondents reported that there were no formal guidelines, design committees or approval processes at their libraries. While some librarians were aware of and used graphic design best practices, many respondents were unsure of what constituted a best practice in graphic design.
Research limitations/implications
The paper was exploratory and the respondents cannot be said to be representative of all librarians and, therefore, generalizations to all librarians are not possible.
Practical implications
Findings may help librarians who assume design duties in their libraries in exploring best practices and discussing design approval processes.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the few papers in the library science literature on graphic design as applied specifically to librarians. It increases our understanding of graphic design in libraries.
Keywords
Citation
Wakimoto, D.K. (2016), "Library graphic design best practices and approval processes", New Library World, Vol. 117 No. 1/2, pp. 63-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-07-2015-0049
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited