33 Getting Started Right
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When we are looking for web designers for our
projects, we are looking for people who are able to
strike a delicate balance between distinctive style and
effective user interfaces.
One of the first tasks I love to give to designers is just
sending an article, just a heading along with a couple
of paragraphs of text, images and some buttons, and
ask the designer to create a colorful, effective and
meaningful layout. Color says a lot about a designer’s
understanding of color theory, effectiveness is related
to UX, and meaning is related to the consistency of and
vision behind the design. Usually, it helps a lot to just
better understand how the designer thinks and what is
important to him during the design process.
”
You can see how important it is to not only know the tools and
techniques, but to know yourself as a designer. Frequently, your
own style and design philosophy will develop over time. Like the
design world itself, your opinions and ideas about your craft are
going to change. If you are in a hurry to explore style, design gal-
leries like Creattica and other showcases are popular for inspira-
tion and are useful for discovering what you like and don’t like.
However, your style is going to ultimately be shaped by completing
your own projects. There’s no substitute for experience.
Share Your Work & Stick With It
So you’ve set your goals, you have your portfolio, you’re develop-
ing your style. From here on out, it’s the work that all designers
have to do over the life of their career—participate and keep going.
Turns out, participation is not just good for your career—it’s good
for your happiness as well. Even accounting for sampling ratio
(significantly fewer designers are unhappy as opposed to happy),
happy designers were more likely to participate in communities,
forums, and other resources that allow you to learn from another
