On Oct 29, 2011, at 10:43 AM, Terence Love wrote:
> Web design problems can be more 'wrong design profession' rather than a
> font size issue.
>
> It occurs when web design is done by print-based graphic designers.
Terry,
Early limits on the visual display of websites led to a couple of distinct approaches--Jakob Nielsen-type asceticism and David Siegel "Killer Website" jury rigging. The former remains mired in a general suspicion of Dionysian terrorism (either the fear that someone, somewhere, might be having a good time or the somewhat more rational worry that party goers might leave the hotel room trashed.) The latter was undermined by advancing standards but not before many people developed the habit of relying on problematic alternatives, the site that started this conversation being an example.
Print designers do have some problems fitting into web design. (For my take on that subject ten years ago, see http://www.gunnarswanson.com/writing/WebVsDesign.pdf) We tend to be control freaks in a medium that only allows control in odd ways. Designing for the web is, in many ways, like pushing a rope. (Some of the realizations of web design would serve us graphic designers well in other media, too.)
The various attempts to make web design WYSIWYGish have ranged in quality of interface and quality of output. Part of this is because some technical choices are so fundamental to basic visual design decisions in a way that is much less common in print design. This makes print development application paradigms unsuitable to the task.
I've long thought that this is a place for an AI-driven application for design. When someone sets a width, the software would ask "What do you want to have happen if someone opens her browser wider? Does the window stay the same size, remain proportional. . .?" Or when someone does something that relies on specific browsers, it could say "What do you want to do about the 39% of web users who will not be able to see this?" When someone sets links that are not described in text, it could say "Blind people will not be able to use your site because you didn't bother with tags. You client could be heading for a lawsuit (as well as, at very least, joining you for a long stay in purgatory.)" When someone makes forms that only work in Windows it could say "Warning: Your location has been sent to Gunnar Swanson. He is coming with six of his most thuggish friends and intends to do permanent physical harm to you."
It is worth pointing out that websites promoting graphic design programs should, like any other piece of promotional design, reflect their subject matter and satisfy their audience. One thing that would be as pathetic as a design school website acting like it was designed by a graphic designer is one looking like it was not.
Gunnar
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