We designers are often viewed by our corporate clients as inessential cogs in the great world of commerce. The Palm Beach ballot is a prime example of how bad design can confuzzle the world. The fact is that a page layout is a conversation between the reader and the elements on the page, and it needs to make sense. It can be a complete and well articulated dialog, or it can be unintelligible and non-sequitur. The designer's job is to understand and anticipate the reader's eye, and to move that eye in a smooth and pre-determined path across the page.
Great layout is invisible.
It's part of what makes the Mac OS GUI successful, because rather than bringing attention to itself, the GUI stays quiet, letting the user's familiarity and intuition guide their productivity. This contrasts with the view of many programmers and Windows users. We just don't think that's where it should stop. Whether form follows function, or the other way around, both elements are essential. And the election controversy should heighten our awareness of how even simple design informs our lives.