A few days ago I ran across a mental exercise that I haven’t done in a few years. I have a feeling it was mentioned in one of the RSS feeds that I subscribe to. I wish I could remember where I saw it because they deserve a nod, but my mind is drawing a blank. If you figure out where I came across this, let me know in the comments so I can give credit where due. The idea: make a list of 100 items.
To most designers (be they graphic, web, fine arts, or other) the skill I’m describing comes naturally. You look at someone else’s work and instantly imagine what you would have done differently. If that thought is fleeting, then you are missing an opportunity to improve your design chops. Stop for a few minutes and really dwell on the changes you would make. Why do you think your ideas are better?
When I stop and think about it, I’m amazed at the number of talented code writers who freely share their work with the rest of the world. There are a lot of generous souls in the web design industry. If you want your web site to have a DHTML menu or a thumbnail gallery or a slideshow, you don’t need to start from scratch. It’s surprising how often someone has already been in your shoes and is willing to share the code they’ve already written
The habit is easy to fall into. I find myself from time to time thinking of text as just an expandable block element I need to account for in my design. And truthfully for the role I as a designer and programmer play in the birth of a web site, maybe that’s all the thought I need to give it. But the fact is that content and design are both critical to the long term success of a web site. Where does the text on the finished site come from?
Did the client decide to leave the dummy text that I thoughtlessly spit out during the design process as a placeholder? Did the client rewrite everything? Do I even care? Maybe it’s an ego thing, but I want the sites I create to be useful and effective for my clients. Since content plays such a big role in determining that sucess, I do care.
With that in mind, I asked Theresia Whitfield of Fletcher Communications what words of wisdom she would share with web designers on the idea of web content. The rest of this post is her response:
Maybe there are people out there who have a consistent level of efficiency throughout the entire workday. If you are one of those people I salute you. For my own part, I’m reasonably efficient for most of the day, but I seem to have a sweet spot of a few hours in the late afternoon when my productivity seems to get a little boost. I don’t mean to imply that I’m twice as efficient during those hours, but it is enough of an increase that I notice. So there you have it, the best time of day to work is in the late afternoon. End of post.
It’s been a little over four months since I left my 9 to 5 job to do freelance web development full-time. Since I became self-employed, I’m not accountable to anyone else for my work habits. Of course I’m accountable to my paying customers for the work I produce, but what about marketing, accounting, and all the administrative work involved in keeping my business afloat? There’s no one who knows (or cares) how I get these things done.
The classic line we expect to hear from high-maintenance actors is, “What’s my motivation?” It’s a valid question. How is the actor supposed to provide consistent inflection and body language without an understanding of what their character is thinking? The actor can always just read the lines, but the result probably won’t be the “perfect moment” the actor is trying to capture.
As a freelance web designer, I have a lot of freedom in when I choose to perform the various aspects of my work. Most afternoons I can take a nap, run errands, or just sit in front of the TV. If I’m not motivated to work in a particular moment, there’s rarely a reason that I need to do so right that second. If I wait for a later time when I’m feeling more inspired, the work might flow out of me without much effort at all. Often that’s exactly how it happens.
Obviously an important part of running a successful business is to provide a service that people want. If no one is willing to pay for your work, then you have a hobby, not a business. But revenue aside, there’s a lot to be said for a hobby. If you’re like most freelancers, then web design began as just a hobby for you.
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