The buzz has been around for years now, but increasingly more common is the proclamation that web standards is essential. It’s not just a good practice, it’s an essential requirement when designing and building great websites. Designers and developers definitely like to note that they design and code with web standards. However, do clients really understand what that means? More importantly, do they know what it means for their bottom line – that ultimately they are going to save money and get a better website in the end?

Given that it is such a buzz word, it’s important to define what web standards really means. In conversations with clients I never go into detail about technical aspects or pure theory of why we should do the right thing for the industry because I don’t think clients really care about that. Web standards are the rules, regulations and guidelines for working on the web. Professionals should follow the standards like in any other industry and your clients probably assume that anyway. But are their assumptions correct?

The web industry is young and there’s a lot of evolution and growing taking place. Standards are still being made and they evolve through time as technology progresses. The fact is that many websites are not built according to current standards because they were built years ago and never updated. The other fact is that laymen often can’t tell the difference from their point of view, so it doesn’t seem to matter that there’s garbled code underneath the surface. In fact, many designers and developers don’t bother either, because they are just trying to get the job done now, not thinking about the future or repercussions of their shortcuts. When it comes to the online environment there seems to be a lot of room for error because the general public doesn’t know any better.

I like to explain to my clients why they should care about web standards by noting how it affects their business. That’s what they care about in the end. Design and development accordingly to web standards means that your website is coded cleanly resulting in faster access for your viewers and less bandwidth costs from your pocket. So often we see a seemingly simple website take forever to load because of the garbled code underneath. Viewers’ attention spans are short – don’t make it harder for them to access your website.

Clean code also means faster development time and troubleshooting in general. Your website will be easy and quick to update as well. When code is clean and design is separated from content, making edits or adding content will not suddenly break the site. There will definitely be less room for error and when a redesign is needed, it’s truly a redesign effort and not a rebuild every page from scratch effort. That means you save money when it comes to updating, editing, future additions and improvements to your website and business.

Your website will also be accessible to more viewers because inherently it will be built in a way that allows graceful degradation in older browsers, accessibility to text-readers, mobile phones and who knows what other devices that may access your content. Gone are the old-fashioned methods of building multiple versions of the same site or restricting access because a viewer doesn’t have the most updated browser. You want your content to be available to as many viewers as possible, in the best way or most sensible way possible as well.

It is important to note that your website can be as beautiful and intricate as you want it to be. There’s certainly the need for people to realize that the online space is not a static print document, so designs and layouts don’t necessarily appear exactly the same on different devices. But that isn’t the goal of your website is it? You want viewers to access your content, information and business offering in a usable manner, no matter what device they might be using. The point is that web standards doesn’t mean a boring site with boxes and text no matter what restrictions there might be.

So in the end, your website can be aesthetically pleasing as well as usable and accessible. The bottom line is that you save money in the short term and long term with a better product overall in the end. Why wouldn’t you want a website with design and development inline with the current web standards?

Posted on April 30, 2009 at 10:19 pm | Design, Development | No comments

When someone asks a designer what they do for a living, there’s always a slight pause for most multi-disciplinary designers out there.  Simply stating the title of designer could lead to many varying conclusions from prospective clients – interior design, product design, stage productions?  However, you seem to be understating your abilities if you say print designer or web designer exclusively – because prospective clients might think you do one thing, but not the other.  Or what about web designer versus web developers?  There are many who strictly work in one aspect, but countless others who do both the visual creative and development.  A quick search on Google will give you countless design-related titles to choose from including the latest trend of UX designer or design engineer, which I don’t believe most people would understand thoroughly.

It seems natural especially that graphic design and web design are often coupled like Siamese twins. Many clients like the fact that you can supply services from print to web and we often see a huge amount of varying skills required on job postings.  Many graphic designers were schooled in traditional print design, but through the years might have moved into web design to keep up with the competition and changing market expectations.  I think that has to do with the natural evolution of how web design and the Internet came to be as well.  When the need arose for the old-fashioned role, webmaster, it was usually thrown over to the graphic design group, probably because it most closely resembled the skill set required.  However, there are obviously different challenges for print projects versus web projects.  Just as a childrens’ book illustrator would know specific inside knowledge on that industry and how things must be done.  Interesting to note the comparison between “graphic designer” and “web designer” from Google Trends.  I started doing a lot of comparisons to see what the Google world is saying about job titles in design.

Nevertheless, I think all designers possess a common set of skills, no matter what their medium.  After all, our job is to ultimately make aesthetic sense out of what seems to be chaos.  Designers have that aesthetic sensibility along with all the foundation basics such as composition, color theory and typography to name just a few.  A good designer who wants to work in a new medium, will certainly have to learn the industry standards and particulars, but surely he is still a good designer at the core.  It is important to note that over time, one working in the same field would still have to keep up to date with the latest improvements and enhancements due to the ever changing space of technology.  The core principles of design persist throughout, but everyone has to keep up with technology, new programs and new standards of the changing market.

Multi-discipline designers such as myself seem to continue with the struggle of an accurate job title.  The web industry is still young and it is not surprising that job titles are not yet standardized and may even change in meaning over time.  It certainly simplifies the issue if specializing say in logo design, because everyone understands what a logo designer will produce.  But what about those of us who do many things?  Do we have to risk losing business because of misinterpretation from a limited job title or even losing worth as various job titles render different pay rates?

I have found myself changing my title depending on the needs of the client, so as to ensure they understand what I can do for them.  It is difficult to encapsulate all of one’s abilities in a few words.  Perhaps it is best to go with the generic title of designer so when queried for more detailed information you can explain properly.  After all, whatever title you have it still boils down to actually executing in the end.

Reference reading:
Examiner – Are Graphic Designers Being Pushed in the Direction of Career Generalists?
About.com – Print versus Web

Posted on April 2, 2009 at 2:41 pm | Design | No comments

AIGA believes that doing speculative work—that is, work done without compensation, for the client’s speculation—seriously compromises the quality of work that clients are entitled to and also violates a tacit, long-standing ethical standard in the communication design profession worldwide. AIGA strongly discourages the practice of requesting that design work be produced and submitted on a speculative basis in order to be considered for acceptance on a project.

Are requests of speculative nature really coming from potential clients?  I mean to insinuate that “potential” is not the right word to use because invariably these folks are looking for free work.  I have encountered speculative work requests from many job inquiry replies where the client is “impressed with your work” and would like you to “demonstrate your ability” by sending a mock-up or submitting some type of speculative work in hopes of possibly being chosen in the end.  Of course, the client could choose no one…it’s free after all.  Hmm…Do you only pay for one dinner after you’ve tried out 10 different meals at 10 different restaurants?  Do you only pay the one plumber after you’ve asked 10 different ones to visit your home and fix the problem?  Everything comes at a cost and requesting work means you should pay for it – whatever form of compensation it may be.

Let’s talk about consultations.  Designers offer consultations just as orthodontists do to give prospective clients a chance to learn more, but not necessarily commit.  After all, everyone shops around and it’s the same in the design world.  We certainly offer a variety of assets for the client to base their decision on, from portfolios to recommendations to direct communication and quoting for a particular project.  If you have questions, please do ask and we will be happy to explain our process and what we will do – how it all works in a sense.  However, actually executing the work without a contract or agreement of compensation is not part of doing business.  At least not part of doing good business.

From a designer’s point of view spec work is definitely evil.  Whether people are realizing it or not, asking for spec work is rather offensive.  You are asking me to work for free.  Are you assuming that what I do can’t be worth much or that it simply doesn’t take much time or thought?  Do you not value the work that I do?  Yes, I am offended as a designer when it comes to spec work requests.  However, people have the right to request and I therefore utilize my right to decline.

There are many designers who are willing to give up some of their rights because they are in a desperate situation – a slight chance at compensation is better than nothing.  There are always those who are taken advantage of in a sense, but the pros and cons are different from every perspective.  Perhaps it was the right thing to do for that person at that point in time?  I think it is bad for the industry in general however, as it pollutes the understanding of what design is worth and perhaps what good design and the proper process really is.

From the client’s point of view it seems as if you are getting the better end of the stick, right?  You get multiple designers to work for you at no charge and in the end, you still get the opportunity to choose one if you really like it or start all over again.  Do you realize that you are losing control of your own project?  Listing a few bullet points of what you think you need will not result in the best solution.  Design is a collaborative process where client and professional work together and the relationship is important to fully understand the issue and come up with a proper solution.  Are you requesting spec work because you do not know what you really want or need?  Do you realize that designers will be working towards the goal of being chosen – not what is best for the goals of your business in spec submissions?  There is definitely a difference.

I certainly see the arguments on both sides of the issue and undoubtedly the great debates and practices will continue into the future.  Ultimately, everyone has to make their own decision as to what they want to do and think hard about why it is proper or not proper for their business.  For those who participate in spec work, think hard about how else you could spend your time that might be a better investment.  For those who ask for spec work, please tread carefully and understand why a designer would refuse.  Designers who agree to your requests have their reasons but perhaps you should ask them why they are willing to work for free.

Reference reading:
AIGA – Position on spec work
No Spec!
MarkBoulton.co.uk – The personal cost of designing on spec
SXSW 2009 Is Spec Work Evil? Youtube clip

Posted on March 31, 2009 at 11:00 am | Design | No comments