Response: World Wide Web of Opinions

So I think we've all learned the lesson that websites are a lot harder than we think. It's hard to put yourself into the mindset of an average web user and then make a design that can play to that "skill set" if you will. Everything should be an average type size, a web safe font and easyeasyeasyeasy to find. This limits your creativity on the web immensely.

I'm of the mind that people are not dimwitted. And that people who are hiring designers will respect a more atypical layout (LeAnn's comes to mind obviously). While I respect the right to be awesome, you also have to make the website usable and accessible. You don't want someone to turn away because they think you can't code correctly. I think we've all learned this semester with Vox and the book covers that compromise is an inevitable part of design.

I do like that we've all come into our own though. The comments are so much more critical and on the flip side, people are standing up for their designs a lot more. It was great to see the push and pull in this critique. From that kind of conversation usually comes great ideas, whether they're completely new or a brilliant solution to an old one.

I think the most important part of web presence is to stay true to who you are as a person and a designer. Don't make a standard site just because you think it looks more professional and clean. If you're bold or whacky or classic or contemporary, emulate that in your site. You want to be working for someone who wants YOU as a designer, not someone who wants the predictable, templated person that's on Cargo.