mobcode

Working with graphic designers

I have had the opportunity to work on several graphic design projects recently. I am working on them as a customer trying to get good looking logos, web sites, and advertisements. This is hard.

It is hard because I don’t know the principles, tools, lingo, and technology of graphic design. And my artistic abilities are not well developed. I end up in a position where I don’t know how to describe what I want. I fear if I ask for something then I will get what I asked for but not something good. I imagine this is what my customers feel like when I do software projects for them.

Here are some guidelines I am developing from my experiences with graphic designers:

1. Learn about graphic design. I have learned a small bit about graphic design. Small things like using a color wheel to find colors that go together. Making important things much bigger than you think is right, because it looks better. Paying attention to allignment of design elements. I know these are incredibly basic ideas from graphic design, but just knowing these has helped me communicate what I want. I believe that I should continue to invest in learning the basics of graphic design and this will help me get better results as I work with graphic designers
2. Be careful what you ask for. My worst fear when working on graphics projects, that I will get what I ask for and it will be bad. Find a way to describe characteristics of what you want without prescribing a solution. I know that coders thrive on being free to express their creativity in a solution. I assume that designers value the freedom to show their creativity just as much if not more. I really want designers to pour their creative energy into the projects. I need to get better at unleashing their creativity rather than stifling it.
3. Be specific with examples. One of the best ways I have found to communicate with designers is by pointing to samples of what I like. At first I would do this in a very rough manner. I would deliver a list of web sites that I liked. The problem was the work would then copy the things I did not like and ignore the things I liked. For instance, the designer might copy the layout when what I really liked was the colors. The answer is to be specific. Say things such as “I really like the banner on this site”, or “I like the font selection on this site”. I have also found it very useful to be able to point to a category on Design Melt Down. This lets me communicate a complex, rich idea with a single link.
4. Work in iterations. When starting on a project you would like to just jump to a fabulous visually stunning solution. Maybe somebody knows how to do this. I don’t. What I have been able to do is gradually increase the quality of the work. For instance, the first step is to create a first version. If you want to have a website, first you need to make a website. Create an initial version, start putting some content in, just get the project moving somewhere. Then go on the web and find some free style sheets that kind of look nice and have some aspects you like. This will produce a site that is not very compelling but at least has something. Now bring in a graphic designer, point them at the site as well as several sites you like and ask them to create a design. So far this approach of “booting” up seems to be working.
5. Roll up your sleeves and work on the project. You can’t just hire a graphics person, give them some vauge direction and expect them to create a design that delivers just the message you want. You need to work out what you want. You need to know what the main message is, you need to know what the supporting details are, you need to provide the copy to use, you need to think about what is most important. You need to pour much work and much thought into the content of the design. You are the one who knows your product, you are the one who knows your industry, you are the one who is responsible for the message.

Those are the main things I have learned so far. I am anxious to learn more about the subject though. If you are a graphic designer I would love to hear your thoughts, please use the “comment” link to send me a message.

Visualizing world development

Here is an amazing video. Watching it you will learn how the world has changed in the last 40 years with respect to wealth, health, and technology. You will also see a great demonstration of data visualization.

For more info look here gapminder.org.

NOTE: I had some problems playing the video. Eventually I found QuickTime could play it.

Build something

Here is a firsthand account of a developer working to build something out of nothing. As he says, it is not a success story but it strikes me as a practical look at what it is like to do your own thing.

For me, his story strikes at the heart of why developers love programming. Developers love to create something. To sit down, and crank out the code and shape something into existence. It’s a total trip. There is always talk of developers getting in the “zone”. That is what it is all about. Getting absorbed in creativity.

Check out the Second Life video that Kyle links to and you will see this same drive to create on a massive scale.

It is also the key to success. Being able to create something and deliver it to the sponsor. That is why they are paying you.

Keep on going

You are going to say some stupid things. You are going to have some ideas that turn out to be really bad. You are going to write some code that is awful. Don’t dwell on it. Keep going forward.

Consider such major flops as Microsoft’s Hailstorm, or Joel’s Hungarian notation madness, or Pavlina’s bizarre million dollar experiment. The key point is that if you try to criticize these people based on their past blunders your voice is drowned out by the flood of work they have done since then.

This is related to Joel’s Fire and Motion theory.

The key is to keep producing, and to produce so much goodness that it drowns out the stupid things you do. Build up a solid history of delivering quailty work. Then when you do something stupid, just move on, and do something good. Do so much good work that anyone focusing on your mistakes will be irrelevant.

Delivery killing creativity

With all the focus on delivery be wary of the danger of getting caught in a trap of immediate delivery that does not allow you to break out and use new ideas.