Prototyping is considered to be an integral part of web design allowing web designers and developers create interactive mock-ups of a future site, so that a client could get a feel of how the website is going to be functioning and see whether it meets all the design goals. Building and re-building the full design is expensive and time-consuming.

What prototyping offers is the following:
- visibility;
- user involvement;
- increased speed;
- lower costs;
- design aspects testing.

However, though prototyping is aimed to create a simplified version of the future website, the process itself can get rather complicated with a variety of prototyping tools out there and the solutions they offer, determining the time frame and number of revisions before the final requirements.

To find out answers on these questions for you, we addressed a short questionnaire to a number of web design professionals. Below is the express interview we compiled based on the answers given.

Our web design experts today are:

Dan Mall———–Joe Dolson——–Matt Webb——Amy Greiner——Dan Lindop

1. What prototyping tools have you tried? Which ones have you chosen for usage?

Dan Mall: I almost always try to work out multiple ideas on paper; very rarely does my first idea work well. For certain projects, I’ll do a handful of sketches; for others, I’ve done up to hundreds of sketches. When I finally get an idea I’d like to refine, I’ll usually hop into Illustrator, Indesign, or Omnigraffle to try and work it out.

Joe Dolson: I’ve tried Photoshop, Visio, pencil and paper, and HTML. The principle tools I currently work with are HTML and paper and pencil. I’ve generally found that more complex software solutions require more time developing a prototype while saving little or no time in the final development process. If I worked on a team-based model where generating a detailed prototype was required which would be produced by somebody else, I may find it more worthwhile. However, for most of my projects, it simply adds weight to the project.

Matt Webb: I use one called OmniGraffle, because I’m a Mac user and I find it integrates well with OSX.

Amy Greiner: I create all layouts in Photoshop.

Dan Lindop: As we specialise in producing websites and web apps for small to medium businesses, we don’t really use any prototyping tools as such. We favour an iterative process involving our clients where they provide feedback on work-in-progress sites and applications. This works well for us as they can see the development as it would be in the final version.

2. What are the advantages of prototyping tool(s) you’re using now?

Dan Mall: For me, prototyping is about speed, about communicating ideas quickly, so I try to look for tools that allow me to do that. The best one I’ve found is pencil and paper. There’s nothing faster and more raw than sketching ideas by hand, because any insecurities like drawing straight lines or aligning elements perfectly are thrown out. It’s surprising how prototyping on a computer suddenly makes you aware of those issues, and addressing those things during a prototyping phase is a waste of time.

Joe Dolson: Mostly flexibility and the ability to prototype quickly and efficiently. When I’m prototyping in HTML, it also creates the benefit that some portions of the end-product will already be coded at the time that it comes to take the project into the development phase.

Matt Webb: Easy to use, can export a PDF with hotlinks.

Amy Greiner: It’s easy to use as it’s a program I use very often. I don’t do any programming or coding myself so this way I don’t need to involve a programmer until the initial designs have been worked out, which saves time and money. It’s easy to make any client changes without needing to rework any code.

Dan Lindop: Our method allows our clients to get a good feel for how the final site or application will work. As they get to test on a work-in-progress version, it allows us to tweak aspects of the system to suit their preferences. This can be particularly useful for web-based applications. How a user might tackle a problem may be different to how we envisaged, so they can then give us feedback on how they think the system can be made easier and quicker to use.

3. What are the key features you’re looking for when choosing a prototyping tool?

Dan Mall: Speed. That’s why I find that vector tools work really well.

Joe Dolson: Intuitiveness and efficiency. Flexibility.

Matt Webb: Ease of use, you don’t want to be spending a long time struggling to put something together.

Amy Greiner: I’m happy with my process so I really haven’t looked at any other solutions.

4. How does you prototyping process flow? Do you put a time limit on it?

Dan Mall: For me, prototyping has almost always been internal, either to work things out for myself or show someone on my team how it would work. Because of that, I take the liberty of spending as much time on a prototype as I need. If I can solve functional issues up front in a prototype, I don’t have to worry about that when it gets to the actual design stage and can focus solely on design-related issues.

Joe Dolson: For most projects, prototyping is the rapid generation of a visual framework (very basic data layout) and the gathering of data requirements. Because of the way I work, I usually only prototype interactions - the order of events and behaviors in a process.

Matt Webb: It depends on the project. It’s good to get everyone involved – programmer, designer, producer and client.

Amy Greiner: I present the client with 2-3 different designs, each showing 2-3 sample pages of each. I also illustrate how rollovers will work with add’l printouts if necessary. My standard turnaround time is 2 weeks to present initial concepts.

Dan Lindop: This can vary from client to client. In general, the better the initial brief and specification, the quicker it is for us to produce the final version. Most problems tend to occur when a client hasn’t thought through their objectives properly or they are woolly about how they want a system to work. We don’t tend to put a time limit on getting things right. We prefer to talk to the client in order to iron out any problems.

5. How many revisions do you allow your client before final requirements?

Dan Mall: Because prototyping is generally an internal process to me, I’ve only showed prototypes to a handful of clients. In those instances, it was because the client was savvy enough to understand the value of it, almost as if he or she was a part of my team. It was more collaboration than a review cycle.

Joe Dolson: No specific number. It depends on the situation, the change requested, and the cascading impact of the change.

Matt Webb: 2 or 3… Again, depends on the project and client.

Amy Greiner: I usually allow for up to two sets of revisions within the original estimates. I’m happy to make any additional estimates if necessary but these are billed at my hourly rate. Once the designs are signed off on, then I turn the project over to my programmers to create the HTML files. If there are any changes at any point after sign off, they will also usually incur additional costs as well.

Dan Lindop: Again, we prefer to work closely with our clients to get something they are happy with and so far this has worked well for us. Budget is obviously a factor when working on a project, but we make sure that the specification is agreed at the start of a project so all parties concerned know what they will get out of the project. Occasionally, clients will try to add features in so you do have to keep an eye on scope creep.

~Helen Walker~

The name of Daniel Burka should be known to you from the Digg news website and the Pownce free social networking and micro-blogging site, as those two wouldn’t look and feel the same without Daniel’s professional touch as the UI designer. In case of Pownce, Daniel is also responsible for the very idea of the service. Besides, he’s the partner of Canada-based web development company called Silverorange. Daniel mostly works on web interface design and usability consulting but he also “dabbles in other areas of design and can even be dubiously credited as a conference organizer“, as he says about himself on his weblog.

How did you get into UI design?

I first became interested in graphic design in high school thanks to a wonderful visual communications teacher. At that time I was fortunate enough to meet several friends who were also into design and development and we began learning the web design craft together. We eventually formed a company called silverorange, which developed into a top notch design and development shop.

What is it you like about UI design?

Undoubtedly, the thing that most excites me about interface design is the immediate connection with real people and their activities. It’s really incredible to be able to directly influence the way people interact with a system and particularly with each other when you’re designing a social-based system like Digg or Pownce.

What are the core principles of UI design you use in your daily work?

Josh Porter made a presentation a few weeks ago that contained an explanation of the Shaker design philosophy – “Don’t make something unless it is both necessary and useful; but if it is both necessary and useful, don’t hesitate to make it beautiful.” I think this perfectly matches my approach to interface design.

What’s the average percentage of users who dislike the new design has to be in order for designer to change it? In case of Digg redesign, how many users disliked the new design?

I don’t think there is any way to create a general rule for every website and I doubt it is even possible to generalize on a single site of any size. There are many factors that must be weighed when you’re handling user feedback and all critical feedback is not created equal. People are more passionate about some issues than others, large numbers of vocal people aren’t necessarily representative of your audience as a whole, and critical feedback often is almost always more nuanced than ‘I hate it.’

If one were to generalize, I’d emphasize reliance on more reliable data than explicit user feedback. Tracking the implicit feedback of your user-base – what they are actually doing as opposed to what they’re saying – is a more reliable guide for you to react to.

What are the typical mistakes UI designers encounter and how to avoid them?

One of the most important attributes of a good designer is the ability to choose and design great default behaviors. Unfortunately, some user interfaces are designed with a myriad of options for customization, but the defaults aren’t so hot. The Mozilla Suite (aka Seamonkey) was a great example of this – it tried to incorporate every feature and let you choose how to run it, but Firefox completely supplanted it by providing a lean, simple default UI.

How does your design process flow? What was the list of problems to solve when redesigning Digg?

I usually get involved in projects at Digg and Pownce from the brainstorming phase right through development. First we determine what the heck we’re building and how we’ll know if we succeeded when we’re done. Then, I whiteboard some concepts before moving into Photoshop. I usually develop quite realistic concepts in Photoshop and then mark it up in XHTML and CSS, then I work with the developers on implementation details.

Digg has been a three-year-long project thus far, so it’s a bit difficult to answer the second part of your question.

How important is teamwork in projects such as Digg or Pownce?

Short answer: it’s incredibly important. Design can’t or shouldn’t exist as an independent part of an organization.

Would you give a couple of examples of UI design masterpieces?

I think Facebook is a fantastic design. Aaron, Matt, and the other designers there have developed a great visual language that is incorporated all over their site. They’re really breaking a lot of ground in developing interfaces for online applications. The UI that Jason Santa Maria and his team put together for A List Apart is also stellar. It perfectly follows the Shaker principles I quoted earlier – the content drives the design but it also became beautiful.

What advice would you give to beginning UI designers?

I’d encourage beginning UI designers to find or make some friends with similar interests and philosophies. You’ll progress so much faster and with more confidence when you have people who can critique your work and who can push you.

Thanks, Daniel, for a great interview!

~ Helen Walker

Veerle Pieters is a graphic/web designer and SEO of Duoh! n.v living in Deinze, Belgium. She began her career in 1992 as a freelance graphic designer under the name of Duoh!. The first 3 years were mainly filled with print orientated work such as logos, stationery and brochures. Starting 1995, Veerle switched to designing websites and user interfaces for intranets together with multimedia development. She discovered Web Standards after seeing the CSS Zen Garden and the work of Douglas Bowman in 2003. Since then, Veerle has been actively promoting the benefits of Web Standards through her personal journal, which is also a great source for topics ranging from XHTML/CSS to graphic design tips.

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I know you worked on print oriented projects before moving to web design. How did you transition? What were the hurdles you encountered?

You can’t really call it a transition because I still do both. I didn’t have any real hurdles as I had a natural interest in finding out how things work. Not many print oriented print designers have this curiosity. I learned it from looking under the hood and trial and error.

So far, what/who has had the most influence on you?

Earlier on I was very much inspired by the work of Douglas Bowman as he is a really great designer but a good coder as well. More recent I dig the work of Scott Hansen aka ISO50.

You are a web standards advocate. What do web standards mean to you? Don’t you think accessibility and usability limit the artistic freedom of a web designer? Where do you draw the line for accessibility?

It’s a best practice guide to improve your coding skills. So it’s like a person looking over my shoulder and saying, “hey this is wrong”. I see it as a challenge to design nice looking sites with lots of graphic details and still maintain accessibility. I draw the line at the point that a design becomes less attractive or under featured for regular users. When a design starts to look bad because you overdone the accessibility you stepped over that line. Compromising is ok but within reason.

Describe how your design process flows to us.

Sometimes I start on paper but not always, it depends. Usually I create a wireframe in Adobe Illustrator and when this is approved by the client I move on to create the actual design in Adobe Photoshop. The next phase is starting the coding part. For that I usually use DreamWeaver and CSSEdit. The first thing I do is coding the entire HMTL page so I have my structure right and than I switch over to CSSEdit to style things.

You had many variations of veerle.duoh.com website redesign. How did you come to the one that your website has now? How does it reflect your principles in web design and life?

That’s difficult to put into words. A designer that is creating his own stuff is usually a bit like that client from hell. So you create many iterations and let them rest and see if you still like them after a few days. If that’s the case I usually know that I have it right. The one thing that reflects my personality is the colors I guess.

You’re currently restyling duoh.com. When are planning to launch the new design and what do we expect from it?

Hmmm, I don’t dare to put a date on it because it has shifted so much already. I have too much work on my plate and that comes first. I’m trying to launch it before Summer. I have no idea how it will be received and honestly that’s not my concern because the main purpose is that I like it and it serve it’s purpose

What’s your point on rip-offs, and how much a web designer should bother oneself with it? Have you ever had your web design stolen?

Oh it happens on a very regular basis but it is not always the whole design but just parts. I’m easy going for people that ask me things first but I come down like a ton of bricks for those that steal. There are many other options out there to create an original site and some are even free. Just do the effort in looking for it instead of being lazy and disrespectful.

Typical freelance designer pains are pricing the requirements, estimating the time required to fulfill a project and writing legal documentation. How do you manage these things?

Even with my years of experience this remains a hard nut to crack. Each project, each client is different and you don’t have a glass bowl to tell you how it’s going to go. Hourly rate is the easiest way but the client usually wants a ballpark figure. I always time my projects and try to learn from past mistakes.

What are the main problems you face while being the designer?

Getting content from the client so I can design it properly so it fits real usage. Other pains our client that doesn’t value your knowledge or experience and is deaf to what you suggest.

You specialize in logo design. What makes a great logo? To your opinion, what are the world’s best logo designs?

It’s all so suggestive as people opinions differ. I usually love a creation if you can see a few different things in it.

I know you love colors. Where do you seek inspiration for all your amazing color patterns?

I find inspiration in all kinds of things for color. Sometimes I use Kuler from Adobe but on other occasions it comes from nature, pictures or books.

If you had one thing to change in web design industry, what would it be and why?

I would change IE and make sure it’s on par with the other standards browsers so that we don’t have to worry about it anymore and that everything works the same across the board. I also would make it a requirement that web related read up about Web Standards.

What web design blogs/sites/magazines are you following on regular basis?

I am not reading anything anymore due to lack of time. The only things I still follow on a regularly basis is the Flickr feed of friends and inspiring design related pools.

What books would you recommend reading to non-/professional designers?

They best start with books that teach the basics. A few examples are:

• “Build Your Own Website The Right Way Using HTML & CSS” by Ian Lloyd
• “Bulletproof Web Design: Improving flexibility and protecting against worst-case scenarios with XHTML and CSS” (2nd Edition) by Dan Cederholm
• “The Principles of Beautiful Web Design” by Jason Beaird

Many thanks to Veerle for a great interview!

Web design is challenging, especially when you’re the beginner. There’s such a wide range of information online that sometimes it is hard to orient in its chaotic flow. Design Interviews Blog has done a small research on top sources professional web designers choose to follow on regular basis in order to keep up to date. We’ve compiled the list from information given to us by web design experts (mostly the ones we interviewed). Thanks to those who contributed!

Below is the 70 communal and personal websites that could be rather helpful to either an experienced web designer or a newbie.

We’re always looking to add some resources to the list. So, feel free to share yours in comments below.

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COMMUNAL WEBSITES

24Ways to Impress Your Friends
Web design and development articles and tutorial for advent.

37 Signals
Weblog by 37signals about design, business, experience, simplicity, the web, culture, and more.

A List Apart
Magazine that explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.

Accessify
Tools, wizards, articles and tutorials on Web Accessibility for the conscientious web developer

ActionScript
A large online community for Flash, Flex and ActionScript developers and designers at all skill levels.

AlastairC
A technically oriented site about the web and how people use it by Alastair Campbell.

Behance Network
The platform for creative portfolios, projects and collaborations.

Boxes&Arrows
Journal dedicated to discussing, improving and promoting the work of the information architecture community.

Core77
Industrial Design content and community site - articles, discussions, interviews and resources.

Coudal
The site edited by Coudal Partners, a design, advertising and interactive studio in Chicago, as an ongoing experiment in web publishing, design and commerce.

Cpluv
A unique social platform and source of inspiration for talented creatives.

CSS Mania
The most updated CSS showcase all over the globe.

CSS Remix
A Fresh Blend of the Best-designed Web 2.0 Sites

CSS Beauty
A project focused on providing its audience with a database of well designed CSS based websites from around the world.

CulturePush
Sniffs out cool stuff in art, culture and design in Singapore and gets the inside look at the talent behind the ideas.

Design Observer
Features critical essays and selected writings of design culture.

Design is Kinky
A digital publication geared to graphic design in all media. Profiles, mug shots, theory and galleries.

Digital Web Magazine
Articles, tutorials, features, reviews, classified advertisements and other resources for webmasters.

Farm
A free Singapore’s online arts and design web network with local event listings, creative opportunities and websites featuring local creatives and their works.

FFFound
A web service that not only allows the users to post and share their favorite images found on the web, but also dynamically recommends each user’s tastes and interests for an inspirational image-bookmarking experience.

graphicPUSH
Contains articles on web design, creative management, hiring, freelancing, business of design, and free icons, including blog icons.

Information Aesthetics
The weblog explores the symbiotic relationship between creative design and the field of information visualization

JuicyStudio
Programming and web development tutorials, including ASP, PHP, and javascript.

K10K
The designers’ lunchbox, a global digital design portal. Updated weekly with a new issue, updated hourly with global design news.

MocoLoco
Featuring modern contemporary design news and views.

Monday by Noon
A resource established for those interested in Web development, Web standards, the semantics of Web, Web accessibility, and Web Design.

Pop URLs
The mother of aggregators, the ultimate source for the latest web buzz and news | by thomas marban.

Smashing Magazine
A weblog dedicated to web-developers and designers.

Style Boost
A showcase that exemplifies outstanding visual design and collects the very best design links on the web.

TechCrunch
Group-edited blog about technology start-ups, particularly the Web 2.0 sector.

The Big Noob
News, reviews and articles from Brad Smith, Keegan Jones and Ryan Sims.

The FWA
Favorite website awards.

Think Vitamin
Subversion for Designers by Chris Nagele.

WaSP Buzz Blog
A blog by The Web Standards Project.

WebCredible
User experience research & design consultancy, offering a host of usability & accessibility services. Site includes 150+ free articles.

Web Creme
Web design inspiration.

PERSONAL WEBSITES

456 Berea Street
The site of a Swedish web professional Roger Johansson. Most articles on this site are related to web standards, accessibility, or usability in one way or another, with the occasional article on other subjects. (Interview)

Adactio
The online home of Jeremy Keith, a web developer living and working in Brighton, England.

Authentic Boredom
The platitudinous web home of Cameron Moll, a designer, author, speaker, or any combination of the three.

BloggerDesign
Bblog optimization tips, tools, design tips and usability thoughts related to the world of blogging by Thomas McMahon, a SEO Designer from Minneapolis, MN.

Blogography
Andy Budd’s Blogography: Designer services in web site design, web development, interactive flash design, and site promotion. (Interview)

BurningBird
A website where computer book author, software developer, technology architect Shelley Powers writes about real technology–technology that he’s trying, testing, or using in his own development.

DanielMall.com
All sorts of Philadelphia-based web designer Daniel Mall goodies at your disposal. (Interview)

DavidAirey.com
A home of David Airey, a graphic and logo designer from Edinburgh, Scotland. (Interview)

EJohn
Code and commentary from the creator of the jQuery library and author of “Pro JavaScript Techniques”.

FriendlyBit
Emil Stenström writes about web development topics. Focus is on client side technologies such as CSS, HTML and Javascript.

ILoveTypography
A web site devoted to typography, type, fonts and typefaces by John Boardley.

ISO50 Blog
The visual work of Scott Hansem, a San Francisco, CA, based musician and artist.

JasonSantaMaria.com
A web residence of a Brooklyn-based graphic designer and Creative Director for Happy Cog Studios, both in New York and Philadelphia Jason Santa Maria.

Jeff Croft
Personal website of Seattle-based web designer and developer Jeff Croft. (Interview)

JoeDolson
Joe Dolson’s Accessible Web Design blog - articles on web accessibility, usability, and issues in web technology.

Mark Bixby
Mark Bixby: Freelance Creative, Web Designer and Blogger.

Mark Boulton
A website by a Cardiff, UK, based designer Mark Boulton who specializes in usable, functional and elegant design acquired through rigorous problem solving. (Interview)

Meyer Web
Eric Meyer, author of ‘Eric Meyer on CSS’ writes about web standards and design.

Molly.com
This web site shares the web development work and personal thoughts of Molly E. Holzschlag.

OrderedList.com
A web site by Steve Smith offering Web Advice, Service, and Support. I’ve worked with single-person companies, corner shops, international organizations, global industries, etc

QuirksModeBlog
Professional blog of Peter-Paul Koch, freelance web developer and JavaScript guru, about web development and related topics.

Robert’s talk
Here you will find posts Robert Nyman about news, trends and developing for internet, mainly focusing on browsers and web user interfaces.

ShaunInman.com
The glasshouse of designer Shaun Inman featuring insights on websites, css and design accompanied by original music.

SimpleBits.com
Web design studio located in Salem, Massachusetts and founded by web designer and author Dan Cederholm.

Snook
Web Design, Development and Consulting Services from Jonathan Snook. (Interview, Express Interview)

StopDesign
A design consultancy led by Founder and Principal, Douglas Bowman, based in San Francisco, California,

Stuff&Nonsense
North Wales, UK, based web standards aware, accessible web site and e-commerce design specialists guided by Andy Clarke. (Interview)

Subtraction
Life and thoughts of Khoi Vin, a graphic designer in New York City.

tIncorporated.com
A collection of nearly everything publishing online by Tom Watson.

Veerle’sBlog
Veerle’s blog 2.0. Webdesign talk - XHTML CSS , Graphic Design tutorials.

Wait till I come!
The blog of Christian Heilmann, a web developer living and working in London, England.

Web Design From Scratch
A complete guide to designing web sites that work by Ben Hunt.

WebKit
Weblog from David Hyatt, one of the engineers working on creating and updating Safari.

Zeldman.com
Personal site of Jeffrey Zeldman, publisher of A List Apart Magazine, founder of Happy Cog Studios, co-founder of The Web Standards Project.

There’s no better way to learn it right than from those who’s already succeeded. We’ve interviewed quite a number of web design gurus asking them to share their experiences and give advice for beginning web designers. Below are the 21 useful tips from web design PROs to newbies. Read and learn!

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Learn HTML. If you’re producing content for the web, it’s going to be presented in HTML. It doesn’t matter what’s powering it on the back-end, whether it’s PHP, .NET, ASP, Java, whatever: all that stuff has to produce HTML. As a coder, writing clean HTML will ensure that your sites don’t break. As a designer, a good grasp of HTML allows you to know how your designs can be realized. All in all, knowing the building blocks of your craft are crucial for success in the field.
- Dan Mall

Pay particular attention to typography. Regardless of whether print products are on the decline, and if the ‘paperless office’ will ever arrive, logo design will always be needed, so go for it.
- David Airey

I’d tell to learn everything they can about the Web — design, usability, accessibility, programming — because all those disciplines help you at some point. Think up ideas and then build and execute them, from design and programming all the way to promoting it through nontraditional means. The things you learn from creating something from nothing on the Web are limitless.
- Mike Rundle

Being good is never enough. You have to be able to justify your decisions beyond, “I think it looks good.” Specialize.
- Lea Alcantara

Guide your users; don’t smother them.
- Rob Weychert

Users can always tell the difference (even if subconsciously) between low- and hi-quality design, just as they can between easy to use and difficult, so always put in the extra effort to make your product that much better than it would otherwise have been.
- Dan Rubin

1. Love what you do!
2. Never stop learning.
4. Have a good portfolio.
5. Keep connected.
6. Organize your time.
7. Construct a good reputation.
- Mr Roggers

The web is the best meritocracy you can get. If you think you have the talent, put your stuff out there. Learn as much as you can about the technology - if you think that’s not a creative thing to do, you’re wrong, the industry desperately needs creative minds who know the technology. It’s the best thing you can do.
- Michael Ewing

Challenge professionals, try to be better. This race for leadership will make you to develop.
- Fedor Drobov

Don’t let the technology drive - the idea should inform all aspects of the project.
- Shannon Darrough

1. Study your craft: put in the time and be patient
2. Don’t hold back: do what you want and feel is right. Dream and be as creative as you want to be. Be different and make each piece mind blowing. Also try and take the positives out of each criticism.
3. Pay your dues: not every idea is original and we all need a helping hand sometime, so give respect where it’s due.
4. Step your game up: raise the bar a little each time. It’s the only way to get better.
- Kultar Ruprai

Focus on the details. Focus more. When you can’t stand it, focus on them even more. Stay flexible. Software and technology will always change. Creativity comes first.
- Nathan Heleine

•Check award sites for inspiration.
•Read as much design magazines as you can.
•Find some good boards that can help you if you get stuck with a project.
•And always make a manuscript before you starting to produce.
- Joel Schafer

Most designers just take whatever popular CSS methods they find online and use them at face value. They do nothing but cut-and-paste. Most designers remove the text from their headings and replace it with background images to use fancy header graphics on their pages and implement rollovers on image-links. This is horrible because the text is gone when images are turned off, but very few people seem to care. If you can challenge yourself to actually learn CSS instead of copying-and-pasting it from other people, then you will understand it too, and you’ll know how to use it right.
- Christian Montoya

Study Fine Art. Learn the rules of balance, color and space. These above all else will set you apart from your competition. Take a website, print it out in toto, place it on the wall and critique it as if it were a painting. Don’t be afraid to look into other disciplines to find your inspiration.
- Chris J. Davis

First, be sure your heart is in it.
Second, the best thing you can do is find yourself a good mentor–someone who can teach you what reading books, articles, and magazines cannot.
Third, don’t just listen to and learn from the conversation, get involved in it. Establishing a reputation is a good thing but even more important is establishing a network of colleagues.
Forth, use what you have learned in the past to assist you in your new projects, but don’t let it confine your creativity to come up with new ways of solving problems.
- Nick Finck

A lot of designers are focused on creativity; solving a problem through creative and lateral thinking. When it comes down to actually implementing the solution, designers are generally terrible at it—that’s why in the days of print, you had designers and art directors doing the layouts, and ‘art workers’ making them work.
- Mark Boulton

It’s a good idea to broaden your spectrum of design knowledge into areas like print design but also into architecture, furniture design, craft arts, painting, etc. Learning about other areas of design has been invaluable to me when bringing myself back to the web, particularly in terms of style and usability.
- Natalie Jost

Don’t be afraid to charge what you are worth. Your portfolio site is your business card, make it memorable. Keep regular office hours. And love the fact that you are your own boss!
- Jonathan Nicol

1.Learn to sell yourself.
2.Get the work you like to do – life’s too short.
3.Try to approach every new project like a potential portfolio piece no matter how mundane they appear.
4.Under-promise, over-delivered.
5.Keep learning.
- Rob Morris

A good understanding of basic design always needs to come first. Technology will come and go but the best thing we as designers can bring to any project is our creativity and design sense. It’s also important to develop a thick skin and an ability to talk about and often educate clients about design.
Also, it sounds boring, but it’s all about developing relationships. People like to work with people that they like and know. Part of building relationships is being reliable, meeting deadlines, never rescheduling unless there is no possible alternative. Many clients think designers tend toward flakiness and I get a perverse sense of enjoyment from proving that wrong.
- Amy Greiner

Live & Learn,
~Helen Walker~

About himself Jake Nickell says that he “is a young entrepreneurial mad man that programs neat community websites non-stop.” How cool is that?! Jake is also a founder and CEO of skinnyCorp and Threadless. Threadless is a community-centered online apparel store run by skinnyCorp of Chicago, Illinois, since 2000. Co-founders Jake Nickell and Jacob DeHart started the company with $1,000 in seed money after entering an internet t-shirt design contest.
Now hundreds of members of the Threadless community submit t-shirt designs online on regular basis. The designs are then put to a public vote. A small percentage of submitted designs are selected for printing and sold through an online store. Creators of the winning designs receive a prize of cash and store credit. This genius idea brought Jake Web-wide recognition.

In his interview he would speak on his background, challenges and interests.

What’s your background? What got you interested in web design industry?

When choosing an education it was between Computer Science or Computer Arts. I had a very strong interest in both arts and math in high school. I chose to study Multimedia and Web Design as it offered a bit of both worlds. While learning mostly art in school I took it upon myself to learn various programming languages and such on my own. I began working full time as a web developer by the end of my freshman year of college and by my senior year skinnyCorp had grown to the point where I had a couple of employees and had to drop out of school before I could finish.

How did you come up with the idea, domain name and design of SkinnyCorp.com?

I did freelance web development under the name skinnylad and when we incorporated I called it skinnyCorp. skinnyCorp was created to be an umbrella company to our other projects such as Threadless, Naked & Angry, Extra Tasty, etc… So really the name and design of skinnyCorp didn’t matter so much.

What is it that attracts you in community websites?

The passion, energy and excitement that people put into them. It’s neat to see people so involved in these little movements. Threadless is a great way to unleash a little creative energy, get some recognition for doing so and learn something.

How’s SkinnyCorp unique?

A lot of things about skinnyCorp are unique. From our company culture to our business plan to our products. I think the core of what sets us apart is that we’re just out to have fun. We decide to do things because we think they’d be awesome to do for ourselves and our community, not because they’ll make us more money.

What is your company’s biggest challenge?

Our growth. We’ve been able to maintain a very steady growth and while it hasn’t been all that difficult to attain that growth, it is always a trick to keep up with it.

How do you maintain creativity?

I’m not sure how I could not maintain creativity in the environment we’re in. Running Threadless is a never ending avalanche of inspiration.

Where do you see SkinnyCorp opportunities in the future?

We’re excited about growing our Threadless kids line and coming out with a more steady product line through Naked & Angry.

Are there any new projects we should keep an eye on?

Come spring, Naked & Angry will be running full-force!

What do you use for tracking and analysis of the traffic?

We don’t bother ourselves with that so much but do have Google Analytics on our site at the moment.

About yourself you say that you’re “a young entrepreneurial mad man that programs neat community websites non-stop.” What do you mean by “neat”? What are some other “neat” websites you didn’t work on personally?

Neat sites to me are engaging and fun and not always predictable. Bigger ones would be like flickr and netflix… smallish ones like vimeo, colourlovers, cpluv.

Where do you seek inspiration?

I get inspired most when I’m outdoors hiking or snowboarding or camping or rafting or biking… and when taking baths.

What advice would you give to a beginning web designer?

If you see something that’s neat on the web, figure out how it works yourself. View source. Fiddle.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever done?

Having a daughter was awesome. So was this rafting trip to northern Alaska I went on for 14 days with my brother and dad and 2 guides. We didn’t see another soul the entire time. The trip started in the mountains, snaked through the arctic plains, then we got picked up on an island that we paddled to in the Arctic Ocean.

“Stop and stare”,
~ Helen Walker ~

Reading what’s on my Google Reader, I usually collect quotes I like the most. And not so long ago I decided that it might be a good idea to share my favorite quotes over a certain period with our readers. And 30 days, or a month, seemed to be quite the right period as you have enough time and material to read, compare and choose. So, below is the most catchy quotes from what’s been said about web design related stuff in February.

Usually, if you’re validating someone else’s code, it’s because you’re being an asshole.

Jeff Croft, Your Markup Validator

Like comic books, rock and roll, heavy metal, gangsta rap, gaming, and MySpace, the web is no longer an easy card for parent-scaring pundits and politicians to play.

Jeffrey Zeldman, Facebook, Twitter and Bird Flu

When a logo design brings attention from an otherwise uninterested crowd, as in some of the cases above, can it be deemed a success in spite of what many believe to be poor design?

David Airey, When is Bad Logo Design Good

If you ever find yourself complaining that your old laptop is a little on the bulky side, that it won’t fit into one of those fancy Manilla envelopes, then remember the Monotype machine and count your blessings.

John Boardley, Sunday Type: Pointy Type

Terminator-googlebot-technospider

Blogoscoped

What is the humble approach to product design? Pay attention. Notice which things are working and which aren’t. Experiment and iterate. Question your assumptions. Remember that you are wrong about a lot of things. Watch for the signals. Lose your technical and design snobbery. Whatever works, works.

Paul Buchheit, Most Important Thing to Understand About

Okay, so no one is going to throw a red carpet premiere for your www.acmeinsuranceonline.biz project launch. And your client may not understand why you debated over Helvetica or Verdana for half an hour. These little behind-the-scenes battles are what turn average websites into masterpieces. When everyone else is content to say “The End,” keep bringing it all into focus. Be a storyteller. Let your point of view shine through, and everything you create will have a depth that is sorely missing on the web.

Ryan Sims, Cinematic Web Design

If you spent less time fact-checking other people’s blog posts and more time living, you would know these things about snow, and children, and weather reports.

Jeffrey Zeldman, Dear Anonumous

She smiley faced all over me…

Brad, She Smiley Faced All Over Me

Clients and designers equally fall into the trap of bringing personal aesthetics (that have nothing to do with the task at hand) to projects. As a result, we see lots of pretty, ineffective “design” out there.
Nothing should be “off limits” so long as it gets us where we need to go.

Eric Karjaluoto, Guest Author, Fuck Style

The value of Design for today and tomorrow lies with understanding collaborative problem solving, the methods that enable a fluid design process, and the value of disagreement in solving complex problems.

Paul Burke, Designing for Disagreement

Leaving comments open on a blog post is NOT an invitation to say whatever comes to mind!… Join in the conversation if you have something to contribute.

Natalie Jost, Not Looking for Validation

Think twice before doing smth,
~HELEN WALKER~

Dan Mall is a designer and front-end developer working for Happy Cog Studios in Philadelphia, PA. Multi-disciplined designer, architect, and coder of award-winning websites, Dan has gained a prominent position and “young-designer-to-watch” reputation in the worldwide design community due to his comprehension and advocacy of user-based design principles.
Dan writes about the details of user interface design on his industry-recognized personal site, danielmall.com, and has contributed to A List Apart and .NET Magazine.
When not in front of a computer, Dan plays keyboards for Philadelphia-based contemporary Christian group Four24, and explore the menus of local restaurants.

You’re lucky to work at Happy Cog Studios. How did you get into web design and make your way to Happy Cog?

I originally wanted to be an animator. I’ve been drawing my whole life, and I “knew” I wanted a career in it. I started at Drexel University’s Digital Media program, but quickly realized a) how tedious animation was for me and b) how awful I was at doing it.

Luckily the program was twofold, split between animation and interactivity, which included web design. I had explored web design a bit in high school and enjoyed it, and I decided to pursue it more seriously.

I got an internship at a shop called TMX Communications, where I had a chance to work with the ridiculously talented Jason Santa Maria, Rob Weychert, Kevin Cornell, and Chris Cashdollar. Through Jason, I met and worked on a few jobs with Jeffrey Zeldman. So began my career with Happy Cog, and I feel really blessed to be a part of that.

Tell us about how your design process flows.

Every project is different, and I try to adapt my process per the goals of the project. However, there is a set of common tasks that I find effective.

With anything design related, my first step is often to learn as much as I can. If I’m designing a company site, that learning exercise might be as involved as spending a few days at the company site or may only be spending a few hours browsing the existing site or reading existing collateral. If it’s a product site, I’ll request a sample that I can use for myself. If it’s a service, I try to use the service to see what it means to me as a consumer.

That’s the hard part. Once that’s done, I’ll open up my sketchbook and work some problems out on paper. Then I’ll fire up the appropriate app (Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, etc.) and get chuggin’.

You’ve been rather positive about Flash technology. What are your reasons for that?

I believe that Flash is a very powerful application. As a designer and a coder, Flash appeals to both of those sensibilities in me. While an application like Photoshop is primarily for people who design (which includes photographers, artists, etc.) and something like Textmate is for people who code, Flash is one of the few that has real value to both left-brained and right-brained people.

The trouble is that Flash has been severely abused. The era of loading screens, gratuitous animation, and “Skip Intro” has tainted some of the web community’s impression of Flash, particularly in the web standards community.

JavaScript was the same. Although once abused to spawn pop-ups and mess with users’ screens, it’s now being put to great use. In the last few years, we’ve seen the creation of some incredible libraries that take advantage of the power of JavaScript, but in a tasteful and productive manner.

Smart use of Flash will be the next revolution.

How many hours a week do you think you spend on all web-related activities?

A fair amount, but nothing unreasonable. I’d say about 25% of my week is spent on web-related activities.

That’s not to say that being a designer doesn’t infiltrate many portions of my life. Whether I’m in front of a computer or not, I find that I’m cognizant of how design affects my life, whether I’m watching TV or ordering from a menu at a restaurant. I try to be open minded to the world and absorb as much as I can, knowing that my experiences shape the work that I do and make it unique to me.

That said, I care a lot about my career, but I try to maintain a level of balance with the rest of my life. My parents taught me the importance of ordering my priorities, as well as the value of moderation. I keep my priorities centered on God, then family and friends, and then my job.

You write about web design-related issues at your personal site danielmall.com. How important is that activity to you? Do you seek targeting the audience in the first place, or just write about what you consider important notwithstanding readers’ opinions? What was the post that caused the greatest jump in your readership?

Maintaining a personal web site is really important to me. I need a space where I can be myself, regardless of affiliation. That’s not to say I resent any organization that I’m a part of, but it’s nice to have your own room even though you love your family. My site is where I can play my music the loudest without waking anybody up.

I write about the things that are important to me. When I started my site, I had no readers. And I was ok with that (although I secretly hoped I could start a following). It was mostly to document my thoughts, and serve as a history of where I’ve been and how I used to think.

I also write because I feel it’s a big part of my value proposition. If I want someone to hire me or my company, I don’t want it to be because I can make something pretty or write clean code. While that’s part of what I do, I feel that the real value is that I can articulate the way I solve problems. I’ve found that the best clients are the ones that want you to engineer a solution and give you the freedom to do so. And I’ve gotten great clients as a result of my writing. Design is about solving problems through communication. If I can be an effective communicator with words, I can understand how to be a better communicator without them.

I do care about my readership. I love feedback, whether it says I’m doing the right thing or the wrong thing, because it gives me a direction.

There are times when I don’t know what my readers are looking for. So I ask.

I’m not sure which posts increased my readership significantly. I’ve had Mint installed since it came out, but only recently have I been recently using it to find out what people are really looking for. Since studying my user logs, I’ve found my readership to be fairly consistent. If there was a post that probably drew people, it was probably either Typobituaries, Design by Comfort, or Soft Serve.

You’re a multi-disciplined designer specializing in Flash, XHTML, CSS, and typography. How does it influence your philosophy about web design as a medium altogether?

I’m involved in a number of disciplines because I love doing all of it. I find that when I’ve been coding for a long time, I start to crave design, and vice versa. And, although I consider myself a designer, I don’t think I’m as proficient in design as I’d like to be. My coding skills seem to be the strongest part of my arsenal right now.

As a freelancer, I found it was necessary to have a hand in all of those disciplines in order to bill myself as a one-stop-shop. I do think it’s important to understand all of the disciplines that are involved when you’re part of a process flow. The “throw-it-over-the-wall” concept doesn’t sit well with me. I do think there’s a value in specialization, but being aware of what’s involved in the rest of the process is huge requirement in building a team that works well together.

As an informational architect, tell us what top three principles of site navigation should be included in every site?

I like Derek Powazek’s three step summary, from his A List Apart article Where Am I?:

1. Where am I? (Present)
2. Where can I go? (Future)
3. Where have I been? (Past)

You’re also a coder of award-winning websites. What are typical mistakes do coders tend to encounter and how to avoid them?

One of the biggest mistakes that I see is rushed work. Take the time to ensure quality. Sure, there are times when you’ll have to work as fast as you can to meet a specific deadline, but, if you’re not proud of the work you do, it’s all in vain. It’s a very unsatisfying feeling.

What’s your favorite development language and why?

I don’t know if I have a favorite. I like the challenge of ECMAScript-based languages, like ActionScript or JavaScript, but sometimes, they just confuse the heck out of me. If I had a favorite, HTML would probably be it. It’s easy to write, easy to understand, and the basis is transforming content so that it’s cohesive to an end user. If graphic design is best suited to a programming language, it would probably be HTML.

Do you find any particular languages or technologies intimidating?

Not particularly. There are certainly languages that are over my head (specifically object-oriented languages). However, I try to approach any language logically. I once called it programming like a designer. If you can express the code that you want to write in plain English, getting the syntax for any language becomes the easy part.

You’ve worked on the websites for Siemens, the Kansas City Chiefs, The New York Stock Exchange, Comcast, the Lincoln Financial Group, and Traffic.com. Those are big-sized websites. What are the keypoints to consider when working with such projects?

Almost every client is different. While there may be solutions that always work, I try not to be limited by what’s easiest. I strive to do what’s appropriate. I have never used design templates because I despise the theory; slapping a logo on something generic doesn’t even begin to approach a solution. As a service provider, I think it’s part of my job to find resolutions that are unique to each client’s problems.

At this point of your life/carrier what skills and technologies are you the most interested in improving upon or learning?

All the things I’d like to learn right now aren’t about technology or my job.

I’m getting married in a few months, so I’d like to learn to be a good husband.

I’ve also been playing keyboards in a band for a few years, but I recently started singing in the band as well. The other 2 guys in the band are phenomenal singers, and I’d like to improve my singing abilities.

I’ve always been able to write harmony on the fly, but in limited parts. I’m quickly starting to get my bearings around writing 5-part vocal harmony, so I’d like to be able to improve that.

You’ve co-created swfIR – a client-side image replacement technique – with Happy Cog’s Mark Huot. The original idea belongs to you. Could you tell the story behind it? How successful has it been so far?

When I first learned how to do elastic layout with CSS, I was bummed out about how poorly images rendered when they were scaled up. To date, it’s probably the only reason that I’ve never attempted an elastic layout on a client job. I remember thinking, “Flash compression looks way better when it changes scale, even when raster graphics are involved.” I knew Flash could dynamically load JPGs, and I had just learned how to manipulate the DOM with JavaScript, so it dawned on me that I could combine techniques and get a dynamic image resizer that has a better compression scheme. I did some tests, and showed it to a few people.

Months later, I was working on a site where part of the requirements stated that the content management system we developed should seek to optimize their workflow with minimal design on their end. The site was an online version of a print publication, and the design called for a slightly rotated version of the cover of the latest issue. We were originally going to give them a Photoshop template with the correct degree of rotation, but we decided to try and brainstorm a way to allow them to upload an issue cover and have the CMS crop and rotate it dynamically. I knew that Flash could do dynamic rotation, so I built a quick proof of concept.

I showed it to Mark Huot, whose coding skills murder my own. Within a few days, he had a much more optimized version which also included rotation, borders, rounded corners, and shadows.

Being out for a year, swfIR has had over 10,000 downloads. Unfortunately, we’ve stopped any progress on it, as paying the bills comes first. Hopefully, we’ll pick it up again someday, but there are some more exciting things on the horizon that take priority.

Are there any new projects that you are currently working on that you can talk about?

There’s this one site that I’m working on that will change the way that you… I’ve already said too much.

What are a few sites you admire and why?

I love everything about A List Apart (and not just because I’m a tech editor, or that it’s published by Happy Cog). Visually, it’s excellently rendered. Typographically, it’s very rich. Technically, it’s very well coded. Editorially, I’m blown away with every issue, as the quality of content never diminishes.

Bearskinrug is a site that I’m jealous of. I wish it was my site. Kevin Cornell is fantastically talented at everything he does, and each piece of his site has so much character that is unique to him. I respect his work and his opinion so much that I’ve hired him to art direct my redesign. More on that soon.

Shaun Inman has always had a brilliant site. It’s his playground. He’s not afraid to experiment and try stuff that you wouldn’t normally see. From version 7 ’s transparent overlays to version 8 ’s hidden navigation/search bar” to The Heap to the algorithmic waves, he’s not afraid to take risks, because there’s nothing to lose if his ideas suck. Fortunately for him, none of his ideas suck. One day, I’ll be like him.

What industry sites/blogs do you read regularly?

I’ve always been interested in magazine design. I’m thoroughly enjoying Designing Magazines by Jandos Rothstein, so I try not to miss an update on the online version.

I also religiously check out TypeNeu, a new blog with random typography news.

Latest font that you like?

Hoefler & Frere-Jones’s Archer. She’s a cutie.

You play keyboards for Philadelphia-based contemporary Christian group “Four24”. I’ve noticed that Happy Cog hires rather talented people, both in web design and outside the industry. Is that a coincidence or a consistent pattern?

It’s definitely by design (pardon the pun). Well rounded people are just better. It gives perspective. If the only thing we ever did was web design, how boring would that be? The fact that we each have interests outside of what is common to all of us allows us to bring unique viewpoints to our work, and we’re collectively better for it.

Best music for you to work by?

That changes frequently. It’s usually some form of gospel or jazz. This week, it’s Tye Tribbett’s Victory and Herbie Hancock’s Possibilities.

Best drink to work by?

Sunkist. Hands down.

What advice would you give to beginning web designers?

Learn HTML. If you’re producing content for the web, it’s going to be presented in HTML. It doesn’t matter what’s powering it on the back-end, whether it’s PHP, .NET, ASP, Java, whatever: all that stuff has to produce HTML. As a coder, writing clean HTML will ensure that your sites don’t break. As a designer, a good grasp of HTML allows you to know how your designs can be realized. All in all, knowing the building blocks of your craft are crucial for success in the field.

Thank you, Dan, for a great interview! That was awesome!

~Helen Walker~

Iszlai Zoltan is a project manager at PsdSlicing – a slicing service agency. The slicing service is an integral part of Ewebice web development company based in Romania, Europe. Zoli, from the Ewebice team, is well-known as a conference presenter. They created an innovate image management software and have been presenting it at various conferences across Europe.

We interviewed Iszlai Zoltan on behalf of Ewebice and PsdSlicing team.

How did you get into web design?

In the high school we had a new discipline called Web Development, which included xhtml, css, javascript php and mysql programming. I have been very curious about the new technologies, and started learning it from the w3c specification and the php/mysql manual. Within 1-3 month’s my knowledge was enough to create some very well coded sites. As time passed I have learned newer things about web development from various conference publications, and web development blogs.

Do you remember the very first website you designed?

Actually, this is quite funny, I remember it exactly. It was back in 2001, I created my own site on a free hosting provider. I can’t say it was very well designed but it was the beginning.

Where do you get your art for these web pages?

Today we are quite busy since everybody want their projects developed ASAP. We are usually working with Respiro Media for their web designs, logo design and branding works. We are generally using stock images to increase the quality of the web pages.

What is your general opinion on current trends in design and development, such as Web 2.0 and AJAX, etc.?

AJAX is gaining more popularity as JavaScript frameworks become more usable, and implement their own effects. The popularity of web 2.0 designs is declining, most popular designs are those that implement clean and warm look.

Why do you think CSS design is becoming so popular among web designers?

Today CSS-based designs are the base for every good and well established business that wants a web based representation of their products and services.

What will be the next big development in webpage design?

It’s a tough question … Web designs that communicate more clearly with their visitors, and those websites that allow more interaction with the visitors and clients will have a large advantage over those you only stand as a web presence.

What tool-set do you choose to use in your work (from tool for making the graphics, coding css and html, javascript/Flash, to analytics and methods for user testing?) What do you believe the benefits are?

We are using:
- Basecamp - it’s the most useful tool to project management.
- Litmusapp - we use it to test email designs in various email clients.
- FreshBooks - we use if for accounting purposes.
- Campfire - as an additional way to communicate with our clients.
- Editplus - it provides a better way to code xhtml/css markup.
- For designing we use various design applications to provide the best designs.

What do you think about Flash technology?

Flash technology is evolving into something more and more complex. In my opinion, until the content of the flash based sites are not searchable and readable by the search engines, it has a huge disadvantage over the traditional xhtml/css based websites.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Flash?

Advantage of the Flash based sites it the huge flexibility and animation that it can represent, this can be used by big brands to represent their product better. The most know disadvantage it has, is the loading times, the searchability and the usability of the sites.

If you could eliminate one trend from the Web, what would it be? Why?

I would eliminate the creation of the css based frameworks. They are helping the css coder to code faster, but can be the cause of large problems on the website: bloated css/xhtml codes, that are not used entirely.

What do you think of XHTML 5 and JavaScript standardization under W3C?

I find it a painfully slow process of the creation and adaptation of XHTML5 specification. The JavaScript standardization is a great improvement from the W3c group, and it’s on it’s path to success.

What language do you use for coding? Why?

We are using PHP to program websites, since we can create large sites with PHP, and it’s a free programming language.

What are your sources of inspiration?

From our sources of inspiration - LogoPond
For logo design inspiration - Favup
For logo, business card and web design inspiration - UnmatchedStyle

What are your interests and dislikes in webpage design?

I dislike designs that are too fancy, provide to much design elements or designs that are way too complex.

What were the mistakes you learned from most while in the web design industry?

The biggest mistake was that I hadn’t started learning xhtml/css and php/mysql coding earlier. The second biggest mistake I made was to accept projects at lower prices then their costs. By accepting lower prices I have learned very much about business, development and client relations. As a downside I provided a high quality service for low prices.

What blogs/magazines/articles would you suggest reading in order to broaden one’s knowledge?

I suggest everyone to read Smashing Magazine, Freelance Switch (for startups) and ParticleTree. They all have great and very fresh content; they are on my daily reading list.

What advice would you give to beginning web designers?

My best advice is to learn and read as much as you can about your business in which you are in, and try to be better and better at what to do, and overdue expectations in order to be more successful.

~ Arthur Browning

David Airey is a talented self-employed graphic designer in Edinburgh, Scotland, spending the majority of his time creating, and advising on, marketing promotions, such as corporate identity, advertising campaigns, brochures, and running a great logo and graphic design blog. Logo design has been his passion since David was in his teens. He has recently launched his second website - Logo Design Love - dedicated to logo design exclusively.

In our interview David talks about logo design in general and some of its aspects in particular, such as typical logo design mistakes, MySpace logo and “doodles”.

I’m delighted to introduce you David Airey, and hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did

How did you get into logo design?

My first taste was when I was 15, on an art and design college course. It wasn’t until just a year ago when I actually decided I wanted to specialise, and I made the choice because logo design is what I enjoy most in the creative field. The time between my first taste and my decision of last year was spent mainly on print design, and dealing with commercial printers. This helped provide a good insight into file types and commercial print requirements.

How long does the logo design process take?

Every project is different, and can vary in length from just one or two weeks, to many months. The largest firms might even take years, but that scale of project is some way off for me.

What are the criteria for pricing?

Amount of research involved, timeframe available, size of company, profit or non-profit, depth of branding document, and some other factors that can only be decided upon after initial discussions.

What are the top fonts you use when designing a logo?

I do have my favourite typefaces, but I never begin a design project with a particular one in mind. The client has an input into what’s used, and I normally offer a variety from which they can choose.

How many revisions on average do you allow your clients?

This is another pricing factor. The average project allows for two rounds of revisions after I’ve provided two concepts, but it’s not so straightforward detailing an ‘average’ job. Every client differs, in both the number of revisions they require, and how close my initial concepts are to what they want.

Where do you usually seek inspiration for logo design?

Other logo designers provide inspiration, and of course the great Scottish outdoors offer a fresh perspective. Inspiration is all around me, and if you ask any designer, they’ll tell you that they never actually switch off. As an example, if I’m in a restaurant and I’m handed a menu, before looking at what’s on offer I’ll study the menu design, the logo, the typeface used etc.

It is agreed by many that MySpace website design is poor – yet the project is extremely successful! What do you think about their logo? Just how important is the logo in this case?

It’s not the worst logo I’ve seen, but there’s no real idea behind it. It’s like a queue of Cluedo figures. What I can say in it’s defence is that it doesn’t rely on effects, works equally well without colour, and is simple enough to be described over the phone. As for its importance, it acts as an identifier for the project, and I feel that any mediocre design would have sufficed. The MySpace development is what’s important, so providing the logo doesn’t cause any offence, and is simple enough to remember, then half the battle is overcome.

Which of the logos you’ve designed you are most proud of?

It’s funny, I look back at the logo designs I’ve produced and wonder what I could’ve done to improve them. I’m not sure if ‘proud’ is the right word, but if I produce a logo that exceeds client expectations, then I’m happy that the job is a good one. I never judge the success of a project on my thoughts alone.

What are your three favorite logos that you didn’t design yourself?

Three that are ‘up there’, include Herb Lubalin’s ‘Families’ logo, Alan Fletcher’s ‘V&A’, and Milton Glaser’s ‘I Love New York’.

What are the common logo design mistakes that designers encounter?

Over-complication. Too many designers (or should that be clients?) feel that the logo must tell the story of what the company does. The logo is used primarily as an identifier. Not to describe the precise product or service on offer. Look at ‘Apple’, ‘Nike’, ‘Shell’ for example. What’s important about their logos is that they’re simple enough to remember.

Over-reliance on effects. Whilst the online presence is increasingly important today, it’s vital that the logo works as flat artwork. 3D effects are all well and good, but the underlying symbol should be just as recognisable when stripped of these indulgences.

How effective is doodling with regards to logo design? We are all familiar with Google doodles and their popularity. Have you ever thought of making doodles?

For me, doodles don’t play much of a part, and I’d class them more as illustration than logo design. I’ve never had a client ask for them, although I’ve not been in business for too long.

If by ‘doodling’ you mean ’sketching’, then it’s something I do in every project. Using a pen / pencil and paper allows for ideas to be recorded as fast as possible, and when you’re brainstorming a project, it’s necessary to churn out idea after idea, no matter how poor you might think the result. How can you tell it’s a bad idea until you’ve tested it? Sketching allows testing, and lots of it.

What tool-set do you choose to use in your work?

Pen and paper. Adobe’s Creative Suite. Adobe Acrobat. WordPress. Email and Skype. That covers the main tools I use on a daily basis.

What advice would you give to designers who are planning on specializing in logo design?

Read as much as possible on the subject, and pay particular attention to typography. Regardless of whether print products are on the decline, and if the ‘paperless office’ will ever arrive, logo design will always be needed, so go for it.

Many thanks, David, for the great interview.

“There’s nothing wrong with design that looks like an art”
~Helen Walker~