There was a time, not all that long ago, when making a professional website was not an especially complicated thing to do. The web consisted basically of images and HTML, and the differences between what could be produced by professional and amateurs weren’t all that great. There was little to no programming involved, and the web’s limitations meant that graphic designers weren’t able to create something much more aesthetically pleasing than anyone else with a copy of Dreamweaver.
That time is past. Nowadays, most serious web sites requirie a good deal of programming and there is an expectation that they be on a similar level design-wise as their counterparts in other media (such as print and desktop computer applications). But there was a mindset created in the 90s that anyone could make a web page. That line of thinking led bosses to direct secretaries and copy editors to produce corporate sites and a whole wave of self-proclaimed “designers” to start selling their services as web professionals.
And you know what? I was one of them. I have no formal design training, and back in the mid-ninties, I had no informal design training, either. As someone who always enjoyed writing, I was excited by the idea of of self-publishing, so I created a personal website. Before long, people started asking me to produce sites for their business — and who was I to turn down a buck for doing something I enjoyed?
At some point, I realized something: creating web pages, as I was doing it, wasn’t that hard. Anyone could learn HTML and anyone could buy a copy of Photoshop. And I could see there were things coming down the road that would make web design more complicated (Javascript, Flash, CSS, the ability to do serious graphic design on the web, etc.). In short, I realized that my skillset — which was basically HTML, Photoshop, and the ability to change a few variables in a Perl CGI script — wasn’t going to cut it. I thought to myself, “If I’m going to make a career out of this, I need to get some skills that can’t be learned in a few weeks by any old shmuck.”
And it was at that point that I decided to become a designer (which also meant learning CSS inside and out, since it was to be the design language of the web). I could have also chosen to become a programmer, a copy writer, a Flash guru, an accessibility and usability expert, or a few other things - but I chose designer. I read as much about design as I could get my hands on, and I continue to do so today. In my opinion, this was the point at which I became a professional.
There is a serious problem in our industry that I believe we professionals need to address. The problem is is simply that many people never made that leap from hobbyist to professional. And yet, these people are working in our industry. They’re taking our jobs out from under us, and making money doing it. I’ve worked with these people. At Washburn University, I worked behind a Manager of Web Services and senior “designer.” Each of these people had learned the basics of HTML in the mid-ninties and, insofar as I could tell, not really learned anything since (and you’ll agree that Susan Jarchow’s website indicates as much).
To be clear: I still think the low barrier of entry to self-publishing on the web is one of its killer features. I wouldn’t want it any other way. I think it’s absolutely awesome that my 11-year old daughter could make a personal website if she wants to. Where I have a problem is when these people start to sell their services or get senior-level jobs in the industry. Whereas most of us go from amateur to professional, they go from hobbyist to hack.
And yet they succeed. They continue to get jobs and they continue to roll out tag soup, tabled-based layouts with amateurish graphics full of Photoshop filters and all-Flash sites full of unnecessary and cheesy animation. They rip off well-made sites, stealing graphics and layouts and pawning them off as their own work to unsuspecting clients.
There are several reasons for their success — and we need to address them. I believe the biggest one is simply that consumers of design are uneducated. Your typical small business owner doesn’t always understand the value of design, and certainly doesn’t understand what it takes to produce a quality website. They probably know a dozen people that have websites they built themselves — so in their mind, there’s no good reason to pay a professional’s rate. They believe they could probably do it themselves, or at least pay one of the buddies a much lower price for what they perceive as the same quality of work.
I also believe most clients don’t know what they’re paying us for. Most people think web design is a technical field. And, of course, it is — to some degree. But it’s also a creative field, and I don’t think most people understand this. When I tell people I’m a web designer, their response is often, “oh great, you can help me fix my printer.” Or, “oh, I have Dreamweaver, myself.” In other words, they believe we’re geeks. And maybe some of us are. They don’t seem to understand that a huge portion of what we do is design — layout, typography, color, communication, problem solving — these are the areas where we really earn our stripes. But clients hire us in much the same way as they hire a moving company. They say, “Put this over here, and that over there. Make this bigger. Now change this color.” They don’t realize these are the decisions that they’re paying us to make.
I think at least part of this misunderstanding comes from people mistaking the tools for the job. This seems to happen in other creative industries, as well. People buy a nice digital SLR and decide they’re a photographer. The buy a guitar and call themselves a musician. And, they buy a copy of Photoshop or Dreamweaver and call themselves a web designer. This is a little baffling to me. No one thinks if they have a hammer they’ve got the skills to be a professional carpenter. No one decides they don’t need a doctor if they’ve got a stethoscope of their own. For some reason that I can’t seem to figure out, people believe that if they have the same tools as us — a computer and some software — they can do our jobs. And worse, the clients believe that, too. When a designer is charging $150/hr. and a “designer” is charging $30, they’ll usually pick the cheaper one because they just can’t comprehend what the difference could possibly be.
Mark Boulton recently wrote about the idea of a professional body for the web design industry in which memberships would be based on peer review, creating a sort of “union” of serious, quality web designers. Most of the commenters on that post seemed to be in disagreement with Mark. Christopher Fahey summed up this viewpoint when he said, “The solution is right in front of us: make your decisions based on portfolios and recommendations from people you trust. That’s all we have that we can count on, and thatâs all we need.”
And that’s a great idea — if there was some way to ensure clients would do it, and do it well. But there’s not. Many clients are not especially well-equipped to review portfolios and choose a quality designer based on them. Do we really expect clients to peruse the source of potential designer’s (X)HTML for web standards compliance? Do we expect clients to know that the beautiful all-Flash site is inaccessible by blind visitors? Do we expect clients to understand that the visual style of one designer may not be appropriate for their brand? I think these are unreasonable expectations.
I personally think I would be in favor of some kind of professional body for our industry, although figuring out exactly how it would work and what it would do is extremely difficult. We, as professional web designers, need to come together to find some way to educate clients and companies on the difference between us and the hacks that permeate our industry. I’m not sure what the best way to do this is, but something needs to happen. It’s simply not fair that Frontpage jockeys and ripoff artists continue to take our business.
So, I ask you — what are some ways we can combat the hacks and ensure that the quality design professionals in our industry get the jobs they deserve?
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001 // tiffany // 10.01.2006 // 5:41 PM
Design is one of those places where you get what you pay for. Yes, I *could buy those $15 “Faded Glory” jeans from Wal-Mart, and they’ll cover me. But I buy the $130 jeans from Seven (or whomever) because they make my butt look better.
See, the client who hires the $30/hour “designer” is someone who otherwise might not hire anyone. They’re not a part of your MARKET NICHE. And that’s what it’s all about these days: finding your market niche.
(*Actually, I buy the $30 jeans from Old Navy, but you get my point.)
002 // Jeff Croft // 10.01.2006 // 5:58 PM
You definitely make a good point, Tiffany. I guess it just seems to me that the difference between the work of the hack and the serious professional is a way bigger gap than it should be.
Your jeans example is a good one. Let me try another: I can get a haircut at Fantastic Sams for $7 or so. Or I can go to a good salon (as I do), where I pay $30. Or I can go to a high end designer and pay hundreds. But even the Fantastic Sams haircut is done with some level of standards. Stylists are licensed by the state, and if you don’t meet the requirements, you don’t get a license. So, even if you prefer the cheap haircut, you still are getting a cut of reasonable quality.
In the web design industry, if you go cheap, you’re likely get something that is ugly, inaccessible, ripped off of another designer, unusable, and just downright bad. And, in some countries, in might even be illegal.
I don’t think clients understand this. They think it’s like getting a haircut. They think, “Sure, a high-end designer would do even better, but this guy will be plenty good enough.” But is it really plenty good enough? I’d say no.
(FWIW, I don’t think certification or accreditation is feasible in our industry, because it moves to fast. But still).
003 // Nate K // 10.01.2006 // 6:19 PM
Man, I have been pondering for quite some time about this. I used to get real annoyed with it. I even wrote a post about it a while back.
What I have found is that there are some developers that are REALLY convinced they are doing things the right way. They don’t understand web standards, css, design, or programming practices. In their mind, they REALLY think that they are a professional developer because they have flash or a WYSIWYG. It is even harder approaching these types of people - they are somewhat dangerous.
I have gotten to the point where I ignore most cases - and in other cases I help where I can. Just as you mentioned, we all started somewhere. I started in 1998, simply because I could. And, just as you - started doing sites for others. I, too, came to the realization that if it was that easy - ANYONE could do it. That was the point where I decided to immerse myself into my passions. I read books, I listened to those wiser than myself, and I continued to PRACTICE what I had learned. I dove into PHP and took the time to become a Zend Certified Engineer. I am working on my MySQL administration exam. I am constantly reading books (2-3 month) about web design, development, css, programming, database, server administration, etc.
I didn’t want to be just another web designer - I wanted to take my skillset to the next level.
So - what about those who simply DON’T want to go there and are happy making dishonest money? I listed some local companies that charge for things like SEO - yet have no idea where to even start with SEO. Companies touting CSS/HTML as the way to go - yet have a tag soup, tabled mess in their own site and portfolio sites. The catch is they are cheaper - and with that they can easily pull the wool over the clients eyes. How can we better educate clients on what to look for?
The approach to get the developers to change is tough - why change if its working for them? However - its a case of the blind leading the blind. A client is trusting them, and they are feeding a client false ideas/statements.
So, who/how do we educate? The client? The ignorant developer?
And - Who rips off designs and then sells them - geez….
004 // Daniel Spronk // 10.01.2006 // 6:31 PM
It’s a good idea because it’s good for the freelancers/companies who invested in their l33t skills but also for the client because they get a better product. But it’s not just the l33t designing/programming skills, but the process of getting to that end result that is just as important. No communication, or not applying any ie. user centered development processes can result in a bad experience/result for the client as well. So the second part, equally important is rather intangible. And for thatyou need peers and client recommendations.
What we could ideally have is some kind of “LinkedIn” website where freelancers/companies are rated by peers and clients. To be honest I think it would be extremely difficult to get a thing like that to really work.
005 // Daniel Spronk // 10.01.2006 // 6:33 PM
OT: 1. The comment success page is awesome, I love it! 2. The font size of the comments is way too small! People who post long comments like Nate require me to push “Apple =” a couple of times ;)
006 // Matt // 10.01.2006 // 6:39 PM
Jeff writes:
They think, “Sure, a high-end designer would do even better, but this guy will be plenty good enough.” But is it really plenty good enough?
Isn’t that their decision to make?
If they go cheap and get a bad site and their business suffers as a result, they wear the consequences. If they go cheap and happen to get a perfectly functional site, then they’re happy.
Rather than jeans or haircuts, the best analogy I can think of is writers (that’s what I do). Anyone can call themselves a writer — or even a journalist. Just like in the design world, there are plenty of people who have very questionable writing skills but make a living as writers or journalists. And there are plenty of businesspeople who think they can write themselves rather than hiring a professional.
Another similarity is that exactly what makes someone a professional designer or professional writer is hard to tie down. There are people in both industries who are self-taught and lack qualifications but are just plain brilliant. Basically as I see it, if you make a living from writing then you a re a professional writer - no two ways about it, even if you are relying on the uninformed decisions of employers.
The same applies for musicians. If you buy a guitar, call yourself a musician and sell enough records (downloads) to make a living, you’re a professional musician, even if some other musicians don’t like your music. Same again for photographers. If you take photos and enough people buy them, you’re a professional photographer, even if others would say your photos have no merit.
I think there’s little “good” or “professional” writers or designers can do about that other element of our industries, bar highlighting the best work and outing the worst examples of practices such as plagiarism. Otherwise, we just need to do all we can to slowly educate people about the skills of professional writers and designers.
I’m not convinced a peer-review system is a practicable idea for either industry, though I find it hard to explain why. I think perhaps it’s because there’s too much risk of a “clique” or “elitist” culture developing, and because both industries need people who break the mould and are innovative.
And I guess, basically, I have a fundamental objection to one group of people being able to say, ‘you’re not a writer’, ‘you’re not a musician’, ‘you’re not a photographer’, or ‘you’re not a designer’.
007 // Greg // 10.01.2006 // 6:47 PM
Yes! I’ve had similar discussions and ideas but it always comes down to who’s going to do all the work to set this up and maintain it. Sadly, AIGA doesn’t seem interested otherwise they would have done it already (which is weird to me considering this problem isn’t unique to the web). They would be the best to work through considering they already have a national infrastructure but my conversations with existing members falls upon empathetic ears.
It might be possible to get started as a grass roots movement started by a group to form what it means to be certified, what is the process for certification, and then determine how much work this means and what would be necessary to charge for membership, initial portfolio review, and managing certification each year. I’m ready to get started.
008 // Kevin Hamm // 10.01.2006 // 7:01 PM
Shave and a haircut? I think that’s perhaps the best analogy out there, actually. The salon pros have to have tested well on their ability to understand the technical side of the business - they need to know a lot of chemistry, medical issues and concepts, and safety training. The web pro has to understand databases, data structure, user-interface concepts and methods, etc.
The artistic side of the salon has to understand the technical side of creating a look, eg “How do hairpins work?” The web pro needs to understand the artistic ramifications of technical items, such as “What does the ‘em’ tag do?”
Where the salon has a testing procedure for this, it’s a realtively new procedure. Until the early 1930’s most states did not have anything of the sort, but now all do. Given that web-design is only 15 years old at most, it’s pretty amazing that we have tools like CSS Zen Garden to showcase, and the bodies in place to support the concepts that took thousands of years for salons to get.
After all, Cleopatra got a perm, but it wasn’t from someone with a license to do so. I suspect we’re well on the way to providing for Web Professionals the same way we do for Architects, and licensing should be pushed for.
(Bit of interesting history, Cleo’s perm came from someone realizing that if they mud-packed her hair in curls with mud from one side of the nile, the curls lasted for a few weeks after the mud dried and was combed out. If they used mud from the other side of the river, the curls would wash out with water. Guess where the animals went poo? Was all that really worth two bits?)
009 // Nate K // 10.01.2006 // 7:07 PM
RE: Daniel What? Are you making fun of my long comments? hehe :)
RE: Matt The issue I see with your argument is that the client doesnt always KNOW when they get a crappy projects. They could be told by a developer that their site is ‘standards compliant, css, html, blah blah blah’ - but the client doesn’t know how to check that.
There was a local company that wanted a quick and dirty website - just for exposure. They got a quick and dirty website - and absolutely NO traffic to that website. To them, everything was ok - they got a website for cheap - but what does it matter if no one knows it exists or its built improperly making it hard to locate in search engines?
In situations like this the client is the one losing - without even knowing it. They are trusting the developer to know - so they don’t have to. When BOTH parties DONT know - then they cant even gauge if business is better/worse due to the website.
010 // Brian Ford // 10.01.2006 // 7:32 PM
It might be possible to get started as a grass roots movement started by a group to form what it means to be certified, what is the process for certification, and then determine how much work this means and what would be necessary to charge for membership, initial portfolio review, and managing certification each year. I’m ready to get started.
Sounds like you’re after something like “board certification” for doctors.
The question: Once you’ve got the membership set up, what’s to make a potential client care one way or the other? Board Certification works for doctors because people are putting their lives in the hands of doctors. When you’re going in to have an operation for something like cancer (for example) you want to know that the doctor you’re paying is certified in some way in the field he practices. Further, no one gets cancer and thinks: “I wonder if I can find a guy who will do this on the cheap.” If you have cancer, you seek out the best doctor you can find — whether you can afford it or not.
Regarding web design - people are (often) interested in paying as little as possible to get what they will see as an acceptable end product.
I think some sort of certification (as discussed by this post and Greg) is a great idea — as a first step. (Or even just “a” step.) However, I think it does nothing to educate customers as to why they should seek out a certified designer. (Or that such a certification even exists.)
The trouble is, web design isn’t seen in the same sort of light as cancer treatment and therefore I’m not sure that certification for web designers will ever be seen in the same light as certification for physicians.
i think educating people on the importance of solid design is a fundamental step — board certification won’t mean anything at all until that happens.
Until you can prove to clients that there is a financial benefit involved with a serious designer who knows his/her shit — they’re not going to care (or know) that they are losing money by going with a hack.
I suspect the trouble is: This is probably not easy to prove when considering the type of company who might hire a hack in the first place.
011 // Wilson Miner // 10.01.2006 // 7:49 PM
Great points, well said.
The distinction between amateur and professional is really interesting to me. The way you could describe it, you could almost look at it the other way around. The amateur, by definition is somebody who does it because they like to do it, and continues to learn and progress because they enjoy it. A professional is just somebody who gets paid to do it. They might love it, or they might not. They might learn to advance their career, or they might not care. I think the best ones in any profession are the amateurs who can’t believe they got lucky enough to get paid to do this for a living.
012 // R // 10.01.2006 // 8:05 PM
Reinforcing Wilson’s point, I am a teenager who does know the “right” way to do web design: CSS, strict XHTML doctype, etc. In fact, it’s the only way I know how to make web sites: the first book on web design I bought was Ian Lloyd’s “Designing Web Sites the Right Way.”
However, I don’t anticipate becoming a professional web designer after college. I do, however, anticipate continuing to learn about CSS, XHTML, JS, and other technologies. Here’s my thoughts: If you are to make this professional body of web designers, that it has a place for me, the passionate amateur who is an actual designer.
Let’s remember: Most Olympians start out, and remain, amateurs.
013 // John Faulds // 10.01.2006 // 8:33 PM
You need to be careful doing it though because trying to paint yourself as being better than someone else can often backfire from a business point of view.
014 // Greg // 10.01.2006 // 8:54 PM
Good question, it’s still an ideas in progress. I see this as something akin to a Get Firefox campaign where those who are members help evangelize why it’s important to chose a good designer. Members get a Good Housekeeping seal of approval that links back to a certified record of that person/companies membership. This is in line with other professionals that have to display their certification openly in their place of business. Like I said, it’s an idea in progress.
015 // Tony // 10.01.2006 // 9:01 PM
Great post, Jeff. I am not a designer, though I like to design for fun. I am also not a professional programmer (I even turned down a web developer job opportunity, because I felt it should be left for someone who is not only more skilled, but has the desire to be an excellent developer), though I like to dabble in programming. Maybe the reason I don’t think more of myself in these fields comes from an appreciation of the great work the real pros do. Maybe it’s because I was, at one point, an accomplished musician, and I know what it is like to put innumerable hours into music only to see any schmo with a guitar or a keyboard claim to be a musician. There seems to be no distinction between being skilled in these fields and just participating in them.
As far as clients go, I think it benefits everyone if clients become more educated. Bad design (from web sites to stationary to collateral) can damage a business’s image, be a barrier to achieving business goals, and even lead to legal trouble. The good news is, 5 years ago, these businesses were probably “hiring” the owner’s nephew to hack together a site. Now they’ve stepped up to paying for lowest-bid sites from hacks. That is a baby step forward. :)
016 // Christopher Fahey // 10.01.2006 // 9:10 PM
I don’t understand the motivation behind this whole desire to have a standards body for design. Can someone please explain how this helps good designers? By weeding out the competition?
Is it because some designers are mad that a potential client hired a bad, unqualified designer instead of hiring them?
My feeling is this: If a client looks at your awesome work and checks your glowing and articulate references and still doesn’t hire you, besides the obvious potential reasons (the competitor was better, cheaper, or got along better with the client personality-wise), it’s probably because that client just doesn’t “get” good design. And you don’t want someone like that as a client, do you?
If you can’t compete with a crappy designer/firm, it’s probably because either (a) you’re an even crappier designer/firm or (b) the client is unsophisticated about design, loves chrome logos and blinking text, and doesn’t know anything about HTML… and you probably don’t want to work with someone like that anyway.
Hmm, maybe that’s what you want — to create more educated clients who can readily distinguish a good designer from a bad one. Is that it?
Well, if so, I contend that a standards body would have the exact opposite effect: Yes it would weed out the terrible designers, banishing them to designing spam and porn. But it would also lower the bar for the rest of us: not only would it would make all designers who “passed the test” equal in the eyes of clients, but it would also excuse clients from the task of educating themselves about design. It would be a crutch for lazy clients, not a solution.
A better idea is to keep pushing for more design education, more design advocacy, more business world consciousness about design, usability, branding. This is happening already: Businessweek’s new focus on design, the recent resurgence of the AIGA, the popularity of design blogs like this one. That’s how to make clients smarter and more discerning.
017 // Christopher Fahey // 10.01.2006 // 9:24 PM
I also wanted to repeat (from my post at Mark Boulton’s site) that certification in other fields, like project management and computer programming, is to many hiring professionals in those fields pretty much useless at finding excellence. Terrible programmers and project managers get certified all the time, and excellent ones will often avoid certification completely. Many firms get by by hiring only mediocre staff, and the certification systems make this strategy easy for them.
This is the reality how certifcation systems actually work, and it’s folly to think that the design world would be any different. It would probably be worse, insofar as programming and project management are easier to test/measure in terms of basic skills.
Sure, a design certificate will ensure that the bearer is not completely incompetant, but it does not ensure that the designer is excellent. If it’s mediocrity you want, a certification will at least guarantee that.
That’s the problem with certification — if you want to operate on the level of excellence (and looking at the names who have posted above I believe that is the level at which Jeff’s reader’s work), certification will only lump you in with the mediocre.
Excellent designers who want excellent clients always have and always will get hired based on their portfolio and their reputation. Leave the certifications to the hacks.
If you find yourself competing with hacks and 11-year olds in your potential client pool, perhaps it’s time to swim in a bigger pool with better clients. This is a business development/strategy issue, and is obviously a whooole other can of worms.
018 // steve // 10.01.2006 // 9:50 PM
oh man have you hit the nail on the head! multiple times!!!!
“consumers of design are uneducated”
so true! is it our job to educate them? to some extent, it is. but then, is the money worth it? i know i’ve been guilty (aka am currently guilty) of picking up jobs where i thought i’d use awesome design, web standards, CSS, etc and the client wants/demands the web circa 1998! i chalk these up as lost causes. am i wrong? how much effort should be dedicated to forcing these clients to unlearn what they “like” and start to like what is “good”?
so i guess i’m fueling the problem. in the future i know not to take these clients on. i will try to weed them out before i get involved, but sometimes it’s hard.
the thing is, EVERYONE is a designer. whether they own a copy of photoshop or not. everyone BELIEVES they have design sense. we all dress ourselves in the morning, right? that’s design! we all don’t look like rock stars, but we have varying levels of success!!
great post, and something i’ve been thinking about for some time.
019 // Jeff Croft // 10.01.2006 // 10:01 PM
Wow, just got back from dinner to find that this post has sparked some discussion. That’s great! So, I’m catching up…
It is, but shouldn’t we look out for them? Do you think they’re capable of making that decision well? In my experience, most aren’t. So I think we should be looking out for these clients.
This is very true. The “hows” of creating such a body would be very, very tricky, and I’m not sure it could ever please everyone.
Yup. Great point. Also, it would be key to ensure that membership is maintained, not just received. In other words, one needs to keep learning and keep progressing in order to keep being a member. Just because someone can “pass the test” today doesn’t meant they’ll be able to a yea from now. The speed at which our industry moves and the multi-diciplianry nature of it would make this difficult.
Great point. And it would also be important that we understand that everyone starts somewhere. People new to the industry ought to be able to get junior-level jobs at design firms and the like without having to pass some kind of test first.
020 // Jeff Croft // 10.01.2006 // 10:01 PM
I see your point, and I agree with it — but having been through it myself, I can assure you that some people want — no, need — any damn client they can get. Not everyone has the luxury of turning down clients that might be a pain. 37signals loves to talk about how they turn clients down, and that’s great. But suggesting everyone do that is absurd. People just getting started in freelancing need all the clients they can get and simply can’t afford to do this.
That’s exactly what I want, as outline in the post. I want to find a way to educate clients on what makes a quality website.
You’re under the assumption that said “standards body” would include membership and a test of some kind. I’m not convinced that’s the right way to go (although I’m not convinced otherwise, either). I’m personally more interested in a body that served to educate clients — I’m just not sure how it would work.
True, but very little of this deals with web design.
Absolutely. Hell, I’ve heard programmers say they actually view certification as a turnoff when hiring other programmers.
It would be a giant step forward. Fantastic Sams’ stylist are mediocre, but it’s a hellvua lot better than trusting my nephew to cut my hair (like some people do with their websites).
It’s a good point, and definitely worth considering. like i said, Im not too sure about the whole membership thing. I think educating clients is the bigger issue at hand.
I’ll say again that not everyone has that luxury. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Great discussion, guys. Thanks so much for all of the good comments. Keep it going!
021 // Jeff Croft // 10.01.2006 // 10:08 PM
The real education problem here is teaching them that you are designer, not a web monkey. Explaining to them that you are there to help in decisions regarding designerly things like color, typography, layout, etc — and that you’re trained to do so — will go a long way. Like i said, most people think they’re paying us to code, not design.
People should treat web designers the same way as architects. They should be telling us their problems and goals and asking us to solve them. Instead, they’re usually already sure they know what the solutions are, and they just want us to implement them.
022 // Brian Ford // 10.01.2006 // 10:27 PM
Like I said, it’s an idea in progress.
I want to be on record as saying I think it’s a -great- idea in progress. My comment was in an attempt to brainstorm and highlight what might be good points to look at in refining the idea in progress. (As I’m not a web designer, take what I say with a grain of salt.)
With that said, I think that it’s an avenue that designers will need to go down.
023 // Jared // 10.01.2006 // 11:22 PM
I have to agree with one of the early posts by Matt. A professional body is definitely a positive move but the actual processes involved may make it unfeasable.
I too would be worried that ‘elitism’ may come into play with peer review, and may stop younger developers in their tracks. Most of the people posting on this blog are accomplished and well respected in the field, but what about designers such as myself? I believe I am a good designer - I have a graphic design background and go out of my way to ensure I meet the standards of web design (Valid CSS/HTML, accessibility etc…) set by my peers.
But would I be accepted? Other industries with professional bodies generally have qualitfications for acceptance that are seperate from work experience, meaning newbys have a pathway in - the web industry has no qualifications. As such, we get a chicken and egg argument - without a portfolio I will not be accepted, but I cannot build my portfolio because I am not a “registered” web designer and hence may not be hired if I compete with registered equivalents.
024 // Matt Brown // 10.01.2006 // 11:35 PM
@Christopher Fahey:
Excellent points—the notion that a standards body will save us from the perils of bad design is unrealistic at best. I agree it’s not a matter of businesses not ‘getting’ good design or good web practices, but rather that they 1) don’t have the budget or time to invest in such things or 2) they have a market they’re targeting that may not be most effectively reached by ‘good design’ (along the lines of your articles on class and design).
However, I do think that you brought out something very important in Jeff’s post—there really is a lack of solid and clear client education resources on the web today. Sure, we can all do our best to (calmly) wave our hands about web standards, maintainable code, clean design, etc. but most of the advocacy out there is directed at our own community, and not the larger business world. What I wouldn’t give to have just one good URL to get a new client ‘caught up’ on why building a website/webapp is an serious investment—one that, to do it right, they also need to be very involved in.
@Jeff Croft:
If you’re serious about this project, specifically building a community that primarily promotes client education—count me in. I’d love to help build a community like this. I think it would be a great help to individual designers, as well as the web-design community at large. Perhaps such an organization could define its membership as those who are consistent content contributors—the more helpful you are, the more recognition… Just a thought.
025 // Matt Brown // 10.01.2006 // 11:38 PM
As an aside, I’m not sure that I agree with your assesment that it’s gotten harder to make a real website… Hasn’t it gotten much easier? Where it used to take weeks to debug a CSS issue, Goggle finds the answer in a second. Where it used to cost a significant amount of money to host/register a website, it’s now nearly free. And on and on…
As for the notion of most sites requiring a “good deal of programming”—what do you mean? “Most” websites are simply clear, digital ‘brochures’ for a client looking for online exposure. And this is fine—it’s usually all most clients need—a clear place to promote their product/service/brand. Aside from a CMS (which I think is a trivial issue now, with WordPress, Expression Engine, Drupal, Django, all so readily deployable and relatively easy to use/train), few companies really need to develop custom web applications.
To digress, there’s one thing I think that just about every corprate website could use—better writing. There’s a much ‘design’ to writing and organizing good copy as there is to comping up a nice logo. Sometimes it’s the basic things that get missed.
026 // Christopher Fahey // 10.01.2006 // 11:59 PM
Jeff, good point that there is a vacuum in the world of educating clients about web design. Again, the AIGA is stepping up the pace in that department, and you’d be surprised at how many corporate leaders in tech and marketing read Jakob Nielsen or Forrester’s research reports about web design. Still, there’s a lot more to do.
Also, I wasn’t trying to be snobby about rejecting “bad” clients, really. I was basically saying that if you are an excellent designer, you need to slowly but surely steer your career path towards clients who appreciate good design and have enough money to afford a professional. You don’t want to get paid $15/hour if you’re worth $50/hour.
Yes, you have to pay the bills and sometimes you take clients who aren’t the hippest out there — beleive me, we do this at Behavior, too. We also lose projects to dorm-room designers occasionally, but we can usually chalk that up to the client’s obscenely low budget. I guess I’m just saying that in the big picture you have to hunt down clients who get it, or try to work for a company who can do that hunting for you. It’s the hustle, and it’s part of the job.
027 // Keith // 10.02.2006 // 12:10 AM
I’ve got to agree with Christopher Fahey here. I’m really not sure how some kind of “professional designers union” or something would help this specific problem. I’m not really against it, provided it’s done correctly, but I think the answer here lies in education, both of clients and the “misguided” designers.
(Aside from all that — he makes a great point about choosing your clients carefully.)
We tend to vilify people for not being on the bandwagon, and when you’re talking about people who steal design it’s warranted, but what about all the people who simply don’t know better?
I’d love to see some work done to help provide even more resources for learning designers, I feel like many of the people who’ve got something to teach tend to talk directly to their peers as opposed to writing for the new kids. And if your talking about a client facing educational outlet, I’m all for it, but have a feeling it’d be much harder to do than you might think.
I know at work we’ve been talking about splitting our messages clearly between clients (on our corporate site) and community/peers (on another site that’s in the works.) These things would be related, but give us ways to tailor our messages. We’re looking at that for exactly this reason. We don’t know yet if it’ll work, but I think we need to have a way to talk directly to clients in language that’s targeted towards them. What I’ve already come to realize is that writing to clients is much harder in many ways than writing to your peers.
My hope is that it’s worth it.
028 // Keith // 10.02.2006 // 12:14 AM
Oh, one more thing: This isn’t unique to Web design. My brother does tile work and they’ve got the same problems. As do tradition graphic designers, television producers, photographers, writers, etc.
Not sure if it means much, but it’s probably worth noting.
029 // kyle // 10.02.2006 // 12:45 AM
I agree with client AND developer education. Many on both sides of the line are completely ignorant to good design—both graphically and semantically. Something needs to be done. I originally became interested in Web design after observing some of the very problems mentioned here. The lack of adequate attention to detail drove me completely crazy. I wanted to make things better. After spending the last year or so reading books and articles (on design, CSS/XHTML, Web standards, accessibility, etc.) I began to better understand what it was I didn’t like about all the crap I saw. I also became fascinated with where the industry was headed and how great it would be to join others who strove for excellence in Design. I recently constructed a simple resume page listing a few of my competencies and employment desires—and to my surprise—I was chosen by a local group interested in adopting and integrating logical, standards-based approaches to Web design. They’re using a propriatary CMS that is a bit outdated but their desire to realign goals and redesign products made me want to take on the challenge. Hey, ask for rain and it pours. Right? So keep the discussions alive. It’s only a matter of time before others in the industry catch on.
030 // Sean Sperte // 10.02.2006 // 1:30 AM
Uhm, yes. You could sum up your entire article in that statement. May I have permission to print it and post it on my office wall?
031 // Tomas Jogin // 10.02.2006 // 2:10 AM
I absolutely agree. I also know from personal experience that many employers think of programmers and/or developers as nothing more than glorified typists; they don’t see the creative of qualitative aspects of the job.
032 // Mark Boulton // 10.02.2006 // 3:35 AM
Great post Jeff and some fantastic comments here also.
There are some very familiar points coming up here. One of them - the old ‘clients just don’t get good design’ - is, to be frank, getting a little boring. Clients shouldn’t have to. Simple as that. As a designer, it’s your job to solve a problem for a client, not provide them with good design. Most often, that is what a client sees. There’s a subtle, but definate distinction.
As a member of a professional traditional (typo)graphic design body, I can only say what that organisation does for me, and what a similar model could do for web design:
Advice and professional practice. As I recently set up in business, this was a place I could go to find up-to-date, relevant advice on current business practice in design. Educational promotion. I first heard of the iSTD at university. They came in and set briefs and based upon your performance, you were awarded membership. The important thing to note is that they were getting into educational establishments and enthusing students with current best practice. After spending some time with some interactive design courses here in the UK, our industry could benefit from this. Client education and Certification. I don’t think either will work. Client’s don’t generally care (and why should they), and certification is just, well, a nightmare to implement.
So, to recap. I think a professional body is a great idea as a place to promote best practice across business and education.
I think.
033 // Steven Hambleton // 10.02.2006 // 3:43 AM
I have come across countless situations were a friend or relative of an employee/board member etc is doing the site.
My first questions are
Do they use Web Standards? Do they cater to impending disability/accessibility guidelines? Do they use tableless design for quicker and easier maintenance down the road? Do they consider the typography, colours and context of their existing collateral? Will they react well to criticism and is someone willing to dish it out without fear of upsetting the office?
We are professionals and things are moving in a new direction and soon new techniques will move quicker than the hack can keep up.
I point people to my portfolio and give examples of my work and stuff from Web Sites that Suck to highlight the importance of a professional job over a job.
To finish off I will give you an example. I quoted for a job that involved a company that produces high end scanning software. They wanted to explain to the customer the benefits of the product, how it can help etc. Instead they used the cheaper service and got an HTML version of their brochure with long paragraphs of spec and no selling.
The point here is that people need to understand that the web is not print. People read and digest differently than a brochure. The fact the brochure was badly designed probably didn’t help either. Businesses waste obscene amounts of money on crap services such as dodgy brochures with no idea of typography and layout and they assume this is good and this then gets transferred to their opinions on web design.
Have you seen how many bad websites are out there and how happy the owner is about them!?
It will make you laugh…
034 // Simon Clayson // 10.02.2006 // 3:45 AM
There are some great points in this article and comments, and this discussion follows on nicely from Mark Boulton’s post, and also fits in nicely with the kerfuffle over alcoholic design rips at Airbag Industries.
All the analogies are interesting particularly in regard to Architecture (which is very difficult, and more complicated than designing for the web), but I think the fundamental thing as you highlight is the whole “I’ve a camera so I’m a photographer” thing. Well, yes, you are, but perhaps not a particularly good one. Now then I HAVE got a hammer, and a screwdriver, and a drill… I’ve lived in my house now for 7 years, and I’ve done things like put up shelves and they are level, they do the job, and they’ve stayed up. But am I a chippy? No, because if you look at the edges and the way that the shelf interacts with the wall, it’s more of a bodge job, but, as a designer, I can see that it’s not great because I just want to do it again and better. So, now why did’nt I get in a proper carpenter and get the job done right and well? Because I can’t justify the cost for the job, and I can do the job ADEQUATELY. So now we come full circle to web design and we see the wider world view of web design, with access to the cheap tools, we can all be web designers to a point, and there are a lot of people out there who are happy with ADEQUATE and CAN tell the difference between good and bad design. If you want mediocrity, you’ll do it yourself, or you’ll pay pittance for your crap. I’m not a writer either as you can tell.
I’m pulled both ways on the professional body thing, but I’m erring more and more towards one. And the best way to combat hacks and make sure the good designers get work? Keep on getting better, be expressive, be passionate and be optimistic. And remember there are people in the world like nurses who can save lives.
035 // Steven Hambleton // 10.02.2006 // 3:49 AM
Hi Mark!
Anyway yes it is up to us to sell ourselves and our services. how many times has a customer tried to chip in with their ‘design input’.
I will take it on board but politely tell them my view ‘as a professional designer’ and give an example if possible.
MArk is right that the customer shouldn’t have to know anything about design. It is up to us to convince them we know better than the next one and the reasons why :)
036 // d.loop // 10.02.2006 // 4:21 AM
a very good and well said article. it’s obvious alot of people are thinking the same thing.
however, something i’d like to touch on is that a client who chooses a $30 per hour designer, would also be the same client who would not care if a designer belonged to some professional body industry union. especially one that is delegated by a set of peers.
most designers make terrible salesmen. most designers who charge $30 per hour i would guess, don’t have a whole lot of freelance experience. thus, they charge less, to ensure a sale. your average client can relate to someone of that nature. most clients i know, aren’t looking for the next award winning design, if their standards are low, then a low price would seem reasonable.
one thing that professional designers seem to create is an illusion that if someone doesn’t recoginze a great, perfectly executed design, that they are stupid or have bad taste. design comes with a broad set of opinions. what may seem a pile of crap to you, could be a stack of gold to the next guy.
sean sperte summed it up… alot of clients are looking people who know how to use the tools, because they dont have the desire to learn, dont have the time to learn, or are just too busy/lazy. it comes with our profession.
the term web designer is still relatively new. some people just havent grasped the concept that we want to be hired for our judgements in all aspects of it. so they dont care how many hours you spend on typography, they cant tell the difference between arial and avenir.
i think over time things will weed themselves out. its not like we didnt see this coming. the internet exploded over night. and with it, came a new career, that you dont need an education for, you dont need a degree for and you dont actually have to be good at. that appeals to a heaping load of, most likely, young people. especially if you dont have to leave your house and your computer for your job.
the way i see it… if the client chooses the $30 designer, let them… move on, you are better off going after bigger fish. and we all can tell stories of a client or two who did choose that cheap designer and payed for it, or came back to you crying…
037 // Christopher Fahey // 10.02.2006 // 7:12 AM
I really like Steven Hambleton’s suggestion that designers who know they are competing against 11-year olds, kids in dorm rooms, and the client’s cousin, should make their sales pitch explicitly state why it is important to hire a real pro like him or her, including side-by-side comparisons of hack and pro designs, the differences in the level of service, results, etc. A professional organization can help designers with the vocabulary they need to make this sale, but there’s no need to wait: start doing it now.
Great idea, Steven. Again, it’s all about the hustle.
038 // M. Jackson Wilkinson // 10.02.2006 // 7:47 AM
Great post, Jeff. I think that the model we should really be looking to is the Realtor model. There are lots of people who work in real estate, and lots of them even have a real estate license, but being a Realtor means (or is projected to mean) more than that, and they, as an organization, do a good job of showing why you should look for an actual Realtor when selling your home. It helps real estate businesses large and small, and people understand it.
Perhaps being a member of the given web design organization means that you not only have a mastery of the skillset, but have a devotion to certain principles that we determine is synonymous with professional and effective web design. At that point, you can sell those principles, either specifically or vaguely (“we abide by a set of principles”). By breaking these principles against the wishes of the client, the member jeopardizes their ability to stay in the organization.
Some people still won’t understand, and will hire the $30 designer or the kid in the basement, and that’s their call, but I do believe it’s important for us as an industry to make that differentiation and make it in a way that most people can understand.
039 // Adam Spooner // 10.02.2006 // 8:10 AM
In which I shamelessly ask Jeff to coerce WO to create a jr-level position.
Jeff - I’ve said this before, and your comment sparks me to say it again - when are you going to have a jr-level design position at WO so I can apply? =)
040 // Dave Simon // 10.02.2006 // 9:31 AM
You can’t teach people taste, it seems. They either have it or they don’t.
Just look around at signage in your hometown. Or flip through the phone book. Look at the logos. How many of them are well designed and how many are clipart? How many of them use type well, how many just use typefaces (around here, the “rustic” look of Papyrus is particularly overwhealming.)
However, creating an exclusive “club” (let’s call it what it really would be) isn’t the solution. The solution is to sell yourself better than the hack.
Seriously, if we REALLY believe our skills to be better at selling a product or service, shouldn’t it start at home?
Now, I wish I had time to work on my own materials… my site was done in a weekend over a year ago. My business cards never got printed… oh well.
041 // beto // 10.02.2006 // 9:44 AM
On my little corner of the (third) world, you would be considered extremely lucky if, as a professional, you get to charge thirty bucks an hour and have clients pay it. Reality is, average earnings are more like a fraction of that amount, even if you freelance like crazy.
I have done web design and development for a living for about ten years, always aiming to make things the right way - web standards, web-optimized design, usability and such. I currently work for a mid-sized company serving Fortune 500 clients, and I feel it’s the best thing I could have done with my career so far - sure, you can go and try freelancing your way, but having to fight over creative control and having clients micromanaging and nickel-and-diming you? Been there, done that many, many times over. Thanks, but no thanks.
Talks about establishing a “serious” designer’s union that formalizes the profession and validates real professionals have been on and off over time. However (again, at least here on my surroundings) it is the designer’s ego clashes, and the fact that most don’t seem to take their own profession as seriously as they should, that usually mar any attempts to establish an union as strong as that of doctors or architects. I don’t have great expectations for something like it to happen if we don’t let go of the self-righteous, egotistical BS among ourselves first.
042 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 9:50 AM
Yeah, but it’s not just about taste. Taste has to do with style. Design is far more than style. Design has to do with communication, solving problems, making things enjoyable to use. Style is a matter of personal opinion — quality design (largely) isn’t.
Yeah, the numbers were totally made up and definitely have a western bias. Please feel free to substitute whatever is appropriate in your area.
I also work on an in-house team and basically agree with you — but this problem isn’t exclusive to freelancers. Even in-house “clients” sometimes don’t understand that we’re more than “web monkeys” to order around. This was especially a problem at the Universities I worked at.
043 // James Adams // 10.02.2006 // 10:31 AM
A think a great example of the very problem you are talking about is the kcchiefs.com web site redesign. How on earth could you take a happycog creation and decide that “well, that really doesn’t quite do it for us.” WTF on that decision? Do we not all agree that the HappyCog crew most assuredly told the powers that be at the Chiefs’ front office what this new design would do/mean for their organization? I mean, if even the outstanding work from HappyCog can get downgraded, what does that mean for the rest of us? Are we all destined to have the same outcome?
I have recently been through a similar experience with a site that I built. I spent several hours creating valid code and presenting semantic markup. All my efforts were a wash however when the company decided to join with a network of other similar shops who hired a design company to do all of their sites. Even after I explained all of the new things that their site would give them, at the end of the day, the company still didn’t understand that they should care and went back to a meaty table based design that doesn’t pass any validation tests at all. I just want to “TOGGLE” and I can’t. Oh, how my stomach turns when I see the new site.
I always try to tell them in my initial speech when hired “why” what we do is so important and how sites from 4 years ago just don’t “cut-it’ and here’s what I can bring you. Heads are nodded in agreement as if undertood but they just don’t. Even if you were to provide a portfolio or resume with all non-myspace look and feel, companies don’t understand screen-readers, semantic markup or nested tables. They don’t see the value in all the “hidden” extras that their new site could offer. They don’t care because they dont’ get that they should care. I think that the only way to fight ignorance of any kind is education.
I am positive that “some-day” it will get better for us. CMS’s that take into account valid code and accessbility will help with this. The problem is that sometimes the right tool is used by the wrong person. Clients need direction when asking for a redesign. They’ve seen something cool (animated mailbox gif) and want the same thing. I simply state why that might not be the best solution and here’s 5 other professional samples of similar companies doing something different/better. IMHO, that’s the only way to make the web better, by replacing all the junk out there with “better” stuff. That’s what a professional designer is, someone who recognizes the state that something is in and strives to make it better - constantly. You are never “done” with something and that’s something that should be taught to all those wishing to make the leap over to the professional world. I have not yet made the leap, but at least recognize that there is a difference.
Hilarious digg on the Washburn IT person. So much for applying there. I’d much rather work for World Online. :D Any idea how many “air-quotes” I used? Geez-Louise.
044 // Reinmar Müller // 10.02.2006 // 11:51 AM
In reality and practice right now, the only way to fight the “nephew design syndrome”, as it’s known here in Germany, is to educate clients. This can be an awkward task. You have to be careful to not let the client think you’re insulting his/her judgement or the competence of his/her employee, buddy, nephew or other potential “web designer”. At the same time you do need to deliver the hard facts about what differentiates professional work from amateur work. Using vocabulary and explanations that make sense to the client without overwhelming them is the key.
I have found, though, that a client who is a sensible and flexible businessperson in general will usually listen, and some are even downright grateful for that kind of “enlightenment”. Those that don’t want to listen and are not willing to pay for solid work are probably clients you should steer clear of anyway.
045 // Rob Weychert // 10.02.2006 // 2:09 PM
Jeff, you accuse people of mistaking the design tools for the design job, but doesn’t this technology certification you’re talking about do just that? After all, as you said, the skills that really earn us our money are our problem-solving skills, our understanding of typography and color theory, etc. And it used to be that the “certification” for those skills was a design degree from a reputable college or university. Yet, for better or worse, I’m guessing that the majority of web designers have a degree in something other than design, if they have a degree at all.
So what ever happened to the ol’ “Education” part of the resumé?
[Apologies if I’m reiterating any previous comments; I didn’t have a week to read through everything. :) ]
046 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 2:21 PM
To clarify (again), I’m not in favor of a certification. I don’t think it’s practical, and I agree that it would probably place too much emphasis on the tools, rather than the skills. I guess what I wrote must have been confusing, because you’re not the first person to misunderstand, but I am more interested in a group that served to educate clients and designers, not one that tried to certify them.
You’re right about education, Rob — but what Universities do you know of that offer high-quality web design programs? Is it really practical to expect web designers to have these degrees? I don’t think so. Maybe someday, but not today.
047 // Brian Ford // 10.02.2006 // 2:29 PM
I guess what I wrote must have been confusing, because you’re not the first person to misunderstand, but I am more interested in a group that served to educate clients and designers, not one that tried to certify them.
I think both options should be considered as a two-pronged attack.
048 // Joey Marshall // 10.02.2006 // 2:31 PM
From my experience, the people who are looking for their websites done cheaply aren’t going to be any fun to work with anyway. As I like to put it, they are the customers from hell.
My opinion is to let them be. The ones that are only willing to pay $30/mo are going to be the ones that want to controll every single detail of the website.
049 // Rob Weychert // 10.02.2006 // 2:36 PM
Fair enough, and please pardon me for misunderstanding. As for universities, there are plenty with solid graphic design programs, but it’s true that few—if any—of them have an up-do-date focus on the web. It’s not shocking, if you consider the degree to which the web at large still doesn’t get web standards, and I expect that the more widely web standards are understood and incorporated, the more likely you’ll be to find them in schools. We mustn’t forget that in the grand scheme of things, the web is still a very young technology. It’s as exciting a time as it is frustrating, and these issues amount to inevitable (and probably necessary) growing pains.
050 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 2:38 PM
Perhaps. I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea of a certification, I just think it would be extremely tricky to do it well (to the point of being impossible?) and it’s not what I personally am interested in.
People keep saying this, and they’re right — but I think it shows a lack of concern for the clients, the web, and our industry as a whole. If you don’t want to work with a particular client and you can afford to let them go, fine. But that client is still going to get a website from someone, and if that website is a piece of shit that they paid someone for, they’re furthering the devaluation of design on the web because you chose not to work with them.
I’m not saying you should work with shitty clients — I’m just saying that being ambivalent about the fact that someone else is going to create a steaming pile of shit for them doesn’t help our industry.
051 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 2:40 PM
Rob, you’re absolutely right, and I’d say any organization that served to educate clients and designers ought to work on getting better web education in schools, as well.
052 // Lea // 10.02.2006 // 2:44 PM
Maybe the best course of action is to present our cases to the classrooms — but not just design faculties. We’ve got to hit the BUSINESS faculties. Maybe we can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but when the future of business is still in school we can help shape their thinking for the betterment of the future? Maybe? And how?
Perhaps we’ve been focusing too much on the design community when we need to start presenting to the rest of the business world…?
053 // James Bennett // 10.02.2006 // 2:54 PM
Make a similar case about web sites: you’re putting the life of your business in someone’s hands, so shouldn’t you be seeking out the best person you can possibly get?
054 // Matt Howell // 10.02.2006 // 3:31 PM
A professional organization could go a long way to serve everyone’s interests — designers and the public included.
The main point of doing all this is to serve the public better. It’s in all of our interests to build a better relationship with businesspeople and marketing people and anyone who ever has a need to commission a website. The more comfortable they feel with knowing what to expect out of us, the better we look, and the more respected our work becomes.
I think the first step for a professional web design association is to define just what constitutes a web design professional. I don’t know, let’s get it started:
What makes a professional web designer professional? How does he conduct himself? How accessible should he be? What should I expect him to do — and when am I expecting too much? What kind of fee structures are typical in the field? Should I expect to pay a deposit? What are the benefits to paying a flat fee versus by the hour? Is it normal for the designer to charge me for changes? Is it necessary to get the terms on paper?What should I do if we have a dispute? What are some red flags I should look for when dealing with a web designer? What should I do in case things go wrong?
Obviously it could go further from there. But aren’t these pretty basic questions that we could agree on and answer in an objective way?
Also. If you want ideas, check out the website for the AIA - the American Institute of Architects. If there is an analogy between our profession and any other, I think this is just about the closest one.
055 // Scott // 10.02.2006 // 6:49 PM
You could form a brute squad to strong-arm others out of the market—or to bully clients into chosing Designers of “Designers.”
I find this a sticky subject, because it sometimes sounds like people are saying professional designers are entitled to the choicest clients and projects. Clients choose to work with one person over another based on what they have and what they know. There’s a balance to be struck between the cheapest price and the knowledge that a higher price would net superiour results. The problem as I see it isn’t “clients are choosing the cheaper designer and how dare they snub my superior skills” but that clients don’t understand the choice. Therefore, educating potential clients seems the best goal.
Unfortunately there’s no one way to educate folks about the value of professional design. Perhaps an organized body is a great way to do it, or perhaps that has too many problems of its own. I feel the best place to start is a strong portfolio with powerful case studies, that clearly show the value that others have gained from your services. Educate your prospects one at a time; some will see the value in your services and others won’t.
056 // Matthew Croft // 10.02.2006 // 7:26 PM
Jeff-
As you well know I do not have any experience in this area; and I do not claim to. However, I want to point out the definition of “Professional”, from Merriam-Webster’s Online dictionary: Professional: participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs. I believe that, by definition, anyone who gets paid for his or her work is a professional. You, however, are stating that they are still amateur.
057 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 8:09 PM
Matt-
That’s why “professional” is in quotation marks in the title. The word professional carries with it many connotations, only one of which is a person who gets paid to do a particular task. Another meaning that the word connotes is a person with an insistence that something should be correct or suitable in each detail. Yet another is a person who does something at a very high quality. And yet another is a person who acts with a certain degree of class.
Some synonyms for “professional” include expert, accomplished, skillful, masterly, polished, skilled, proficient, competent, able, experienced, practiced, trained, seasoned, businesslike, and deft (thank you, cmd-ctrl-D!)
I am? Where? I don’t believe I ever said they weren’t professionals — they are, by your singular pedantic definition. But they don’t live up to the other connotations of the word, do they?
If you want to argue about the semantics of a particular word, we can do so a later date. Right now, there’s a meaningful conversation about the state of our industry going on and this is only serving to sidetrack it.
058 // cpawl // 10.02.2006 // 10:48 PM
To me, “professional” designers should not have any care or issue over this. Being a “professional” means you work in the industry and on great projects already. You create “professional” work. Designers need to stop whining about how hard work is and how no one understands how much they put into it and how much knowledge they obtained to be a “professional”. The proof should be in the pudding and if a client fails to see this then so be it. Being a martyr for “professional” designers and taking on clients or (attempting to) doesn’t seem very appealing from a “professional” standpoint. This is the world wide web for heaven sakes, there are zillions of sites, billions of clients, and millions of industry “professionals’. In the same regard that you should not always trust the cheapest guy you should not always assume that the more expensive guy knows anything more. You work, your professionalism, should be the deciding factor.
Also, some projects have no need for true self proclaimed expensive jeans wearing nice haircut “professionals”. A small town mom with the dream of selling self-made baby items that she decided upon once she installed her AOL disk might only need to sell to others with the same AOL connection. Is she less professional than the babygap? Maybe, but her crappy site that she only paid $300 for generated $12,000 for her that year. If she went the ‘professional’ route she would have paid half that just to sit and talk over the concept.
I am off topic a bit…
My point is this is a huge industry, and there are indeed people with hammers in the real world who claim to be carpenters too. Regardless if you realize this, such things exist in EVERY industry whether it be designers, carpenters, painters, car salemen, whatever. I think we should spend less time worrying about such things and get to work. Hell, I am currently billing for a “professional’ job right now but instead of working I am typing about this crap.
No doubt there are many people claiming to be professionals that are not, I can not disagree there, but how and why is that a true “professionals” problem? Because they are stealing your jobs? Hmm… take a look at the woman who you referenced Jeff, and the industry jobs she has performed and tell me how many you wish you were hired to do. How is she really effecting your position in the industry? Sure, her clients can do better… that is besides the point really. As a professional you should be one of the only not effected. You work and merit should keep you busy plenty.
Maybe my work, dedication, love, and interest is not ‘professional” as I feel it is because I rather not be associated with self righteous designers. I rather be honest and fair. I have offered cheaper services many times. Maybe it’s because I am a hack or maybe it’s because doing something you love and know and care deeply about isn’t really that difficult, It is more of a blessing than a curse.
059 // Jeff Croft // 10.02.2006 // 11:25 PM
You’re missing the point, and this comment illustrates it. I’m not talking about this because I’m not comfortable with my station in life. I’m happy with where I am — and you’re right, she is not affecting me in any way (at least anymore — she fired me once and it had a profound impact on where I am today). But she is still out there, creating pages on this web of ours.
And that’s why I’m talking about this — because I care about the web, and because I care about the clients that aren’t getting served properly when they unknowingly hire these hacks.
It’s not about me. It’s about the web and the clients.
060 // BigA // 10.03.2006 // 4:10 AM
All your points are valid but I do think there is a way to make such a ‘union’ work however you’d have to come at it from the viewpoint of the client and all the things we know/assume about them. If we take as a given that they cannot fully comprehend what it is a designer does, then perhaps you need to start speaking in languages they can understand - money & safety. If there were a union of designers who all pledged to a certain code of work ethics which outlined a series of client protections then I believe you’ve suddenly got a rather attractive incentive for using only designers beloning to that union. The client knows that the work will be of high standard but more importantly they know there’ll be a level of support and recourse should something go wrong along the way. I doubt very highly that their 14 year old nephew with the bootleg copy of Dreamweaver can offer as much and frankly I think the reason people go for the cheaper route is not usually becuase of cost at all, but more that they don’t understand the process and feel like they’re being ripped off. If you address this core fear then I think you’re well on your way.
061 // Ben Perry // 10.03.2006 // 12:17 PM
It’s hard to take this rant serious when the author got his start the exact same way he’s advocating against. The tone comes out rather arrogant (“We professionals, those amateurs”) and the line between amateur and professional is both blurry and relative. The market sorts out the professional from the hack - the hacks might make a few bucks, but the professionals make a living. Mark was absolutely right - the portfolios speak for themselves. If you’re upset that clients aren’t looking at port folios when dishing out contracts, then you’re obviously not selling yourself hard enough.
062 // Brian Ford // 10.03.2006 // 12:32 PM
It’s hard to take this rant serious when the author got his start the exact same way he’s advocating against.
The author actually got his start when working in HTML was “the way to go” if you wanted to design web pages.
Your argument would work a lot better Jeff had started his career by illustrating web pages by hand (with pencil and paper - handwritten type, too!) only to scan the pages and upload the drawn image to the internets — rather than by utilizing the same HTML that everyone else was using at the time. Jeff has always worked with what would be considered “best practice” at the time. You can criticize him for a lot of things being hypocritical with this rant isn’t one of them. (Choice of Halloween costume is.)
The rant isn’t that some people are utilizing crappy techniques — the rant is that they are doing so rather than learning new techniques and calling their work professional. (Even though such techniques haven’t been considered professional in years.) The same issue would arise if a Doctor was using deprecated/outdated technology in the medical world. (Especially if the technology wasn’t as useful for his patients.)
While there may not be anything that can be done — raising the issue is important, as it proves that “some” people do have standards (no pun intended) that they will live up to. Letting hacks promote shitty work uncontested validates that work.
If you’re upset that clients aren’t looking at port folios when dishing out contracts, then you’re obviously not selling yourself hard enough.
Nice leap of logic. At no point does Jeff complain that “his” clients aren’t looking at portfolios — yet you make the inane assertion that Jeff is somehow unhappy with where he’s at due to not selling himself hard enough.
This article isn’t about Jeff — it’s about the state of an industry that he cares about.
Quite frankly — his work speaks for itself, but you lost me with that last point. You clearly missed his point and have decided to wing it with your criticisms.
063 // Ben Perry // 10.03.2006 // 12:45 PM
Nice leap of logic. At no point does Jeff complain that ‘his’ clients aren’t looking at portfolios — yet you make the inane assertion that Jeff is somehow unhappy with where he’s at due to not selling himself hard enough.
The rant isn’t that some people are utilizing crappy techniques — the rant is that they are doing so rather than learning new techniques and calling their work professional.
Again - the line between professional and amateur is relative. Being a professional musician, I can pick up just about any instrument I’ve never played before, practice on it for about 30 minutes, and play a broad range of music on that instrument. Does that make me a professional at that instrument? Obviously not, but compared to a beginner musician, it’s actually really good quality. The main point is that it’s all relative.
And that’s the key - many clients need certain levels of professional service. They get what they pay for, they pay for what they need.
064 // Jeff Croft // 10.03.2006 // 1:01 PM
I started in 1994. If you know of a university where I could have gotten a quality web design education in 1994, let me know.
And, for the record, I’m not advocating against it at all. What I am advocating against is the people who learn a few basic tools (like Dreamweaver) and then decide they don’t need to learn another thing for the rest of their careers.
I’m not a freelancer, so this point doesn’t really apply to me.
065 // Jeff Croft // 10.03.2006 // 1:08 PM
I’ll retract my last comment. I hadn’t read this yet when I wrote it.
This is a good point — but it assumes that clients know what they need. But do they? Do clients know they need sites that are built with web standards in order to meet accessibility guidelines (or even laws in some countries?) Do they know they need a designer that has studied typography? Do they know they need a site designed specifically for them, rather than a generic template in order to further their brad identity? Do they know that some designers will simply ripoff other sites and sell them as their own, thus putting the client in an unfortunate legal position? Perhaps more importantly, do they know what they don’t need?
I think most clients don’t understand these things, and that is why I am advocating for some sort of group/orginazation/site/wahtever that serves to educate the consumers of web design.
066 // Ben Perry // 10.03.2006 // 1:16 PM
What I am advocating against is the people who learn a few basic tools (like Dreamweaver) and then decide they don’t need to learn another thing for the rest of their careers. It’s hard to believe that one could do well in an industry without keeping up with the state of the art. Again, the market sorts this kind of thing out. Those who are good make a living, those who are hacks make a few bucks.
067 // Jeff Croft // 10.03.2006 // 1:18 PM
I assure you, several of these people continue to do well. The afore mentioned “Manager of Web Services” makes more money than me, and look at her web site.
068 // Ben Perry // 10.03.2006 // 1:25 PM
I think most clients don’t understand these things, and that is why I am advocating for some sort of group/orginazation/site/wahtever that serves to educate the consumers of web design.
I think this is a good point; many clients aren’t aware of the industry standards and what actually goes on behind the scenes. A lot of times, all they really care about is what the final product looks like on their web browser.
Many times, designers are chosen simply by their credentials - the port folio, their degree(s), and any industry certifications. Are there any industry-accepted certifications handed out in the design field? If not, maybe that’s one area that could be looked into by a standards group.
069 // Brian // 10.03.2006 // 2:05 PM
We have delt with these same issues over the years, and when ever we come across a business owner with the “My Cousin Timmy can do it” attitude. We try to bring up that for a lot of people the web site is going to be the first exposure to the owners business and that first impressions are everything.
It helps some times but others there is nothing you can do. The other problem we have run into is taking over clients only to find out that the shoping cart that was being used was not licensed correctly and serving other things that are illegal. It’t stuff like this we try to fight in out community cause it gives any developer a bad name.
070 // Joey Marshall // 10.03.2006 // 3:22 PM
Ah OK, at first it wasn’t clear to me that you were concerned about the state of all those unfortunate people who have to pay for terrible websites and for the unfortunate people that browse them.
This is just my opinion, so I could be dead wrong, but I think that there is a 0% chance of educating enough people to make much of a difference. The noobs are making money, in their mind, why should the do things any differently?
The only feasible way I see of making the websites on the net better is to see the entry level higher for web design (make it harder for people to publish websites). But I would hate to see that happen.
I also see search engines doing a pretty good job of putting the bad sites last… and who ever sees past the third page on google?
For some reason, I don’t really come across hardly any terrible websites… maybe it’s just because I mainly visit sites with a more geeky audience….
071 // M. Jackson Wilkinson // 10.03.2006 // 4:13 PM
And that’s the key - many clients need certain levels of professional service. They get what they pay for, they pay for what they need.
But many of them don’t understand the true consequences of doing a website on the cheap.
It’s as if you did the electrical work in your new house on the cheap. While your lights might turn on, that won’t be comforting when your house burns down weeks/months/years later because of the poor job.
I guess that might be the challenge— not of showing who is best able to design web sites, but instead showing the consequences of a poorly-done one. Once they realize that they are sacrificing a) lost opportunities and b) their public image by going with the cheaper option, then they’ll be in a better position to make an informed decision.
Now, some folks might make an informed decision to go with the cheap option, but they’ll recognize the risks they’re taking.
072 // Jeff Croft // 10.03.2006 // 4:41 PM
Exactly. Well said.
073 // cpawl // 10.03.2006 // 6:34 PM
I still think it’s all whining. Clients who need something big need to look, talk, and get the right people for the job. This is no different than an average home owner hiring the wrong plumber. How much do you know about about plumbing? How much do you care? If their business is worth it, they will figure it out. If any said client went to that website you presented for a service and still they could not figure it out that such a person has nothing to offer them at any rate… well then it’s sad.
A union of designers would end up with a bunch of pretentious knuckleheads, the industry already has more of them then it does “hacks”.