4 ms·

I think the author misses the point of what a really good web designer does. Most of the websites you visit probably don't exhibit award winning visual design,

I think the author misses the point of what a really good web designer does. Most of the websites you visit probably don't exhibit award winning visual design, but I bet a lot of thought still went into the design of the user experience. Certainly Google's no winning any awards for the visual design of their homepage, but they released it in a time when every other search engine had a 'Portal' on their homepage. On yahoo, lycos, excite, etc. search was one of like 200 modules on the page. It actually probably took some unique thinking and design for google to say "Let's make search the only the on the page." You can certainly buy a theme for $500, but that theme isn't going to be designed for the optimal user experience for interacting with whatever it is that makes your site unique.

tptacek 15y ago
Respectfully, every designer in the world says this, and if you believe it without question you are setting yourself up to pay whatever they say your problem is worth, despite the fact that you are the best judge of how big an issue design is or how out of whack your UX is.
- morisy 15y ago
  Now this is a good point. We (http://muckrock.com http://muckrock.com) launched our web app with a $30 stock theme and it was, in my opinion, the right decision at the right time. We still happily use it, and when we shopped around for designers, they were asking hundreds at the low end for work we found subpar. On the other hand, a media site a friend runs recently invested heavily in design after years of frugality because advertisers demanded it, and the investment's paid off in dividends. Ultimately, outside experts shouldn't dictate your company, whether they are designers, strategists, or even lawyers. You should, and in many cases forging ahead with a budget design, plain-english ToS or other off-the-path choice is the best one for your business.
crenshaw 15y ago
The problem with the Google story is that Google really didn't have a designer at the time. Even Marissa didn't have a design background, despite some using her name due to her fashion sense. And I bet you that Yahoo, Lycos, AV, MSN, and AOL all had designers on staff yet none of them said, "Kill the portal -- just a search box". I'm sure there are great designers, but a lot of designers seem to just be really good at churning out polished versions of whatever is hot now.

tptacek 15y ago

Respectfully, every designer in the world says this, and if you believe it without question you are setting yourself up to pay whatever they say your problem is worth, despite the fact that you are the best judge of how big an issue design is or how out of whack your UX is.

morisy 15y ago
Now this is a good point. We (http://muckrock.com http://muckrock.com) launched our web app with a $30 stock theme and it was, in my opinion, the right decision at the right time. We still happily use it, and when we shopped around for designers, they were asking hundreds at the low end for work we found subpar. On the other hand, a media site a friend runs recently invested heavily in design after years of frugality because advertisers demanded it, and the investment's paid off in dividends. Ultimately, outside experts shouldn't dictate your company, whether they are designers, strategists, or even lawyers. You should, and in many cases forging ahead with a budget design, plain-english ToS or other off-the-path choice is the best one for your business.

crenshaw 15y ago

The problem with the Google story is that Google really didn't have a designer at the time. Even Marissa didn't have a design background, despite some using her name due to her fashion sense. And I bet you that Yahoo, Lycos, AV, MSN, and AOL all had designers on staff yet none of them said, "Kill the portal -- just a search box". I'm sure there are great designers, but a lot of designers seem to just be really good at churning out polished versions of whatever is hot now.