Terry,
On Nov 1, 2011, at 11:57 AM, Terence Love wrote:
[snip]
> The assumption that web design is primarily an issue of graphic design is
> not obvious.
[snip]
> The question is, where does the graphic designer contribute to these kinds
> of website design? What is their best role?
Just time for a quick note.
I wrote a piece for Steve Heller's -The Education of an E-Designer- back in 2000 about my students who didn't want to have anything to do with designing for the web. <http://www.gunnarswanson.com/writing/WebVsDesign.pdf> Just to prove that I've degenerated into a completely pompous fool, I'll quote me:
"Graphic designers often feel helpless when they find themselves in the role of visual dishwashers for the Information Architect chefs. What does that do for graphic designers or, perhaps more important, what does it do for graphic design? It depends, of course, on who runs, leads, or guides the teams. Leaders will be people with an understanding of the overall process but that could be someone with a background in design, computer programming, business administration—you name it. As the man said, go to an architect with a problem and you’ll get a building as a solution; the background of team leaders will greatly affect outcomes. As a graphic designer, I can’t help but hope for someone with a design perspective in charge."
So my short answer is that the answers to your questions are political but, like most things political, the results are real. If (good) graphic designers play a central role fairly early, things we recognize as important will be addressed. If we do not, they probably won't be. That will have real effects on the project result. I suspect that you and I would not always agree on how laudable or lamentable the effects are in specific cases.
Gunnar
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