Where does the Design Fit In?

April 18, 2005 | by Oto | in Web Developlment Process | 0 comments

I have noticed that the most talk these days in Web development spheres is devoted to Website design. It is understandable, because the final result a Website visitor experiences is the design (or look&feel as some experienced Web professionals like to call it). Almost every client who contracts a Web development company to create a new Website or re-develop their existing one requests one or more "graphical Website designs," which are usually a GIF image crated in a Photoshop or another graphical software. Then, largely based on this pretty much meaningless graphical image the client proceeds to select a company that will get the Website development job. This same concept is explored by Doug Bowman in his Multiple Design Directions post. Doug elaborates on the concept of multiple designs for one particular project and the fact that the designer always has "an agenda" behind the design:

At another design firm early on in my career, we always presented two or three directions. However, we always had a favored direction, and it showed. Because we biased it. The favored direction was more polished, the details worked out, and it was generally more cleaned up than the others, because we spent so much more time on it. This wasn’t so much a spoken rule, just my observation of how we worked and presented design to clients.

This makes a lot of sense to me, because the Web designer is the expert and after a careful consultation and exploration of the client's needs and goals, the designer knows how to best support the goals and needs in the design he creates. The designer has a lot of experience in creating Website designs and understands how the individual pieces of content should be incorporated into the design to deliver the precise message of the Website publisher.

Please note the phrase highlighted in bold from the previous paragraph. That is the catch. As you can see, it is not possible to come even close to anything that one may call a final design for a Website during a proposal submission for creating a Website for a client. I personally view the process of creating design proofs during the proposal process a major waste of time. The Website is a communication device, not a piece of art.

It is not possible to have a well thought out design until the Website goals, structure, functionality, and navigation patterns are known and consulted with the client. The Website design should come into the picture only close to the end of the Website development process.

With that said, everyone looking for a Website development or re-development (re-design) should rather choose the company to do the job based on their portfolio and clearly demonstrated ability to create a clean, professional, well thought out, and extensible through the company's previous work.