The Design Panel

Slide 1: “ The Design Panel “ WebVisions 2006 in Portland, Oregon • Friday, July 21, 2006 @ 3:00pm

Slide 2: ZERO. Time to meet the panelists! :D

Slide 3: Say “hi” to, Mike Davidson Also known for: Newsvine. sIFR ( or “siff-er” ). iPod Contests. Not being a Comcast fan.

Slide 4: Say “hi” to, Keith Robinson Also known for: Blue Flavor. Asterisk. Design Eye. Being the Doctor.

Slide 5: Say “hi” to, Dan Cederholm Also known for: Simplebits. Cork’d. Being Bulletproof. Dodgeball.

Slide 6: Say “hi” to, Bryan Veloso Also known for: Avalonstar. Facebook. His RX-8. Dance Dance? o_O;

Slide 7: Say “hi” to, Bryan Veloso Also known for: Avalonstar. Facebook. Revyver. (re-vy-ver) His RX-8. Dance Dance? o_O;

Slide 8: ONE. So, what’s wrong with design today? o_O;

Slide 9: So, what’s wrong with design today? ‣ Internet Explorer. ‣ Revenue being the bottom line in driving design decisions. ‣ The disconnect between graphic design and web design. ‣ Too much focus on technology, technique and the latest trends. ‣ Browsers, HTML, and CSS are still moving forward at a glacial pace. ‣ There are ridiculous arguments about bad design actually being good. ‣ There isn't enough focus on copy as a design element. ‣ We need new heroes.

Slide 10: TWO. So, what’s right with design today? ^_^;

Slide 11: So, what’s right with design today? ‣ Best practices are now part of the \"standard design skill set\". ‣ Designers creating their own products/companies. ‣ People are learning the \"right way\" at an earlier age. ‣ Many different people from different backgrounds in design are trying their hand at the web. ‣ Web designers are maturing, beginning to develop good fundamental bases. ‣ Complexity of design is increasing in proportion with average bandwidth. ‣ We're still able to do an amazing amount with the very few tools we're given as designers. ‣ Flexible platforms like WordPress, Django, and ExpressionEngine make design more leverage-able.

Slide 12: THREE. The most important elements.

Slide 13: The most important elements of any design. ‣ A clear and defined purpose. ‣ A solid concept well executed. ‣ A solid architecture. ‣ Balance. ‣ Answering the \"who, what, why\" questions as quickly as possible. ‣ Making your interface easy enough for beginners but also appropriate for advanced users. ‣ Easy navigation from one area to another... the scent of information. ‣ Personality & Memorability: Standing out from the crowd.

Slide 14: FOUR. Breaking it down.

Slide 15: The comment counters at jeffcroft.com

Slide 16: The photos at thebignoob.com

Slide 17: The “laptop” at 31three.com

Slide 18: The “clean URL’s” at technorati.com

Slide 19: The art and illustrations at veerle.duoh.com

Slide 20: The 5-style style-switcher at dustindiaz.com

Slide 21: The store’s fine print at muledesign.com

Slide 22: The front page widgets at uxmag.com

Slide 23: The flybox at tatteredfly.com

Slide 24: The typography at nytimes.com

Slide 25: The comment ratings at digg.com

Slide 26: The dynamic head at digitalmash.com

Slide 27: The interactive bear at bearskinrug.co.uk

Slide 28: The typography at newyorkmetro.com

Slide 29: FIVE. Reassembly.

Slide 30: Reassembly. ‣ I stumped the panel on this one. ^_^; ‣ Take the elements of design and apply them to your projects. ‣ Find what fits. ‣ Quirky’s cool, but only if it fits in with the overall feel. ‣ Little details can make the most impact, but don’t spend 99% of your time on 1% of the project. ‣ So, you got some inspiration? Make sure to keep the following in mind...

Slide 31: SIX. Spinning it and making it your own.

Slide 32: Spinning it and making it your own. ‣ There are no new ideas... just old ideas spun differently. ‣ Copy at your own risk. ‣ Don't be afraid to experiment or twist conventional models. ‣ Style is something every designer develops eventually. ‣ The need for better checks against theft. ‣ Sometimes it's better to be good than original. (especially on the Web) ‣ Learning from good design is an age old tradition. ‣ Don't steal, use nodes of design inspiration (http://www.cameronmoll.com/archives/000016.html) ‣ Try a glass of wine. ‣ Mix up your process (e.g. if you normally comp in PS first, try designing in CSS initially)

Slide 33: SEVEN. So, any questions? Remember! There are awesome t-shirts at stake!