This past month I’ve focused solely on the accessibility and usability of web design. I’ve spent a long time considering how this fits into my daily practice, for real clients and personal projects, and all the ideals, limitations and opportunities involved.
In my article Transitioning as a Web Designer I sum up a very practical evolution in the way I design and build websites on a day-to-day basis. It probably helps that I’m working on some very exciting projects at the moment. I’m feeling very positive about the next year, more so than last September when I considered hanging up my wireless Magic Mouse (metaphorically of course) to become a Google engineer or something. Like that was ever going to happen…
I’ve had another realisation today. One of the biggest challenges for a designer is educating clients that there is more to website design than making it “look good” and I consider aesthetics only 20% of the project at most.
However, we judge a book by its cover and while aesthetics may only be a small percent, it is still the gate keeper.
I should take time to reflect on my own aesthetic style.
Unlike the development side of website creation I see no need to continually transition to the newest and shiniest things. There are a lot of trends that pulsate around the online community, whether it’s glossy buttons or grainy backgrounds there’s always something popular. I prefer what I know, slowly evolving my style through considered research and exposure the the wider arts and perception of the world in general.
If you think that makes me sound like a wanker I’m sure you’d prefer to ‘read’ one of the myriad of trendy inspiration “top 50″ lists on another design blog :)
I keep two words in my head when I design. They are simplicity and focus. I’ll avoid the word “minimalism” because that upsets people but you get the point – I don’t really do grunge, DIY or anything heavily stylised. That’s not to say I don’t like those styles but they’re just not me. I like light colours and a clarity of content. I’ve written about The Visual Hierarchy and that applies strongly to my approach, especially with typography.
I challenge every graphical element that I add. What value does it have? What purpose does it serve? If I can’t justify an element with several different reasons I won’t have it. White space is my best friend. It’s funny how often clients want to fill up every available area with as much content as possible, and more! The old maxim “less is more” is true in every walk of life, especially web design.
So that is how I would describe my style. Well, inadequately for the most part. It’s a difficult subject to interpret. After re-reading my 2009 article Inspiration Archives I still feel the idea of a lifetime progression holds true. Your design style is your life.
Now that I think about it, I’m way overdue for a gallery or museum visit!
8 Comments
Sergei Tatarinov
I like reading your articles, David. Always well written and pretty easy to comprehend. I’d say comfortable to read. Unlike many articles that are published daily on ‘big’ blogs (English is not my native, hence the difficulty).
I can’t shape my thoughts in something that would make sense right now (it’s 3 AM), so let me just write about one part.
It’s always depressed me how clients wouldn’t understand that there’s more to website design than just choosing shapes and colours for the call-to-action buttons and so on. While it’s true that the ‘outfit’ plays a huge role in the website’s success, the whole thing just won’t work without a thought-out base behind it. By base I mean the layout and information architecture. So, having grown tired of such clients, I started collecting the insightful posts and quotes so that next time such client pops up, I’d just point them to some wise man’s thoughts. Although helpful, this enlightening mission often fails. But I never stop trying.
This article is going into my collection, if you don’t mind. And a few quotes will go to kwibit ;)
David Bushell
Thanks very much Sergei, that’s good to hear! Do you plan to share your resource of quotes and information? I think it would make a great article for designers, we all have the same client problems to tackle.
Dillon Es
I was writing an essay for school on a semi-similar topic, and as I was typing the word “aesthetic” a grow notification popped up with someone tweeting this article.
This was a great mid essay read. Great article, I’ll be sure to check out more of your reads.
Dmitri
Hi David, I am reading your blog the first time. It is very well written. You really can have typography down. Though I do feel that your advice is not relevant to every type of website out there. If I was to categorize yours, it would be “newspaper-like”. But there are still a lot of websites out there which are “magazine-like” and “tv-channel-switcher-like”.
Thanks,
-d.
Sergei Tatarinov
I plan to write such post, to share some useful links. I wouldn’t call it a resource, though. It’s rather just a small collection of thoughts/articles/advice that I had found on some wise men’s blogs. Anyway, I will do my best at cleaning everything up and writing up a post.
Caryn Humphreys
I have to say I agree completely with your post (despite what you see on my current website – don’t judge me! A new one will be going live within the next few days haha). I can also agree with the sentiments of what Sergei said above about the continual battle to ‘enlighten’ your clients. I find myself drawn to ‘clean’ and ‘succinct’ design that say volumes without having to use “Wrecking Ball” design elements. It’s often frustrating working with clients who not only don’t understand the ‘less is more’ idea but also don’t AGREE with it.
Keep fighting the good fight and eventually we won’t see anymore ‘starbursts’ and their kin on the internet (one can dream, right?).
Luke Connolly
Hey David, great thought-provoking going on here…
Do you think that the style you develop is particularly well-suited for one type of client, while those more elaborate design styles might serve other clients well? I ask because sometimes I will bring a design to a client that I think has great “style” and they’re looking for something different (either more grunge/DIY or more simple/focused, etc). Do you think there’s value in being able to switch styles, or is it worth waiting for clients who agree with your design principles?
David Bushell
Thanks for the comments everyone! Hey Luke – definitely value in being able to switch but designers who can truly do this are rare! I know my style is very particular. I feel it suits the web. You have to do what is best for the client and hope they’ve picked you for your style. I wouldn’t suggest turning down work unless it’s very obvious you’re not the right designer (but if they can’t see that, they’re probably not the sort of client you want!)
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