Good information design is a form of hospitality that never introduces itself. A sign that actually answers the question in a stranger’s head means they do not have to ask anyone, or look lost, or pay in small humiliations for not knowing the city yet. Independence turns out to be largely a matter of whether the necessary facts were put where people would look. Where the display is bad, the same fare buys anxiety instead.

Look at something you have written or built that other people have to navigate. Find one place where a newcomer would have to ask, and answer it in advance.