Differentiating Between Web Craft and Web Design
29.03.06 @ 9:12 amI do not think it will be argued against too much if I contend that most of the web design blogosphere spends the majority of its articles on how to put websites together. We have a plethora of CSS, HTML and Javascript tutorials on the internet, but, as Andy Rutledge points out, the same cannot be said about design topics. Granted, both facets are very important, but we cannot begin to mistake one for the other. There is web design and there is web craft; two equally important pieces to the end goal, but nonetheless separate pieces.
What’s the Difference?
Well, quite a bit. There definitely is some intersection of skills when creating the visual design of a site and putting it together, however, those skills are still quite separate. It can be debated exactly where the visual design of a site ends and its craft begins. I generally feel the visual design phase ends and craft begins when you move from creation to implementation of the final product. HTML is our pencil, CSS our exacto knife. The tools we use are ends to a mean. Without a blueprint, they do nothing.
The Relationship Between Design and Craft
I went to an art school which centered around print design and pushed importance of craft. The only problem was, just being fresh out of a computer science program, I had lost the ability to to use my hands other than to operate a mouse and keyboard. It was a difficult transition, but I learned that even the best design would look shabby at best if poorly rendered, mounted or bound. The final project in one of my classes was a magazine which was to be designed and bound for the critique. Halfway through the project, both the instructor and I were very happy with the concept of the design and direction of the spreads - it was just a matter of putting it all together. That is where things went downhill. After agonizing hours spent putting the book together, it refused to open the day of the crit. That is a problem considering that books are meant to be opened. From that day on, I knew that craft would never be my strong suit. I could do your basic cropping and mounting, but nothing past the rudimentary level. I understood that I would have to concentrate on the design and defer on the craft. There is nothing particularly wrong with this, it was just something I had to be aware of or risk a lower quality final product.
To bring this back to focus, HTML, CSS, AJAX, and many more technological acroynms to come, are the end result of a design created on paper. They are executions of ideas. They are our craft. Just like craft is important in traditional forms of graphic design, such as making a book, it is also important to web design. Craft is the realization of the concept, the final product that people will interact with. Still, it is only the final step in a long process. For the last few years, it seems as though the web design community has been much more focused on the craft of their design than the actual design itself. Obviously, we cannot ignore how we put a site together, but the most masterfully created site that neglects the other portions of the design process will turn out medicore at best. Are hot new CSS techniques pushing the direction in your design? They shouldn’t. How should not drive a design but rather why. We need to be aware of the craft, in order to make smart design choices, but the concept and design should be the driving force. Sometimes something just flat out cannot be built which obviously is a time where the visual design needs to be re-evaluated. Still, the concept and visual language should be front-and-center in how those changes are applied to a technical alteration. Am I the only person that has witnessed the opposite?
Where Does Usability Reside?
Just like how building a website can be broken into design and craft, I feel usability can as well. We all know how a site is put together can dramatically impact usability, but how a site is designed equally influences the usability of a site. How navigation is visually organized and laid out should be given equal attention to how it is semantically created. We talk a lot about the craft of usability, but many less people write extensively about the design of usability. Jakob Nielsen, in all of his controversial charm, is one of foremost usability design folks out there. I think we all would hope he would pay more attention the the visual aesthetics of design, but he brings up very good and inciteful points to designing usable websites. Ironically, his site still uses a table-based layout and some very “unique” CSS methods. If anyone should understand the caveats of that, it should be him. If only we could could genetically splice him with Shaun Inman and Jeffery Zeldman, we’d have a web design super-hero.
A Balanced Discourse is Needed
Craft is the realization of the concept, the final product that people will interact with. Still, it is only the final step in a long process.
It may seem as though I am putting an uneven amount of importance in design. Rather, I mean to emphasize that each phase has its purpose and order. Both pieces cannot work without the other, but there is still a heirarchy. A strong piece of work for the web medium needs to place equal attention to design and craft. Either one should spend the time to do both well or defer to someone in the process. Ideally, the designer should understand the craft for making a website in order to better know what can and cannot be done in the medium. At the very least, the designer should respect the aspect of craft and how it relates to the experience of the final product. Ignorance to how websites are put together usually ends with a design that is frustrating to both the person responsible to make it and the people that are trying to use it. Conversely, a CSS ninja should have some knowledge in the discipline of design. A lacking of design fundamentals will many times end with a design which does not aid in the user’s experience, or worse, detracts from it.
Much of this community focus in craft might have something to do with the fact that the majority are still technology-centered. A large portion of people that build websites have some sort of programming background and seem to be predisposed towards the technical side of web design. In addition, our craft techniques (CSS, HTML, etc.), while debatable to some degree, are much more objective than design process and theory. Some would argue that there really are not any solid answers to strong design and its process, just philosophies. All rules in design have a time and a place where they can (and should) be broken. There will always be a level of subjectivity to it which can make writing about it more difficult. When writing about design, finding “the answer” is not the point but rather to discuss the ideas and concepts relating to it. Sometimes I think the zeal to push standards on how to craft websites has spilled over into how to design websites. We should never forget that our craft is the execution of our design, not the other way around.css, design, html, opinion, web craft web design
March 29th, 2006 at 9:58 am
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Great article, very poignant.
March 29th, 2006 at 10:04 am
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I love this discussion. NO one talks about this which amazes me. Web craft and web design are truly two distinct spheres. One focuses on the implementation and lets the tools of the trade guide look and feel. The other throws all that out the window and is concerned only with look and feel.
I am with the latter here. I think if you let web craft guide your look then you are conforming to standards. You are boring and give people what they expect. I say shake the ground a little. Suprise. Re-invent. You’ll come out differentiated and that is most valuable to me.
March 29th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
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Nice post. I also like the Web Designer No Exp Necessary.
I’m not a web designer. I’m a web builder, but I often have to fix, or “webify” it the design for it to work. To be good at either it takes a certain level of understanding of the other, but few folks are good at both.
It’s funny how companies search for the employee that really doesn’t exist, or if does they can’t afford, - the great designer/developer hybrid. Often they don’t even know what to call the role, or how to define it. And just as often they hire the person with the prominant developer skills and have them design.
Unfortunate.
March 29th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
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Fantastic write-up.
As Yousuf Haq writes, nobody talks about this and I think it’s actually a very significant problem for many.
I’m mostly a designer, but over the past ten years I learned how to write (X)HTML and CSS because I wanted to enable the better design options that come from doing CSS. I love the challenge as it usually leads to what I think is very satisfying output. As I learned CSS to be a better designer I’ve learned all sorts of things with PHP, SQL, PERL, and so on, but I’m still coming at it mostly from the design angle.
But a problem persists: most people either see me as a production coder or just as a designer, never a balance of the two. I often get handed a final layout and get to do lots of cookie-cutter web sites that don’t really do the format justice. On average I’m using only half of my abilities.
March 29th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
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The only way to break out of your problem Eric is to start taking some risks. Push the bounderies a little. Tell your employer about your ideas and how they are better on a certain project. Screw it if you get fired. Your probably better off working for someone else.
March 29th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Yousuf - you’re not shy, are you?
I definitely agree that we need to continually push away from our comfort zone. I also think it is very important to consider yourself not only a person who creates a design. Designers should be a councel to the client on how to get from a blank page to a finished design.
March 29th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
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P.J.
A great writeup. In my experience thus far I find it excellent when designers know even just a little bit about development and vice versa. It seems to make the entire process of Web creation that much easier when the designer knows what can and can’t be done using the Web as a medium, and the developer realizes what the designer was aiming for. It is often difficult to find a good blend of things but is all the better when you find that blend. I’m much more proficient in development as opposed to design, but I spend personal time trying to promote any design skill and make it better so that when I do collaborate with designers on my team, we get along that much better. Thanks for the good read.
March 30th, 2006 at 7:48 am
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Nice article, at last, some food for thought.
April 1st, 2006 at 5:56 am
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[…] Y ya puestos a hablar de diseño, una buena discusión de artesanía y diseño web. Muy interesante. […]
April 1st, 2006 at 10:31 am
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Great post. Thank you. Maybe I’m missing something, but there is a large pink elephant in the room (named “tootie,” I just decided).
O.K. Let me try and make sense (though “Tottie is so logical a name, 1′m half way there). In addition to a formal education in the fine arts, I majored in Art History. When we studied a particular artist’s work or an artistic movement, we examined formal elements, such as medium, technique, composition, color, stroke, subject matter, etc. We also examined, with equal emphasis, the context of the era in which the artist lived; the cultural attitudes and changes in society, the political, religious, and other reforms occurring amid developments in the arts, sciences, technology, business, and other fields.
They are inseparable as they inform each other.
Web professionals are focused almost entirely on the formal aspects of our work. While this is essential as we are still defining them, the problem is they mostly relate to how we do things.
What we are slowly starting to see emerge, is the inclusion of the question “Why?”
This, I belief, has been at the root of the discontent many designers have felt recently(being treated as simple window dressers whose role has been to communicate the ideas others instead of contributing to the body of ideas and knowledge).
So I agree with everything you’ve stated, I just think we aren’t seeing the whole picture. Thank you for letting me contribute.
April 1st, 2006 at 8:48 pm
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as always, an excellent article. thank you for contributing bold ideas to the design/web community.
regarding this topic, there isn’t much i can say without reiterating key points from your article.
my philosophy behind successful web design is based on one word: BALANCE. many web programmers are immersed in the technical, functional aspects of web design and lack the concept of aesthetics. and vise versa for graphic designers. the truly successful websites seem to come from individuals like you, PJ, who have a strong understanding of programming and design and know how to make two very different “creatures” live and work symbiotically.
starting a revolution and changing educational programs to balance design and programming would be ideal but difficult to achieve immediately. in the meantime, designers and programmers need to realize that their cooperation with one another is essential for the creation of successful websites. extensive communication, respect for each others craft, and patience with one another is an excellent starting point to a beautiful relationship as well as a beautiful website.
April 1st, 2006 at 8:57 pm
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“Tell your employer about your ideas and how they are better on a certain project. Screw it if you get fired. Your probably better off working for someone else.” ~yousuf
i love that statement. yousuf, your thoughts always amaze me!
during my adventures as a student (moonlighting as a freelance designer), i encountered situations where i had come close to doing that. however, i always had to step back and think about my rent, food, and living expenses.
in an ideal world, i would love to tell an ignorant client to ’shove it’ and quit. sadly, that’s not a possibility for many of the poor misunderstood designers out there in the world.
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:49 pm
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[…] Differentiating Between Web Craft and Web Design […]
May 12th, 2006 at 9:20 am
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[…] Much of this psychological phenomenon seems to also be technically driven. A new CSS feature comes out that allows something visually new to be done. For example, a new CSS technique to add rounded corners to DIVs. If it is able to be done, we have to do it. This, at least in some part, stems from the lack of creative control we have in designing websites. We are like sexually repressed teenagers. Our hormones lash out with reckless abandon whenever they get the chance. Do those rounded colors/drop-shadows/gradients have a significance or are they strictly for style? Who cares - we can finally do it. That is all the excuse we need. […]
May 15th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
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I agree with you Kellie. Eating and living are of course important. I’m an idealist and I just like to stur the pot. SO. i take back ” screw it if u get fired.” and replace it with ” Gently unnerve your boss with out undermining your means of living.”
May 15th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
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BTW. I found Michael A’s comments extremely pertinent. We’re all in a in a fuzzy art/social movement called the web.
May 15th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
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[…] I ♥ Black. I ♥ White. Tags: black and white film fuji Nikkormat Nikon Photography rollei rolleicordMy photographic background is not much to be proud of. In one of my graphic design courses, the professor let us know that a large portion of our work would involve photography. I did not have a camera at that time and was lucky enough to be given a Nikkormat FT2 shortly afterward as a birthday present. I quickly jumped right into manual photography with no educated background. Nonetheless, I fumbled around with the camera enough to where I could take decent shots for the projects they were intended for. All work with my camera was a means to an end - as long as the shots turned out to my needs, I was happy. As you may guess, I many times would have to go through hundreds of shots and boat-loads of money (for a starving student) to get the results I desired. It never dawned on me to take a different approach with my photography as I was too ignorant to know better and too strung out on caffeine to think rationally. Fast-forward four years later. My camera is never used for any of my professional projects. There are no deadlines, no specific goals to achieve - my outlook on photography has changed dramatically. My wife and I go out together to take photos at least once every two weeks and we must be developing around three roles of film a week. To many, that many not sound like anything, but considering our busy schedules, it amazes me. Since photography has become part hobby/part passion, I have much more time and flexibility to shoot what I want and how I want. To be more specific, I want to take better shots. I have noticed that my fumbling around has produced some fairly interesting, but relatively poorly executed photographs. Just as there is a difference in web design and web craft, I had never improved the craftsmanship of my photos - keeping all of my work under a glass ceiling. […]
September 25th, 2006 at 10:02 am
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It’s not that easy to undertand the difference between craft and design. I don’t mean in your article but getting the concept. Great job though, man!
May 20th, 2007 at 7:00 am
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[…] Otros enlaces: Surviving the singularity, Differentiating Between Web Craft and Web Design, A.I. vs. Biological Studies to Understand Minds, Blog de Tino Pertierra. Posted by Sergio Filed in Sociedad, Recortes […]
October 21st, 2008 at 8:30 pm
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Great post m8, looking forward to more posts like this, so i bookmarked you