On my short list of designers I admire, I’ve just added two more—Charles and Ray Eames. I just learned about them through TED, which is a site I frequent since it is updated often with inspirational videos.
What I’ve always been interested in is not a designer’s final designs, but the process behind why they design something the way they did. The video below gives a sneak peak into the “why” of the duo Charles and Ray Eames. Continue reading “Charles and Ray Eames”
For some, dealing with clients can be difficult. Clients don’t always know what is best for themselves, yet designers often give in to client demands, no matter how ludicrous they may be.
A technique some designers use to combat such clients is the “portfolio exclusion” technique. To implement this technique, what the designer does in response to an absurd demand from a client is say, “Sure. I can do that for you, but so you know I’m not going to put it in my portfolio.” Naturally, the client will be stunned by the response and will begin to question themselves. Once they ask “why?” the designer has them where they want them.
The designer kindly explains to the now potentially vulnerable client that they don’t agree with the clients absurd demand and with some luck, the client may give in. But if you’ve read my previous posts, you’d know I don’t condone this method. Continue reading “Be frank with clients”
The two most common ways for designers to deal with clients are to either do whatever they say, or attempt to form a collaboration. But I say, “screw the client.” This is rarely practiced, but I think in the end this method is best for all parties involved. Continue reading “Screw the client”
A little while ago, a designer by the name of Jens Meiert asked on his blog: “How much intelligence does good design really require?”
He explains his issue well by posing the following dilemma:
How would I design a door for people who don’t know what a door is? This means, is it legitimate to assume that people know the concept of doors? If it is, shouldn’t I expect the door to fail if I install it in a place that is frequented by people who don’t know doors?
This is the response I wrote in his comments. Continue reading “Intelligent Design, Dumb Users?”
I recently had an article called “Web Design Education Sucks” published on Boagworld, which is the blog for a podcast by Paul Boag that covers all areas of web design. Check it out and leave comments.
I enjoy reading quotes—interesting lines of words that hit precisely something that may take an essay to explain otherwise. The quotes I like are the ones that after reading they immediately change my way of thinking, question it, or simplify it. Below are 11 quotes of such a nature. Continue reading “11 Design Quotes”
One of the reasons I am a designer is because of David Carson. I wouldn’t venture so far as to say he IS the reason I am a designer, but amongst the many experiences that have contributed to making me the person I am, David Carson is one.
Now, I could go on and on explaining how David Carson has influenced me as a designer, but I really wrote this post to share a quote he gave from one interview, and also share a video of a talk he gave at TED. Continue reading “David Carson Inspired Me”
The best way to learn to design and code is through rap. I have no doubts.
The most visited section of any sports team site is its dance team (cheerleader) section. I was able to design the web site of the Sixers Dance Team, and I would like to walk through the process in which the site was developed.
The design process of the Sixers Dance Team web site can be broken up into several different sections—Research, Proposal, Mock Design, Design, and Updating. Continue reading “Case Study: Sixers Dance Team Web Site”
