Things I've Learned About Design - the "rather more than a year" list
This list could easily get unmanageable. Much like a design or redesign project. So I'll keep it short and (hopefully) sweet, by sticking to the items that are foremost in my mind!
1.) A site re-design can often be just as complicated, if not more so, than building an entirely new site. I've had the opportunity to work on several site redesigns recently, so I speak from experience. As a designer, you face the challenge of re-branding the site, so to speak, without losing what the consumer has come to respect and love about the current branding. As a developer you face the challenge of porting, re-ordering, re-creating, and in many cases coming up with completely new solutions for things that are either hopelessly tangled (thus the redesign) or which already have a satisfactory solution, but just need to work a little differently, call for a little more.
2.) Forms, searches, forms, search, forms, buttons, and more forms. It sounds terribly tedious and annoying - and lets be honest, it truly can be! But the styling that goes into forms, searches, and buttons can make or break the site in the eyes of the user. These components need to be functional and understandable and formulaic, and yet innovative and in keeping with the rest of the site. CSS3 and HTML5 are introducing all kinds of possibilities here, which leads me to:
3.) CSS3 and HTML5. To use or not to use? As of right now, CSS3 and HTML5 are both functional and beautiful and full of promise . . . but the practicality of using them is still somewhat in question in my mind. So many end-users are sadly behind in browser updates, for whatever reason - so unless the targeted audience is a very special one, I wonder if its worth it to try to utilize CSS3 in a site design, when I'm going to have to write an alternate stylesheet in CSS, complete with background image slices, in order for the design to degrade gracefully. Thus far, it hasn't been. But playing with CSS3 is a LOT of fun. I'm toying with the idea of updating my website to use CSS3 and simply making it display an "Upgrade your browser" for visitors whose browsers aren't compatible. (IE users, I'm looking at you!) Elitist? Maybe. Vindictive? Possibly. Cathartic? EXTREMELY!
4.) What seems like a beautiful and functional design in Photoshop can be practically unworkable in reality. That sounds like it ought to be common knowledge, but apparently it isn't. In my opinion, every creative team needs a member who can look at a design and steer them away from what may LOOK fabulous on a static page, but will fail miserably in implementation.
1.) A site re-design can often be just as complicated, if not more so, than building an entirely new site. I've had the opportunity to work on several site redesigns recently, so I speak from experience. As a designer, you face the challenge of re-branding the site, so to speak, without losing what the consumer has come to respect and love about the current branding. As a developer you face the challenge of porting, re-ordering, re-creating, and in many cases coming up with completely new solutions for things that are either hopelessly tangled (thus the redesign) or which already have a satisfactory solution, but just need to work a little differently, call for a little more.
2.) Forms, searches, forms, search, forms, buttons, and more forms. It sounds terribly tedious and annoying - and lets be honest, it truly can be! But the styling that goes into forms, searches, and buttons can make or break the site in the eyes of the user. These components need to be functional and understandable and formulaic, and yet innovative and in keeping with the rest of the site. CSS3 and HTML5 are introducing all kinds of possibilities here, which leads me to:
3.) CSS3 and HTML5. To use or not to use? As of right now, CSS3 and HTML5 are both functional and beautiful and full of promise . . . but the practicality of using them is still somewhat in question in my mind. So many end-users are sadly behind in browser updates, for whatever reason - so unless the targeted audience is a very special one, I wonder if its worth it to try to utilize CSS3 in a site design, when I'm going to have to write an alternate stylesheet in CSS, complete with background image slices, in order for the design to degrade gracefully. Thus far, it hasn't been. But playing with CSS3 is a LOT of fun. I'm toying with the idea of updating my website to use CSS3 and simply making it display an "Upgrade your browser" for visitors whose browsers aren't compatible. (IE users, I'm looking at you!) Elitist? Maybe. Vindictive? Possibly. Cathartic? EXTREMELY!
4.) What seems like a beautiful and functional design in Photoshop can be practically unworkable in reality. That sounds like it ought to be common knowledge, but apparently it isn't. In my opinion, every creative team needs a member who can look at a design and steer them away from what may LOOK fabulous on a static page, but will fail miserably in implementation.
Great information! I have been considering a blog re-design, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble! Thanks!
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