After five weeks of exchanging ideas, five templates being presented, three revised project proposal, I dropped a client today. We've come to terms wherein the client prefers a visually orgasmic web site by a graphics designer over my fast and efficient interface design and she's going to drop me anyway. I was told, "Mas maganda ang gawa ni [name of the graphics designer] kesa'yo. Ito na lang seguro ang kukuhanin ko. I think he's better than you." ([Name of the graphics designer]'s design looks better than yours. I am now contemplating to hire his service instead of yours. I think he's better than you.).
Backgrounder:
I'm an old-school web designer who started working on static web sites since 1996. I am proficient in HTML and Javascript and adept in tinkering source codes via text editors (i.e. Notepad). For the touch of graphics, I commissioned graphics artist to do it for me and splice their work to my web interface.
Content management system (CMS) and blogging platform such as Wordpress and Blogger provided an avenue for fully-automated yet cost-effective web site development. I ditched static web pages and embraced blogging tools to build web sites that are fast, effecient, yet economical. Depending on the needs of the client, the web sites I created for my client are usually "automated" which simply means it is almost comparable to high-end database driven web sites where web site owners can post entries or articles by themselves (e.g. http://www.wfwp-asia.blogspot.tw/). All these without the high costs of maintaining a database-driven web sites.
Technology advances for the better and I was left behind with a very awkward know-how of HTML5, DHTML, XHTML, XML, SGML, and any other modern type of markup language for web browser display. Since then, I no longer hand-code web design from scratch but rely heavily on free or premium web templates readily available across the web. It is cost-efficient and save time for me and my client.
As an interface designer, I work side-by-side with graphics designer who can provide graphics works that I can splice into my web interface. Interface designer and graphics designer are two different professions. This is why to compare me with a graphics designer is simply not right. As a general rule, these are completely two different discipline in the web design industry that complement with each other - not compete.
There are also instance that interface designer and graphics designer cannot work along with each other. It's not because of competition but more on compatability issues. One time, I was maintaining a particular web site operating on Blogger platform. Posting and updating with entries were as easy as a breeze. Yet, while the domain is country-level, still it didn't incurred much expenditures as even web hosting is being provided by Google (or more appropriately Blogspot) for free. The owner commissioned a friend graphics designer to "redesign" the site. The plan included getting a paid web hosting service, flashy static web pages, and the tedious FTP jobs. I decommissioned myself from that website because of difference in ideas on how to implement user-friendliness environment for both web site visitors and web site administrators. Fast forward today, I was tasked to update the web site and there lies the problem. The redesigned web site being on static web pages became too difficult to maintain. There was never a problem if only the graphics designer could design an XML-based web template. Blogger platform is XML-based and had XML-based web template was implemented, there was no need to practically overhaul the whole site.
Nothing is wrong with the graphics designer. He is a very very good designer and talented at that and in fact, an experienced graphics designer working in some prestigious graphics designing company in the country. The only thing is that he's not designing XML-based template.
“Interface design is when one is designing something that will be used by humans. The understanding of how a user thinks, learns and adapts is important knowledge.
I’m not down playing graphic design in any way, it’s just different. For example, graphic designers have the intention to grab an emotional response visually. While Interface designers have the intention to grab a logical response mentally.”
Just as I was Googling keywords like "difference between interface designer and graphics designer," I came across this pretty straight-forward explanation here: http://m1k3.net/archives/distinction_between_interfaces_and_graphics.
I spent my long weekend almost for nothing - web design project that will not pushed-through. Anyhow, as a bonus to myself, I am posting here the 2013 list of holidays:
A. Regular Holidays
New Year’s Day - January 1 (Tuesday)
Maundy Thursday - March 28
Good Friday - March 29
Araw ng Kagitingan - April 9 (Tuesday)
Labor Day - May 1 (Wednesday)
Independence Day - June 12 (Wednesday)
National Heroes Day - August 26 (Last Monday of August)
Bonifacio Day - November 30 (Saturday)
Christmas Day - December 25 (Wednesday)
Rizal Day - December 30 (Monday)
B. Special (Non-Working) Days
Black Saturday - March 30
Ninoy Aquino Day - Aug. 21 (Wednesday)
All Saints Day - November 1 (Friday)
Additional special (non-working) days - November 2 (Saturday) and December 24 (Tuesday)
Last Day of the Year - December 31 (Tuesday)
C. Special Holiday (for all schools)
EDSA Revolution Anniversary - February 25 (Monday)
Labels: holidays, rants, web design
published by dodong flores 도동 플로오리스 @ 3:00:00 AM • Permalink •
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I am an HTML street-fighter, photography enthusiast, an avid traveler, a road warrior, kitchen adventurer, tech geek, and presently experimenting with SEO. I personally maintain several blogs and web sites and testing the waters for netpreneurship. Bike commute to work is my moral obligation to help in reducing gas emission.
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