Stop the ride. I wanna get off.
Change. I change my clothes, my son's diaper, my mind - often multiple times a day. Heck, change is so intertwined in our lives that we make changes on the way to work; radio stations, lanes, MPH, etc. Our lives and the world around us is in a constant state of flux.
So then, how do you stay on top (never mind the cutting edge) of an industry that is constantly changing?
The web design industry is built on change. On one hand, it's great. Yesterday, we had to use Flash in order to have a dynamic website. Today, we can use better JavaScript like JQuery to do it. Tomorrow, we will use HTML5. Truly without change, our art, our passion would grow stale. However, it can be seriously dizzying!
I just read a retrospective article a few weeks ago about design trends for 2009. Then today, I read one about design trends of 2010 so far. Wait. I just got the hang of the "look" for 2009. Crap. I won't "get" 2010 for at least another 6 months. I know I said it just a moment ago, but I feel like the room is spinning.
Since I am spinning in circles, that takes us back to the beginning: "How do you stay on top of an industry that's constantly changing?"
Well I think that it will be different for each person. However, for me that involves a lot of research and reading. I have a short list of sites that I visit when I'm in need of some inspiration. Probably the one site I visit most often is Smashing Magazine, though. I also have been studying up on not only the more obscure features of CSS2, but am starting to dive in to CSS3. It won't be long before it will be the new standard and all browsers will support it en masse.
More importantly for me though, is that I start doing. I will look at a design that I admire and try to reverse engineer it. I figure out how the interactive elements work and what it takes to make them work well. I look at the design and try to replicate it with my own touch. I dissect the CSS so I can get an even better grasp of how it is affecting the layout and styling of the site.
Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to stay on top of the wave or even get ahead of it. I don't know if I ever will. I don't know if that's really important, though, either. For me, it's constantly a process of self improvement and discovery. That's why I love this industry so much. That is why I love my job so much. I get a chance to learn something new every day. Moreover, I get to do something that's challenging and in the end, very rewarding.
So, ya - this changing industry can be dizzying. But, it's also a small picture of the world around us. I suppose if you have a hard time accepting change in your daily life, then you probably don't want to consider web design. However, if you can embrace the change for what it is; a daily challenge to improve yourself and give back to others, then you'll do just fine.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go change another diaper.
Does size really matter?
I was reading through a post on www.youthedesigner.com tonight. The essence of the article is that there are some good intangibles that you can ask your client for and the return could yield positive results. I won't go into the details of the article here. If you're interested, take a look when you're done here. ; )
Anyway, what got me thinking though is some of the comments on that post. On the subject of asking your client to put your "designed by" logo on their site, one commenter said,
... take a look at how many sites you see with designed by links on them. I can't think of any that are even worth mentioning; most are local restaurants or car repair shops. ... How many future clients will hire you because they saw your link at the bottom of 'Northern Mountain 4x4s' site, and more importantly do you think you would want those clients?
Wow. What a ass. Looking through some of the other comments, it seems that I'm not alone in my assessment of this guy. But, I digress. The point of this post is not to rip on this guy. It's to point out an important fact; everyone deserves to have a great website regardless of their budget. That's why I have positioned my web design company to market specifically to small businesses ranging from startups to "middle market". They need a website and I want to make sure they have something that they can be proud of within the constraints of their budget. Sure, I may not be raking in the dough because I'm not doing a multi-thousand dollar website (one local firm averages $15k/site). However, I feel that I'm meeting a specific group of people right where they need it; where they are at.
That's the key. To meet people where they are at. So, if I have a client that can only afford to spend $500 on a site, I'm going to make sure that they have the best that I can give them for that $500. Granted, I can do much cooler things with more money as it necessitates more time. But that doesn't mean that I'm going to turn down work because I don't want to make a "lesser" site.
The guy that I quoted above could be coming from any number of perspectives. However, his opinion is clear; he won't build a website that's beneath him. That's too bad. I've built some websites where I definitely haven't been paid what my time is realistically worth. However, I've had the pleasure of meeting some great people and have developed some good relationships from them. Besides, at the end of the day, when people know that you're helping them out, they help you out.
So, for me, while it's definitely important to make money, all I really have is my reputation.
Using White Space in Web Design
White space for design is whole different animal than white space for print. When you're laying out something for print, "crowded" is king. However, when designing for the web, it's important to have this tool in your arsenal.
1. What is white space?
Well, first off, white space doesn't literally refer to the color white and it's usage on your web page. Duh. White space is negative space. The key here is to utilize negative space to set your elements apart. This is particularly useful for me because I rarely design a site using tables and therefore have areas defined by a lot of lines. I'm not saying that's bad, I'm just saying that from a visual standpoint, it looks gross to me to use lines to define your elements. For example:
This is a website that my company inherited. We're in the process of redesigning the site. Actually we're in process of building the client a while portal of sorts. He's in the media and has a lot of irons in the fire, so we have multiple sites for him. So, we're building a central site and this one will be redesigned as an arm of that site. Anyway, even from this small screen print, you can see what I'm talking about. The previous designer used a lot of lines to separate areas of text and other elements. Frankly, it makes me sick.
Now here's an example of a site that beautifully executes the use of white space to define their elements:
I really like the simplicity of the layout. The categories are well laid out and the sparse text has been thought through so as to give a concise description to the visitor of the main areas of interest on the site. If you look at the rest of the site, you'll see that they continue to do a great job of using negative space to set their content and images apart.
2. How to use it effectively.
A. Line Spacing:
First, consider line spacing. If it's too narrow or too wide, it affects readability. However, you also need to consider the overall look and feel of the site. Take this blog for example. The template I've chosen has more of a scrunched feel. It kinda mimics a print layout, and that's what I wanted. However, I did change the line height from 1.2em to 1.25em. That little bit made quite a difference. Before making the change, I felt like the text was just a bit too close together. Now, I feel that it's just about right. Again, though, that line spacing will be dictated to some degree by the overall look and feel that you're trying to achieve. I definitely suggest playing with the "line-height:" property to get the setting that will work best for your layout.
B. Margins:
First, you absolutely must keep your margins consistent throughout the site. I do mine on a basis of 5's. I really work hard at making sure that my layouts keep a good ratio. So, for example, if my side margins are 25px, my spacing between my content might be 10px. Or, when I have an image inserted into text, I use a 5px horizontal and vertical padding. Obviously you can use any ratio you want, but the math in using increments of 5 keeps it pretty easy for me.
As with line spacing, finding the right amount of spacing is important. If you go too narrow or too wide, it could really throw off the balance of the site.
For me, I lay out the design first using my rule of 5's, then use that to define the spacing for my text. The end result is a site that is evenly spaced and the ratios of spacing ends up being pleasing to the eye; well, at least my eye 
.
3. What White Space is Not
White space is not necessarily minimalistic. Now, my design preferences lean towards that, however, you can still cram a lot of images and text into a site and still use white space to your advantage. Take Smashing Magazine for example. They have a crap load of stuff on their site, but everything is laid out well. All their ads on the sidebar are the same size and are spaced evenly. There's also a good amount of space between the main body of text and the sidebar.
4. Putting It All Together
In conclusion, white space is a great tool to utilize to help "clean up" the look of a site. It's a little thing that can really set your site apart, particularly at a subconscious level. Think about it for a minute. When you see a site that doesn't "look right" or just "feels off", you're left with an uncomfortable feeling. It just kinda bugs you, but you're not sure why. Ultimately, it's because the layout isn't very pleasing to the eye. We're rational beings and we want to see order in things. Some of us more than others (I'm extremely Type A, for example), but the need for order is still there.
From a consumer standpoint, it can affect how you shop, too. For example, I was in the market about a year or so ago for a telescope (I'm an armchair astronomer and wanted to share that with my kids). Well I was shopping around online and found a great 'scope at a great price. However, the site literally hadn't been redesigned for something like 8 years, and it looked it. The layout was bad. The colors! Oh, man, the colors were teal and hot pink! They even tried using the the old .25" x .25" grid layout pattern in the background to mimic graph paper. It was bad. Unfortunately, the telescope I was looking at was probably $15 cheaper than on another, more well known site. I ended up spending more money to buy it off a site that looked better. I remember thinking to myself, "If these people (the first site) can't trouble themselves to update their website and make it look professional, what kind of sale/after sale support am I going to get? What condition will that telescope be in?" My whole point here is that if the site doesn't at least look professional, you will lose visitors. If you're in business, that means you're losing sales - all because you didn't think through the overall look and feel of your site.
So, in conclusion, if you're not using white space effectively, pull your head out. You're really missing a key component of your design.
If you are using it well, please post up some good examples in the comments. As a designer, I'm always looking to improve my craft and would love to hear from you and learn from your work, too.
Designing your next site
Designing websites is a tricky business. As a designer, I want that site to be sleek and sexy. I want it to pop with color. I want the design elements to really say something. For a web designer, my name (or company name) is being stamped on that. It's a reflection of the quality of work that I put out there, right? Well, kind of. First and foremost, it's the graphic representation of the site owner, their personality, and their image.
I was reminded of this a little while ago from one of my "clients". I say "clients", but he's really more of a friend. He is in a different field now, but he started out as a graphic designer for print. He still keeps up with his art in the physical media, though (i.e. canvas, sculpture, etc.). Well, I was working on a new design concept for him and I really liked the design I came up with. It was sleek and modern. It used a lot of clean, sharp lines and transparencies. It was as if Calvin Klein got dressed up. However, he didn't like it. So, back to the drawing board I went. The subsequent design was friggin' awesome (imho)! It was edgy and colorful, the imagery really defined who he is and his image. I have to admit; I impressed myself. The best part is that he was really stoked about the new design and the direction we're taking. It was a great experience for me and also validated some things for me as a designer.
- side note: I'm a real Type A personality. So, I gravitate towards the simple, clean, sleek, sexy designs. This experience was good because it showed me that I can step out of that box.
Anyway, by the end of the process, I thanked him for kicking my butt and pushing me to do better. He actually said, "I've seen your other designs and I know you can do better.". Ouch. But, that inspired me to tap into something deeper within. After thanking him, he reminded me that I need to see the design from the eyes of the client. That was a great reminder and the ultimate point of this whole post.
The design needs to be an extension of the client. I've been looking at design as a non-verbal way of telling the end user about the content of the site. Sure, that's true, however, if it's not an extension of the client, then it's kinda pointless. I've learned (and am still learning) that I really need to get to know my clients on a personal level. I need to be able to read between the lines and give them not just what they're telling me they want, but pick up on the vibe they're sending, too. It's particularly difficult to do that as a web designer since most communication is over the phone or by email. So, I have to go out of my way to really understand that person's perspective and personality and allow THAT to drive my design.
So, while it's great to try to sell the client a super creative site, the site you give your client needs to be theirs. It needs to be their non-verbal voice, not yours. I think that designers can forget that. I know I do.
