Andy Budd is an internationally renowned user experience designer and web standards expert from Brighton, England. He is the creative director at Clearleft and a regular speaker at major design events such as SXSW, @media and Webmaster Jam. Andy is also the founder of famous d.Construct, the first web development conference in UK, and the author of the best selling book "CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions". Andy's design experience and knowledge has been called upon many times as a judge in web design awards, most notably the Bubu Awards, the ReUSEIT Contest and the Web Standards Awards, which he founded in 2004. And you can hardly find a person that doesn't read his Blogography where Andy writes about web design and web standards issues, as well as his passions for travel, photography and diving.

Therefore, I'm delighted to have him give Design Interviews an interview. Here it is.

How were you introduced to web standards?

We were introduced at a cocktail party and have been best friends ever since.

Could you tell us how your design process flows?

We try to be as flexible as possible, so don't have a prescribed process. Instead we use a more agile, user-centered methodology that expands or contracts with the needs of the project. Our tools include things like user research, competitive analysis, card sorting, wireframing, usability testing etc.

How does a business benefit from having an accessible website?

We are living in an increasingly aging society where many of the world's wealthiest people have accessibility issues such as poor eyesight or mobility. Add to that the number of people who have a registered disability and you are talking about a significant percentage of your customer base you don't want to alienate.

Accessible websites often have the added benefit of being easier to use and more attractive to search engines like Google. So it's really a win-win situation. Especially as creating an accessible website from scratch doesn't cost significantly more than an inaccessible one.

What are the most important techniques to use when building a web accessible site?

I think the best advice is to code to current web standards, keep up on the latest research, be aware of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, and if possible, test your site on a wide variety of users.

Are there any web design tricks you're using? What are they? How do you find them out?

We don't do tricks. We're web designers, not magicians. Ah, well actually that's not strictly true: http://www.youtube.com/

Is the claim by Royal National Institute for the Blind that an organization will be sued if it doesn't have a web accessible site really a myth? What are some other myths about web accessibility one should be aware of?

It's not a myth, but people do like to reduce complex problems into oversimplified concepts. The UK disability discrimination act is quite clear on the issue of web accessibility. If a site can be shown to discriminate against somebody on the grounds of their disability, the owners can be taken to court and compensations awarded if they are found lacking. However the DDA is about improving accessibility, not handing down punitive fines. As such, they have a process of arbitration where companies are given a reasonable chance to rectify any problems before court action is taken. So far, all the cases have been settled out of court, which I believe is a good thing.

If you are looking for legal precedents, take look at the case against the Sydney Olympic commission in Australia or Target in the US.

To your opinion, which site is the classical example of a web accessible site?

Accessibility isn't an on/off kind of thing, so I don't believe you can have a classic example of an accessible website. Like usability, you only tend to notice sites that are badly designed or have poor accessibility.

Some time ago you founded d.Construct conference. Do you think web conferences are becoming vital to web design industry now? Are there any other similar projects you're working on now or have in mind?

I guess as a conference organizer you'd expect me to say that conferences are vital to the industry but that would be a lie. Conferences can be inspirational, educational and fun, but they are hardly vital. That being said, if you've not been along to a conference before, you should check one out. They are a great way of meeting new people, stimulating new ideas and refreshing your creativity. That, and all the good ones have a free bar.

Do you consider formal design education necessary for a web designer nowadays?

Yes and no. There are a few good design courses that help teach abstract thinking and creative problem solving, along with more traditional skills such as an understanding of typography and the grid. However the majority of web based courses are next to useless. The techniques being taught are already out of date and largely irrelevant, and I'll scream if I see another bad Flash portfolio masquerading as interaction design. In my experience the best designers are usually self-taught, showing a passion and flair that is sadly lacking in the majority of design graduates.

Tell us about SkillSwap. It used to be a volunteer project aimed to the exchange of web design skills among members of a small community. How is it doing now? Are you planning on turning it into something more global?

SkillSwap was a peer-to-peer training project I set up in Brighton a number of years ago. Once a month we'd all get together and somebody would give a presentation on a subject that interested them. The event was really successful and helped galvanize the local designer and developer community. We even had the likes of Dave Shea and Molly Holzschlag run sessions for us.

SkillSwap fell off the RADAR while I was writing CSS Mastery and setting up Clearleft. However it's now back, under new management, and doing great. As well as Brighton, we now have a very popular SkillSwap in Bristol. I'd love to see the project expand further, but there is never enough time in the day. Also, since starting in 2001, there have been a number of similar projects such as Refresh and the Geek Dinners.

You are qualified dive instructor. Is this where you get your inspiration?

I had the naive idea that I could work on the web for six months of the year and be a dive bum for the other six. Didn't quite work out that way, but it's all good?

Are there any books or blogs you would suggest beginning designers to follow in order to sharpen their skills?

Too many to pick from really. The best option would be to fire up your browser and start clicking on those little blue, underlined things.

Speaking about Web Standards Awards you are a judge at. What does one need in order for his website to be evaluated? Do you do some kind of analysis for the owner in case the website doesn't get an award?

Um, interesting segue. A few years back I helped set up one of the first CSS showcase galleries, known as the Web Standards Awards. The idea was to create a space to promote the best that standards based design had to offer. Sort of like a Zen Garden, but for real websites. After a couple of years, there were so many showcase sites around, we felt that we'd accomplished our mission, and shut the baby down. It's still archived for posterity if you're interested to see the state of web standards design, circa 2004.

What do you think will be the next big development in web design?

I'd like to say CSS3, but I'm not sure I can be bothered to wait another seven years.

On the final note, name three top things it takes for a project to be successful?

- Having great clients that understand the value you bring to a project, and see you as a vital member of the team.

- Having a passion for the project and a desire to see it flourish.

- Having the necessary resources to ensure the project is a success.

L33t skillz also help.

Thanks a lot for the interview, Andy.

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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