After attending The Future of Web Design conference in London recently I can safely say it is a pretty exciting time to be involved in the digital industry.
As was to be expected there was a lot of discussion about the capabilities (and limitations imposed by particular browser/s) of HTML5 and CSS3. Admittedly, it is very exciting to be able to utilise these tools when designing for the web, however a few of the speakers touched on some points which I think are of much greater importance when it comes to the real future of web design.
Paul Boag mentioned that we should forget about the new technologies for the time being and focus on improving our Marketing, Copywriting, Contextual Understanding, Strategy, and Psychology skills. This is very much in line with what I believe makes a good designer, so I thought I would use this as a basis for what I, personally, would like to see for the future of web designers.
Over the coming weeks I am going to discuss in detail the often overlooked attributes which I feel make a successful designer in the creative industry.
What I hope to achieve is an increased awareness of the design industry outside the specific “digital space” and a more considered approach to the use of the new technologies which are available to us. Ultimately I would like us all (as creatives) to work towards avoiding an era of over-used CSS3 effects and being faced with a repeat of the original Photoshop filter overload.
So, while it is easy to get excited and spend all of our time learning the new technologies, I urge you to hold back and concentrate on improving your foundations skills before anything else, and only utilise the new technologies when the right project comes along.
In no particular order, I think there is great value in constantly improving and being aware of the following attributes, which ultimately separate a good designer from an outstanding designer.
Learn to communicate your concepts (both verbally and written)
Communication is one of the strongest tools a designer can hold. Communication is a constant across every aspect of a project, from an initial briefing through to concept presentation and rationales. It is important that you can fully understand what is required of you and, in turn, present your concepts in a clear and concise manner.
I quite often hear designers who claim that they can’t write properly, or they don’t know how to explain their own work. What we all have to realise is that writing is just like any of our other skills. If you think you’re not a good writer then you need to practise. Write blog posts for yourself; write blog posts for your company. Spend an extra few minutes when you write emails to ensure they are written as clearly as possible. Read articles about writing. Take notice of other people’s corrections of your writing so you know how to improve, but most importantly just write, write, and write even more!
Spelling is another problem area I see with a lot of designers, or people in general to be honest, and while I know it is unrealistic to expect everyone to be able to spell correctly in every instance, I don’t think it is unrealistic to expect any finished work to be one hundred percent ‘typo’ free. When it comes to spelling, it simply isn’t just a one-person responsibility. It is a really good habit to get into to have someone check over the majority of your communications, whether it be an email to a client, body copy on a website, a blog post, or an article. (The nature of making comments such as this is that, undoubtedly, someone will find faults in my writing!) Spelling mistakes insinuate carelessness and lack of attention to detail. Is this really the impression you want to be giving to existing, or potential clients?
Giving rationale behind your design is a very important skill for a designer, and one that rarely comes easily. However, getting to the end of a four-week design job and then struggling to write a three hundred word rationale about the finished piece is not really acceptable. I know that I have been guilty of this, as have many designers I have worked with, but the written rationale is an important component of our work. The fact is that every pixel in a finished piece of work should have been considered throughout the process, so we should be able to justify “the why”. A rationale is not about explaining every aspect of the design; it is about giving the viewer an insight into the thought process which underlies the design solution. Pick the elements on a design which are not necessarily self explanatory, and justify their presence in the design.
It is too easy for clients to get caught up on the minor details of a design. Whether it be a colour or an image, all too often quality solutions are dismissed simply because the designer hasn’t possessed the ability to communicate his/her decision process and the overall “vision”.
Identify and explain the elements which are the “backbone” of the solution. Once the fundamentals are described clearly, the stakeholders will have a shared understanding of your objectives and decisions, removing subjective opinion and thus resulting in a more rounded outcome.
Learn to solve problems
If you want to create things which look cool but don’t necessarily have any real purpose then you’re in the wrong career! Yep… to put it bluntly, you probably should have chosen Art when it came to College or University.
The reality is, as designers, we work in a commercial world. Sure, we all work on personal projects in which we start with a blank canvas and have no restrictions to effect the outcome. However, in our day-to-day work there is generally an important stakeholder to set targets, determine boundaries and dictate how quickly, and for how much all this will be achieved. Yes, you have probably heard of them…. the Client.
As designers, it is our responsibility to not only create beautiful things but, more importantly, to create designs that meet our clients’ needs and objectives. Being a successful designer means possessing the ability to tackle a project objectively and create the best possible solution for the problem at hand (the brief). Yes, (insert any “current trend” here) is cool, and as much as I know you are aching to use it, do you really think it is the most suitable execution for the Retirement Village website project you have just won? No, didn’t think so.
Although it does happen, retro-fitting an idea or execution to a new project is not a valid solution and should be discouraged at all times. Every project should be approached individually as, although the subject matter may be the same, I can almost guarantee that what each client is looking to achieve through the design is completely different.
Furthermore, Brendan Dawes (Magnetic North) acknowledged a very valuable lesson in his FOWD speech, “Be prepared to kill the things you love”. This point is very much in line with designing objectively. Although you may have created something which you are really proud of and works extremely well… it is not to say it is the best solution for your current project. If you are struggling to finish a design and have hit an apparent “wall”, the best option could be to remove the element which you are most attached to. By removing the one element you thought to be a “constant” you will be amazed at how many new opportunities you can create, resulting in a much better finished product.
Continued here…
