I’ve been away for a bit, mostly for Christmas, but I’ve also spent some time learning and re-learning some things I didn’t know or thought I knew better than I did. I’ve been inspired, surprised, bothered, and confused. It’s all part of the process of becoming a great designer. If you’re on my tall people list, you probably know exactly what I mean. If you’re learning too, take notes.
Content comes first
First, and probably most important, I got a kick in the rear from Eris about my putting out content without bringing as much in. In her design in-flight article last year entitled Quality Control she writes:
Slow down. We all have this need for our output data to match the speed of all our incoming data. There’s nothing wrong with fast production if it doesn’t hinder the level of quality. But remember that other people consume what you put out there (another reason not to consume bad data, you just end up putting it back out there for others to consume). If, in your desire to stay “fresh”, you compromise quality, then you’ll soon be filtered out by others.
This is something I’ve neglected quietly behind the scenes here. In an effort to be fresh and readable, I’ve chosen to put out new information, new posts, as much as I’m capable so that there’s always something there for you to read. What I missed somehow is that what you’re reading here might not be (let’s be honest, really hasn’t been) great quality content. So add this to my resolutions this year and let me ask for you to keep me accountable to great content.
Focus on the scope, not the details
The folks at Design by Fire have an article, entitled avoid results oriented thinking that I will refer back to a lot. Andrei uses a poker analogy, but I understand roulette better, so that’s what I’ll relay to you.
When I was single I played the wheel a lot. I adopted a strategy a blackjack dealer boyfriend taught me and it paid off at least 90% of the time. Here’s what I did. I watched the wheel for about 20-30 spins, getting a feel for where the numbers were falling on that table on that night. There was usually some sort of dependable pattern, some way the numbers were leaning. I would bet just the minimum (typically $5), but I bet two bets, one on 1/3 of the numbers and another on a second third. At this point I had a 2/3 chance of a win. Granted, I would absolutely lose $5 no matter what, but I had a 60% chance of winning, and if I did, I would win triple my bet. So, I’d lose $5 over here and I’d win $15 over there. Take away the $10 I started with and I just made $5. If I timed it right, I’d consistently win $5 on 8/10 spins.
Now, most people, after losing to the third third (losing both fives) would think something was off in the system and try another “strategy” that would likely lose them even more. I got impatient a couple of times and lost $20 or so. But the times when I stuck it out, patiently waiting for the ball to rest, I came out with $100+ and a feeling of accomplishment. The boyfriend always wondered why I kept my bet at the minimum and I said it was part of the strategy. If I strayed, I’d lose.
The point to all this is that design is the same as roulette (or any game of its kind). There’s a strategy, a process. I tend to focus too much on the little things the client wants and not the entire scope of the design. Instead of sitting patiently while I lose a few “bucks” here and there, I’m mourning those bucks and trying to shift my strategy. In the end all I get is a headache when those small shifts turn into big problems in the code, the accessibility, browser compatibility and more, all for the sake of a header size that was off or a margin that was too wide.
I say “I love standards” but do I really?
YES!!! I might even be a little picky about that, but it’s so important. This is something I learn more about every day, and it’s something I’m proud to say I live by every day (even when I’m being pressured to do A, B, or C “because it just looks better in my browser”). This is no fault of a client’s since what a site looks like is all they know.
Part of what I want to accomplish, however, is educating people about this thing called standards. It’s not enough to say, “I’m sorry, but that really won’t work.” Maybe I don’t have the credibility yet or the rock star credentials to earn an “okie dokie” response, but more than that, people want to know why. Why can’t it be done the way they want it to be done?
Why can’t I just put a bunch of <br> tags to make a gap? One, because <br> is not good code - it’s <br /> now. And two, because <br /> should never be used for formatting other than to force a line break within a paragraph. One of the keys to standards compliance, I’ve learned, is to do very little if any actually design work in the HTML code. Anything that has to do with the look of a site can and should be done within the stylesheet. Inline styles, <font> tags and such are just begging for trouble later on.
Without getting into too many specifics, I want to point out the importance of web standards and my goal in adhering to them. My weakness has been in trying to make a site graphically appealing without paying as much attention to the way it works. Much like a car mechanic who only paints your car a new shiny color, I’ll be setting my clients up for a wreck later if I don’t take better care of the “engine” of the site today. The paint can come later.
Muffin Research Labs’ Become a better Standardista is so far the best summary of how to adapt to standards and improve your design credibility in doing so.
I make a difference as a designer
Finally, I’ve come to understand something really profound about my life as a designer. Since I was a kid, my hobbies were always my own. When I collected stamps, I collected the ones I thought were pretty, not the ones my dad said would be worth money someday. As a designer, I’ve always designed what I thought looked (and was functionally) beautiful. However, through guys like Andy Rutledge I’ve learned that “unlike artists, we designers are completely beholden to factors outside of our own aims and desires.”
Andy has written a piece called Making a Difference, Pt. 1: Possibilities and Responsibilities. This is just the first part, but it has already inspired me to focus more on my client and try to get into his/her head/heart more, to try to see what it is they’re looking for in a design. More importantly, however, I’ve grown a deeper need not for the client or for me, but for the end user - the person who will browse and stay or click and flee.
Having been thrown into blog designing, simply because of the high demand for it, I’ve come to understand how a design effects both the readers and the writer. If you don’t like what you see on your website, you won’t love the way your content fills it in and eventually you’ll care less about filling in that content and your site will drift to a slow crawl, or possibly even drop dead altogether. Andy uses his own personal experience and explains it better than I can:
I used to do a lot of writing by hand. I much preferred to write articles on a legal pad with a favorite brand and model of pen than to type them for the first draft. I hated to write with any pen other than that particular one. In fact, I would often find that if I tried to use a different pen, my writing was poor and I lost interest in the activity rather quickly. With my favorite pen, however, writing was a joy and the quality of my writing was much improved. All of that from just a pen that offered a well-designed experience.”
I know just how he feels. I threw out all my ball point pens a long time ago. I prefer a liquid ink that bleeds just a little as I write. And I like a soft, absorbent paper, preferably with some fiber showing. And for designs I like clean lines and neutral colors. I like curves, but only one at a time, nothing too swooshy. But it’s not about me, is it? Didn’t think so. It’s about you you the reader, you the client, and you the one with the more powerful mouse in your hand, ready to click away from any given site of my creation. You have all the power and influence. It’s time I listen.
The Resolutions
- Create quality content and shut up until I have it
- Keep my eye on the process, the strategy, and don’t let the little stuff get in the way no matter how painful they seem at the time
- Stick to the rules, hone those skills, and never be satisfied with something because it “works” or because it looks neat; make sure it succeeds and validates (warnings being unavoidable, of course)
- Remember my purpose and the effects of my designs; remember how serious my job is and what a positive and negative difference I can make
