39 What Web Designers Think
“
Typography. If you reduce web design to the bare
minimum you will end up with only a bunch of
paragraphs. That’s what the web is all about; written
information. Only the very best designers can create
a website that pretty much contains nothing but text
and makes it look great. Unfortunately, typography is
something that is often overlooked by newcomers, and
more often than not, poor line spacing can destroy an
otherwise beautiful website.
”
Vitaly Friedman concurs on the importance of typography and also
places an emphasis on problem solving practices:
“
I think that Web designers should be capable of at
least three things: 1) they should master the core of our
craft which is problem-solving and communication. 2)
they should be aware of best practices and follow them,
yet also know when to break them, creating enough
room for experimentation and creative breakouts.
3) They should understanding the importance of
typography and copy.
”
Meanwhile, Sarah Parmenter of You Know Who Design boils it
down to developing an eye for the little things:
“
Attention to detail. I don’t think it’s good enough
to be a fabulous designer or developer, I think you
need a critical eye for detail. So many of my designs
get ripped to shreds when passed on to a developer,
because they don’t have an eye for detail, they miss
the subtle shadows, the bevels and highlights, that
really make a difference within a design, and what I
end up seeing isn’t the hours of details I put in, but
a version of my version. I’m sure designers don’t
appreciate the finer details that developers do either;
it’s definitely a two-way thing.
”
