The fact is, our clients often need work done quickly and efficiently, all the while having very specific target markets in mind. It’s the designers job to meet the needs of the client and instantly adapt to their brand. Especially if there is no brand. Take web design for example. Sure, we as designers all have our standard bag of tricks, our own styles of the trade, but at the end of the day, we have the same job to do. Goals to meet. A few of those goals would be to simply get your website in front of the right people, usually lots of them and then have them think or act certain way. Its our job to take control, guiding them through this online experience, until some sort of fulfillment is met. Oh yeah, what are we trying to achieve again?. Is your target market buying something? Maybe you need to them to register, leave their email address, donate, sign up or just plan be informed. All these things play a role in how you design.

For some designers a struggle is trying to find a balance between being a creative and having to design within the rules of the web. Most will tell you that web design is enjoyable for its interactivity and seemingly endless pool of design options. Web design provides many opportunities for one to be creative, especially with the tools we have today. However, over the years standards have been set and the bending of the rules has become harder and harder. For example, navigating websites is usually done by clicking buttons spanning in a row, left to right, usually somewhere near the top of a page. Another common layout of course would be to run the navigation points down the left hand side of a webpage. But those are your only options for a typical professional website. Why, you ask?  Because it makes sense. Ford Motor Company isn’t going to release the next Fusion model with the steering wheel in the back seat, are they? Just like cnn.com isn’t going to launch their new site with the main navigation crammed somewhere near the bottom of the page. Get it?

But what if you want to? What if you want to try something new? Most designers didn’t get into this business to keep adding to the great pool of mediocrity. No way. There isn’t one designer out there who wants to produce work that’s just okay. After all, we’re all just a bunch of showoffs who want to produce web sites that impress, making our clients say that great three-letter-word: “Wow!” Hey, we paid good money to go to that fancy art school and now we want to create the sort of designs that earn us a good reputation among clients AND other designers.

Unfortunately sometimes getting too creative is a tough sell in the business of web design. Believe me. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any room to showcase or express your design abilities. Its up to us to balance the rules of the web and our creative minds by finding new ways to achieve the client’s goals. I feel it is important to break out of that standard bag of tricks as long as you can remember to never let your finger too far off the pulse of what matters most. Good effective design or our company’s flashy portfolio?

Photo: juhansonin