Tales of a Designer

Is the Internet Too Crowded?

Recently I’ve mentioned that I’ve been a little uninspired lately, and a big chunk of that is due to the internet. It seemed like there was this huge stretch in time a few years back, where tons of web companies were doing great things and all of these new web apps and services were coming out. I felt that at least once a week, I was signing up for some new public beta and/or service because it seemed that these services would be of value to me.

Now it seems that lots of companies are coming out with crap. It would be too much of an overstatement to say that all of the good ideas are taken up, however, I’m just not seeing much innovation on the web lately. Did everyone rush to the internet and exhaust all the good ideas? Who knows, but there has been one problem I’ve notice about all of new web apps these days.

There is no human aspect to them. In other words, what value does some of this stuff bring to my life? Not everything will be relevant to me, but it seems that companies get too caught up on providing the latest and greatest technology without thinking all the way through the human aspect of applications and services. One company will copy another thinking that because they can use better technology, their app will be better. But technology doesn’t solve human problems. The fact that something is “cool” doesn’t make it a good service to users.

When everyone is looking for gold in the same river, the best opportunities are somewhere else. Via

There is no way to counter the huge rush to the internet, and it’s going to happen in any industry where there is a lot of success. What is frustrating, though, is the lack of innovation. Everyone is doing the same thing, and hopefully that will change.

Do you think the internet is too crowded with not enough innovation? Or is it just me?

Uninspired Lately

For the past few months my writing has been a bit slower here, but not without reason. I browse the web quite a bit, and even in my free time, I’m normally web surfing while watching tv or listening to music. As of lately, though, I’ve been pretty uninspired with the web. It’s not that I’m liking the web less, but I’m just not finding blogs and sites that inspire me to write something about it.

What makes blogging a little harder is working all day, where there is no time to blog, and then doing Tridea work in the evenings. By the time all my work is done, I’m a little worn out by the day and don’t have the mental energy to write something interesting here. This doesn’t mean that I want to give up writing on this blog, though I’ve pondered it, but more of looking for other ways to inspire myself to write.

I used to love reading A List Apart, but for some reason their topics as of lately just don’t appeal to me much anymore. Over the past year, I’ve taken more of an interest in the business side of this industry, especially after starting a company of my own. So I might look to writing about more business topics here that are relevant to the design industry.

I still plan to maintain this blog because I do still enjoy writing, as well as being a member of 9rules. I am looking to add a little more life to this site in ’08. I am also about ready for a redesign which I think will encourage me to write a little more as well. I am also open for suggestions in finding more inspiration to write.

The Chicago Spire

One of the many ways of finding inspiration is by looking at the architecture of different structures and buildings. I’ve recently read up on this soon-to-be apartment building that is being built in Chicago, called the Chicago Spire, that looks absolutely amazing. It has a very unique look that I’ve never seen in another design of a building.

The architect of the building is Santiago Calatrava, who seems to be inspired quite a bit by nature when designing structures. As shown in the Spire website, he has designed many other structures that are pretty unique as well. It’s interesting to see the work other types of designers (outside of the web), and even more interesting to see how/where they get their inspiration from.

The Spire website is very well done, and all of the images, video, and content go very well with what Santiago Calatrava’s goal was when designing the Spire. His inspiration from nature really comes out in his designs.

The principles I follow are based on repetition. This reminds you of nature because nature often works in patterns.

I very much look forward to seeing this structure when it’s completed in 2011. I’m sure we will be hearing quite a bit about this when the project nears completion.

What do you think about the Chicago Spire?

Working Within Budgets

One thing that I’ve found to be challenging when dealing with client projects, is working within the set budget with your specified hourly rate. Typically, the process starts off with finding out what type of budget the client has to work with, and then I would let them know what can be done within that budget. Sounds like an easy process until work starts getting done.

After projects finish, I normally try to assess the work that I’ve done and how much time was spent. One issue that I’ve found, even with small projects, is that the time I’ve spent on the project far exceeds the client budget and what is paid. The end result is exactly what I’ve promised, no more no less. Yet the time researching, designing, and trying to perfect code is way more than I thought it would be.

I often question myself on how to better estimate the amount of time I put into a project compared to the budget. Every time I estimate more for myself, I overshoot it, but again, delivering what I promised. I have yet to find a solution for this issue, but maybe it will come with more experience.

I believe in giving every project my full effort, so part of me has a problem with not putting in as much effort just to meet the time I estimated within a budget. Maybe I need to embrace constraints a little more and get into a different mind set when starting off. This can possibly be done by setting goals to a number of small goals, which in turn accomplishes the overall goal.

How do you go about working within set budgets?

My Favorite Blogs

Borrowing a page from Mapping the Web, I thought I’d list out a few of my favorite blogs. I spend almost too much time reading blogs, and trying to better my craft, and there have been many blogs that have helped me along the way. So I’d like to share those blogs:

Signal vs. Noise – This is the blog from the guys at 37signals. I really like the philosophy behind their thinking in how they approach design and programming. I’ve learned quite a bit from them on the basics of interface design on the web. I’d also highly recommend their book Getting Real, there is tons to learn in there.

Design View – Every industry has those people that stand out, and call things as they see them……the very outspoken type. Andy Rutledge is one them in the web design arena. In his blog he gives great info on topics ranging from basic design principles to the business side of design. He also provides great links to other relevant articles on the web.

Cameron Moll – This is almost self explanatory. If you don’t know who Cameron Moll is, I would suggest leaving my site right now and go get familiar with his work and blog. But, I do think he is a stunning designer and a great leader in our industry.

Freelance Switch – Everyone loves freelancing advice, especially those just starting off. Freelance Switch is probably the best freelancing resource on the web. I wrote about them before, and I still feel the exact same way. Their site is still growing, and they now have a job board, as well as a great podcast. This site is a must for any designers’ feed reader.

Jeff Croft – Jeff Croft is another designer that speaks his mind, and always has great insight to our industry. He’s a great designer/writer and there is lots to be learned from his blog as well.

Fadtastic – This is a cool site that talks about trends within the design world. It’s interesting to read the assessments in trends that we see in the current state of the web.

So that is my short list of blogs that I frequently visit. Of course there are tons of others that I visit regularly, but these have been the few where I’ve learned the most, and that provide consistently good content.

What are your favorite sites? I’m always looking to add to my list of feeds.