How is it being a woman in web design industry?

At first, it was scary being a woman among a widely male industry like web design. I constantly felt intimidated because I didn't measure up, but over time I began to realize that had little to do with me being a woman and more to do with me just being a beginning designer. As I grew I became more comfortable and actually found the guys a little more receptive to me, in some cases, because I was a woman.

Looking back at the time when you were a beginning web designer, what advice was or would have been rather helpful for you?

The one thing I didn't consider back when I started out was how much design there is apart from web design. As I tell people today, I would have loved someone to tell me, 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.

How does you designing process flow?

It all depends on the client and the project. Sometimes I?m working with a very small site that requires a simple redesign or realignment and I'll start dabbling with a comp in Photoshop and then move to CSS/XHTML. Other times I?m working on a large site with a few hundred pages and very specific requirements for content and navigation. In those cases I spend a little more time working out those details first, usually on graph paper, then moving to a Photoshop grid and on to a comp from there.

Do you have any design rules you've established for yourself?

No matter how large or small the project, I always spend a few hours offline and away from the computer to get some real organic inspiration. The number one thing for me personally and professionally is that I don't spend all of my time connected to the computer. When working with a client I always try to talk to them on the phone periodically, and when coming up with a look for a site I spend a good amount of time physically going through magazines, retail displays and other things to get inspiration.

What's your side in 'design/usability' argument? Would you prefer content to design or vice versa? How 'usable' to your opinion website of usability guru Jacob Nielsen?

This is a funny question. I actually have no opinion of Jakob Nielsen, or any usability 'guru' for that matter. I do, however, have a high respect for usability in general but like anything, it comes with moderation. I don't think you can say content or design because good design is content, usability, accessibility, style, function, all those things put together. It's like a designer I saw interviewed recently said, a I'm paraphrasing here, 'The whole argument of form or function is really quite ridiculous. Design is form and function at once or it?s not [good] design at all.'

What does Web 2.0 mean to you? What are the essential Web 2.0 design elements? What are the three top Web 2.0 websites you know?

Web 2.0 means nothing to me.

Where do you get inspiration?

My favorite places for inspiration come from print design, like books and magazines, but also billboards, retail signage, etc. I worked in retail for many years and my expertise was in merchandising, which involved a lot of three-dimensional designing of windows and store-fronts. I love to look around at the three-dimensional world and translate that to the two-dimensional web. I also subscribe to some of the big gallery feeds to see what?s popular. It's interesting to see trends change and to see how people react to designs.

Web designers make mistakes, just like all human beings. What were the web design mistakes you've learned from?

Oh boy, lots. I?d say the biggest mistake web designers make, which I made a lot in the beginning, is simple communication with the client. Even me, coming from a heavily loaded customer service background, it was too easy to be lazy in communication when dealing with primarily online clients. I learned pretty quickly to go ahead and make that phone call and follow up on questions and concerns quickly. A lot of clients don?t spend all their time online like we web designers can and they appreciate the personal attention you give them offline.

What's your point on accessibility? Do you design accessible websites?

I think that goes back to the usability question. It all goes together with style and function. I do my best to make a site accessible. A lot of times it comes down to the client and how much money they want to invest in their users? level of accessibility. After all, they have to pay for that extra due diligence. For a small blog with a specific set of readers, they often find certain accessibility lengths a waste. Still, I do what I can to bring a minimum level of access to the broadest set of users.

What web design books/magazines/blogs are you reading?

I don't read any web design magazines and I'm actually not in the middle of any books either, although I did just finish Textpattern Solutions, which I recommend to everyone who uses or is thinking about using any CMS.

What do you think about the future of the web design?

It looks promising. It's exciting to look at things like CSS3 and what life will be like once all the major browsers can interpret it.

Helen Walker

Helen Walker graduated with a degree in Mass Communications and Sociology. She worked as a newspaper journalist for two years after that. Having always been interested in cyberculture and its impact on society, Helen switched to online journalism and joined Design Interviews blog in July, 2007. Ever since she's been interviewing web designers and administrating the blog. Helen is a keen movie-goer and she is also a panda lover.


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Get in touch with Helen: helen.walker4@gmail.com