Boyink! - Spring Forward on the Web

The other day I received a phone call from another web design/development company looking for some help with an ExpressionEngine implementation.  During our conversation the caller asked (near as I can recall) “We’re, like, real designers (emphasis hers).  Have you ever worked with real designers?”

I keep re-playing that moment in the conversation trying to figure it out, and wishing I had responded differently.

What I said was, “Well, before starting my business I worked for several years at Herman Miller, and I don’t know of another company - at least here in West Michigan - where design was so important and such a strong part of the brand.”

In other words, I didn’t answer the question.  At least not directly. 

What I wish I would have said is, “Well, tell me what you mean by “real designers”?

After this conversation took place of course I got naturally curious about this company so I went to their website.  And it was - you guessed it - all Flash.  Every bit of it.  And their portfolio was more of the same—lots of Flash work.  In their defense the project they were looking for help on wasn’t all Flash - but it still used Flash in a very prominent way with a number of movies that needed to be randomized in a header area.

I really wish I knew the reason behind the question - was this a sense of pride in their own work, or a commentary on my own portfolio?  While I never pitch myself as a “designer” I have, over the past 12-ish years of building stuff on screens, probably “designed” hundreds of processes, interfaces, and reports.  Does that qualify me as “real”?  What about the talented local guys I work with who do focus more on the design aspect of web development - would they be considered “real”?

What I can’t help but think - after reconciling the conversation along with the accompanying company site and portfolio, is that I’ve placed myself in a bubble of web development professionals who, for the most part, “get” the web and understand how design decisions can affect site performance, usability, search engine indexing and placement, and accessibility.  And I’m reminded that outside of that bubble are still people and companies who continue to thumb their nose at those bottom-line business concerns in favor of fluffy designs meant to look good in a portfolio. 

If that’s what being a “real designer” means - putting my own goals before my clients, then I guess my answer to the question is “No, I guess I haven’t worked with “real designers”.

I’m probably making a much bigger deal out of the conversation than I should…it’s just been one those interchanges that stick in my head. 

Comments are closed, but you can read the comments other people left.

1. Leslie on June 04, 2007

   You should email them a link to this post and ask for a private response. I’d be really curious.

2. Boyink (Author) on June 04, 2007

   Oh - it also struck me later: When I mentioned HermanMiller I got no response that indicated she knew who I was talking about.

   Maybe I over-estimate the impact HMI has had on the design world, but then again I don’t see how you would call yourself a “real designer” and not be aware of a company that has interacted with so many famous designers over the years, or produced as many iconic pieces of furniture.

3. Dave J. on June 04, 2007

   A great key assessment of yourself. Apparently they have a similarly focused assessment of themselves, they just didn’t know how to communicate it. But they obviously know it could be a problem.

   I recently ran into a similar situation where I was asked ‘do you have experience in (blank)’. I wish I had asked some questions, just like you do.

4. Simon Cox on June 04, 2007

   Real design is developing an item for a purpose - it doesn’t matter how ugly it is as long as it does the function it was designed for. This day and age it is very easy to set yourself up producing websites and appearing to be a trained designer and I would like to think that is what she meant.. But then again she is probably not the Ugly Betty…

   Then again maybe she meant it in theSpanish sense, such as Real Madrid, which translates to Royal Madrid… :)

   Don’t get me started on the Flash websites argument but if nearly everything they do is Flash based then that suggests to me that there are a lot of businesses who have way too much marketing spend and very little idea of what ROI is to keep supporting the style of substance shops. There are good Flash sites though.

5. Simon Cox on June 04, 2007

   Pants - must learn to proof read. I meant “style over substance”.

6. mike atkinson on June 04, 2007

   if they have to say they’re a real designer, they’re not.

7. Nathan Smith on June 05, 2007

   Mike: I wouldn’t sweat it. You help create solutions that meet your clients’ needs, and adhere to industry standard best practices, all the while making things look a little nicer in the process. I’d say that makes you a designer in my book - You focus on “big D” design, and not just making things pretty or whiz around the screen.

8. Boyink (Author) on June 05, 2007

   Thanks guys…

9. salguod on June 06, 2007

   Hey, I’m a ‘real designer’ (got a degree in Industrial Design) and I think your doing OK.

   Maybe you should redesign my blog for me, then you could say you worked with a real designer.  :P

   Oh yeah, I forgot about those Herman Miller guys.  Rats.  :D

   Design is a lot more than making it pretty.  A lot more.  Pretty but unusable is just pretty.  Anyone can do pretty (OK not really.)  Now, usable and attractive (like your site)?  That’s real design.

10. Joelle on June 26, 2007

    Hang on, I’m still reeling from the “like, real designers” bit.  :-o Ah, the crisp scent of a design school graduate high Red Bull and self-importance!  Take a whiff!

    I can’t believe someone actually had the audacity to say such a thing.  It’s not a commentary on your portfolio or your skill, it’s a testament to their ego.  Oh, how I wished you’d asked them qualify their claim of “real designer”...  I think that would be really interesting. 

    Nothing against Flash. I’ve worked with Flash myself quite a bit, but I thought websites that built entirely out of Flash anymore were kind of like… unicorns. LOL.  Is that just me?

11. Joelle on June 26, 2007

    I should seriously proofread, but it’s 2:19am. :P

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