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bla
I'm listening to some french rap right now
it owns you all
Eh ! Les mecs, arr�tez les cachetons,
au quartier �a sent le Tranxen 500, anti-shmits fonskar au shit �a sent le SL 500,
wesh Booba ?!
J�entends en passant, si tu veux tirer, tire mais fais-le vite, compte pas r�gler tes comptes en m�clashant.
Majors, heindeck, j�vais faire monter les tarots, quand j�ai la cl� j�m�en sers pour casser l�carreau, merde !
Y�a nos empreintes sur la hachette, laisse-nous passer pendant qu�les MCs s�font bouffer la chatte
Check ! Toujours � la mode, j�mets toujours � l�amende � chaque set
Cinq doigts sur un HF, h�riss�s mes lyrics sortent de ma bouche, de mon iris, ma vie, un putain d�cul d�sac
Eh ! Fils, �coute �a ouais nous on shoote �a, pas pu signer parc�qu�on est suspect, nous on suce pas,
trop d�soupapes, sous l�capot, trop d�sous papa, nous d�fier t�es fou, t�as bu, t�es saoul b�tard.
J�me barre et j�ai pas y�p, nique le strass et les paillettes,
inonde les ondes au fusil � pompe de Boulogne � Lafayette j�gronde,
tu veux du taf, p�tasse, t�as qu�� �tre blonde, tu veux mon cash n�gro, �a va �tre long.
Un bloc de shit, un bloc-notes sur moi, j�prends l�p�riph, circulaire comme le canon d�un glock
fuck le milieu mondain s�moque de mon putain d�train d�vie,
d�puis des ann�es j�suis ivre, en train d�vivre et en train d�canner.
Si tu veux pas t�faire baiser, alors viens pas chez nous, le slip entre la chatte et l�genou,
parce que le monde est ainsi, Inf�me,
j�suis l��tincelle anti-insignes,
cha�ne en or qui pend sur l�marcel, chicos en or basse caisse claire, du shit encore connard c�est Lunatic,
high j�suis �l, l�art de la cellule, j�pratique quelques techniques de Sellasi�
d�fouraille est la tac-tic, beaucoup d�estime pour le bling-bling, Centimes, Strings, Crime, Putes en vitrine.
Fous le rap en pleine d�prime
La rue t�es en plein d�dans, serrez les dents, les rangs pendant qu�j�m�exprime.
ALI
On ne meurt qu�une fois, d�ici l� laisse moi placer pour ceux que j�aime sans me lasser,
ma famille, mes g�nes et mes gens massifs
Que reste la blanche mafia � G�nes, ici les Hauts d� Seine, mes n�gres et crouilles au contr�le, actifs.
Ind�pendant l�kiffe, attends-toi � nous voir tout faire briller, des disques aux pendentifs.
On a pas oubli�, l�or que le pape porte au cou est celui qui nous a �t� pill�.
Quel est le probl�me ?
Tu veux savoir est ce qu�A.L.I. ment, autant demander est-ce qu�y a du porc dans mes aliments.
Ne rappe ni pour la gloire, ni par passion, j�n�attends d�ta part ni compliments, ni ovations
Quand bien m�me tu kiffes, fais-le avec mod�ration
ALLAH � Toi seul l�homme doit toute son adoration,
les vrais savent, s�rieux quand j�cause ma narration depuis les blocs du Pt d�S�vres et d�Issy.
Pose
Mon blaze sur mon �poque Lunatic mon groupe imbrisable,
92 i ma troupe un blizard glace le biz jusqu�� c�qu�il casse.
testing my other web hoster
GO AUSSIES
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Chuck Norris GO AUSSIES |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Chuck Norris GO AUSSIES |
what a hot weekend 
check out my new website I just did for TA maps ( I just made it , so there's no design YET )
jdat TA maps
anyone fancy a chat on here?
#tranceaddict is drunk tonight .... even starfox is drunk !
jdat[spyderpersonnalstripper] rap en ecoutant : manipulant les ombres!
* jdat[spyderpersonnalstripper] passes le mic a sothis!
P
where u been out of TA ?
*** f0xAY sets mode: -b *!*@=rhvfnc-23-68-728.mia.bellsouth.net
* StarPh1sh dances
*** f0xAY changes topic to 'willkommen zu #trancEaddict chatroom. | track of the month: Nu-NRG - Universe. || http://www.amber-and-eric.com/page2...cakefeedsm8.jpg | [16:06]
hahahha
theory number 10
THEORY 10 - Design & Mainstream Culture.
Do you believe that avid appreciation of graphic designers will remain in a niche community, or do you think it will expand to mainstream culture? For example, will your mom know what James Paterson or Jemma Gura look like in the same way that she knows what Brittney Spears or Kurt Cobain look like? Do you think that the web will enhance this? Why or why not?
THEORISTS
Kylie Gusset, Orion Tate, Ryan Shelton
KYLIE GUSSET gusset.net
Ultimately, who cares? Avid appreciation brings up images of hordes of teenagers hanging out in the mere hope that they'll see you, let alone get your autograph, picture, or some other thrilling memento to remind them of their brush with fame. I'm not so sure that avid appreciation is something worthwhile to aim for...I'm much more keener on the idea that people who build the web will be able to make a living building sites where cash isn't the only driving force behind its existence.
The niche community that designers have will expand to incorporate mainstream culture - we're already seeing this happen in the form of design portals. There's a huge community out there, and at a guess there's a large quantity of people who are simply into design and not working as or aiming to work as a commercial artist.
We can very safely leave my mother out of the equation when it comes to knowing about webdesigners. The olds rarely have access to the web and daily papers, which are the main sources of general interest stories about designers which are aimed at a more mainstream market. Two thirds of the worlds population will die not having touched a computer. Count yourself lucky.
Younger people tend to be more likely to know their stuff when it comes to the web and designers. 15 year olds email Scott (http://www.pixelshifter.net) wanting to know how to become a famous designer just like him now that he's scored a Macromedia site of the day. Frances Cobain told her mom that she was keen on being a webdesigner. Kids are going to have a greater knowledge about the web and web design in general, because they grew up with it, and it's a part of their life.
I don't think that we're going to see designers being targeted to the mainstream in the same way that Britney is - thank goodness. However, might someone in the design world do a deal with Apple to produce ads about themselves aimed at designers which become popular, and are then delivered to a more mainstream market? It's going to be interesting to see what happens in the future with media making becoming more accessible to designers.
What is happening, and what I hope to see more of is one niche being picked up by another. Going to my flatmates end of architecture course showing, the amount of final works that looked like printouts of Mike Young's stuff was insane. Did they know about him? If the web and what designers are doing was part of the curriculum, architectural students might have further developed and extended their work, and had a greater understanding and appreciation of designers. It's great to see sites like archinect (http://www.archinect.com/) crossing boundaries of disiplines such as web design and architecture.
Traditional artists would probably get a kick out of seeing what James Patterson, Vicki Wong and Lee Meisenheimer have done with drawing online, and stretching the methods and mediums of how their own work is created and displayed. It's often frustrating trying to find new content to post at artkrush - galleries and artists have yet to see the benefits of coming online, so that awesome local show that you wanted to write about? No go. I'd love to see more collaborations and traditional based art brought online, and what happens when new/old media artists work together.
So, that avid mainstream appreciation? It ain't gonna happen for people whose main work is web based, because the web is still very much a niche, albeit a rapidly expanding one. Hopefully sooner than later, it will be possible for people involved with the web to create a living by having greater recognition of the independent work that they do. At least, here's hoping, because it would sure beat the hell out of looking, acting, and sounding like plastic for the enjoyment of the masses.
ORION TATE freshjuicy.com heavy.com
No, my mom will never know what James Patterson or Jemma Gura look like in the same way that she knows what Britney Spears or Kurt Cobain look like, unless either of them sell a million records or secure a lucrative Pepsi endorsement. Though this really is just a question of degrees: *avid* appreciation of graphic designers has always been and I suspect will continue to be limited to a relatively niche audience. That being said, there does seem to be an increased consumer appreciation for that which is designed and, as a result, increased media attention on designers. The may issue of Paper Magazine, for example, features a discussion on the design principles of Target ("Yay, Tar-Jay!") and an interview with Apple design guru, Jonathan Ive, both articles loosely themed around the topic "ordinary design and corporate branding through aesthetics."
In the introduction to the section "Extra Ordinary Design," editor Kim Hastreiter, appropriately invoking the memory of Andy Warhol, touches on two topics relevant to this discussion: our aesthetic zeitgeist and the Designer-Rockstar:
"I think he [Andy Warhol] really would have appreciated this whole "Target moment" we are experiencing. His heart would be racing as fast as mine does as I mentally prepare for the day this June when I'll get to purchase my Stephen Sprouse designed boogie board, skateboard, flip-flops and beach towel...I can't wait to see what Target has done not only with Stephen Sprouse, but also with designers Todd Oldham, Marc Ecko and Philippe Starck."
Hastreiter, goes on to explain that Target "shrouds the creative folks of their corporate culture in mystery, preferring to keep the world's eye on the merchandise, not the hype or the names." This suggests, that while the author, a self-described design freak, wants to know who designs the packaging and products, the general public need not be concerned. This is a successful strategy for Target and suggests an interesting trend: as design proliferates, which it will continue to do in this age of hyper-information, it becomes increasingly integrated into our lives to a point where good design is implicitly appreciated, but perhaps not explicitly celebrated.
Mainstream fame in aesthetic disciplines has been reserved, for the most part, for artists, architects, fashion designers, filmmakers. While this is another discussion entirely, it does beg the question: what is the difference between art and design, between graphic design and fashion design or architecture? I think it is a question of intention or motivation. As Jonathan Ive puts it "Design is less about expression than fine art, though I think you trade in a language that is similar, in some sense, and you trade in the emotive...I think the core motivations are different." While I agree with this statement, I wonder how long this distinction will be made...
As commerce becomes a pervasive and inextricable part of our lives, the lines between art and design have started to blur, creating a new type of artist-designer who works in many disciplines with varying motivations. It is both common and acceptable for artists to be engaged in or associated with commercial ventures. Witness Actor/artist Dennis Hopper, former counter-culture bohemian: even in the consumer-driven 80s, he had to go to Japan (where the proverbial lines were blurred long ago) to do commercials for bath bubbles. Now he's on the small screen in the most recent installment of celebrity Gap commercials; William Burroughs does Nike Ads, Picasso sells computers. In recent years, the Guggenheim has featured exhibits on the art of the motorcycle and a fashion retrospective. Mike Mills, whose career and work I greatly admire, is an example of someone who comfortably exists within the two worlds of art and commerce; he designs album covers, shows his work in galleries, and directs commercials along with music videos, independent shorts and feature-length films and is able to garner accolades in both commercial and artistic ventures, furthering awareness and appreciation of the commercial arts.
Simply put: it does seem that as the world becomes more commercial, commercial artists will be more celebrated. Will the web enhance this? Right now, web spaces authored by "The Design Community" are chock-full with portfolio sites and client work, which I suspect limits their audience. As commercial and fine arts continue to merge and mingle I imagine "Designer" web spaces will reflect this change. And as this happens, I do hope that the web (in whatever form it will manifest) will continue to proliferate as a space for artistic expression and the creators of these spaces will be celebrated. But Britney Spears? Well kids, get out of your Aeron, expose that midriff, and get to work.
RYAN SHELTON bd4d.com
Personally, I don't think graphic designers will ever be household names like Britney or Kurt Cobain. I think design drives a lot of the pop culture but doubt whether the designers behind the work will ever get as much recognition as the artist(s) they are designing the CD, website or video for. Yes people into music videos will know who directed the latest Madonna video but will my mom? I don't think so. It�s not something that she cares about or is interested in. she may not even know who is actually singing the song she's humming in the kitchen. She just likes the tune and that's all that matters to her. In the same way, I think design is digested but not taken much notice of by the general public. Take apple's new iPod or the iMac. Every Mac faithful knows who Jonathan Ives is and that he is the force behind Apple�s product design team but to the rest of the world the iPod is just a very cool MP3 Player. The latest Levis ad campaign or new insurance building that's being built in the middle of town, we don�t necessarily care who designed or came up with the ideas but it affects us in some way. We either think the ad campaign is brilliant, funny or stupid. The same with the building, it either looks nice and is going to get more people employed or we see it as capitalism taking over the world. I personally would be interested to know who designed the new building or produced the Levis campaign but again would my mom?
Not many people understand why designers are so passionate about what they do. We�ll work all-night and still smile on the way to work the next day. Are we all mad? Hell no! We just love what we do. One of the things we have seen with BD4D is that designers love getting together to show off their work and be amongst people who think the way they do. I think this is because not many people really appreciate what we do I know most of my non-design friends don't understand why I work 'til stupid hours of the morning. Getting together with like-minded people is a way for us to get that recognition we don't get from the rest of the world. At the same time, within our little design world we have the same kind of opinions we all have when it comes to music. For example I might like one band and dislike another just like I might love one piece of design and dislike another. You may disagree and hate the piece that I love? Design is art and is therefore very subjective. Wanna fight?
The other side of the coin is. Who would have thought that a geek software programmer would become the richest man in the world. I�m sure all of our mom's have heard of Bill Gates - spit, spit! How many other programmers can we name? Who was/were the programmers behind PhotoShop or the web browser. I know Jim Clark started up Netscape but my mom doesn't. Shigeru Miyamoto is a living legend, having created Donkey Kong and Super Mario he is the Spielberg of computer games. He is treated like a rock star at gaming conventions. It�s the same with the design community, we have our own �rock stars� but they are only rock stars to other designers who appreciate what they have achieved. Whether the rest of the world will ever fully embrace design and elevate a designer onto a 'household-name pedestal' is not for me to say but I doubt it will happen.
I see appreciation of graphic designers coming mainly from with in the design community for a while yet. From people who understand the blood, sweat and tears you have put into your works of beauty. I could be completely wrong but lets face it. I could be completely wrong but lets face it - Britney is fit, and she's more marketable than your average graphic designer is.
Now, where has my Mos Def CD gone...
THEORY 9 - Web vrs Other Medium.
THEORY 9 - Web vrs Other Medium.
In what fundamental ways is designing for the web different than designing for other media like print or film? Or is it really not that different at all? What are some sites you admire that seem particualrly web-centric, and what about them do you like?
THEORISTS
Curt Cloninger, Karen Ingram, Steve Caddy
CURT CLONINGER
I submitted this theory topic, so I've been thinking about it for a while now. Designing for the web doesn't have to be much different than print or film if you don't want it to be. Most Saksi-influenced surstation-esque stuff is great printwork, and that new wddg quicktime movie is great filmwork. I guess I'm just interested in the things the web can do that neither print nor film can do.
The web can do at least three things that neither print nor film can do:
1. the web can be like software, which means interactivity, non-linearity, and all the other media characteristics that arise when you let your visitors play a major part in the outcome of your site. I can flip pages in a magazine, and I can change channels on a TV, but I'm just changing from one static/frozen presentation to another static/frozen presentation. On the web, as a surfer, I can actually dynamically change the nature of the content itself (if the designer will let me).
2. the web can synthesize and combine tons of media. Film combines photography and audio. But the web can get at all your senses. The web can even tweak your haptic senses (like touch, how heavy something is, how much resistance something gives when you push on it). Praystation's flash sliders and yugop's flash gravity simulation menus are examples of haptic communication.
3. the web, because it is a real-time worldwide network, allows a level of collaboration and improvisation between two or more people that just isn't possible in most other media.
No one of these three things is particularly unique to the web in and of itself. The web can be like software, but so can a CD-ROM or an arcade game. The web can combine media, but so can a multi-media performance arts piece. the web can allow real-time, long distance collaboration, but so can the telephone. It's the fact that you can have all three of these things working together at the same time that makes the web really unique.
Not a lot of designers are interested in exploring all these areas. I think this is because most designers come to the web with a print design paradigm, rather than a furniture design paradigm or an architectural design paradigm. Once designers embrace the fact that design is about function as well as appearance, I think more designers will take the leap and learn how to program. Already, lots of web designers are at least exposing themselves to Flash action scripting and DHTML, which is a probably a good thing.
Here are some web-centric sites I like:
Strong multi-media synthesis, but not necessarily software:
bornmag
requiemforadream
Multi-media "software" where the user has lots of control:
ambientmachines
altoids
framesanta
sodaplay
Multi-media "software" where the software has lots of control:
turux
singlecell
shredder
dakadaka
once-upon-a-forest
Real-time collaborations:
sketchzilla
wirefire
(the dreamless "hacks")
(click on the "fingertracks" duo and quartet studies)
Curt Cloninger
http://www.lab404.com
http://www.playdamage.org
KAREN INGRAM
I see the web as sort of a middleground between print & film--not quite able to handle the size of a film, yet it offers the option of movement. It is, however, quite different from both of these mediums, and very young in its evolution.
Personally, I tend to want to juice up stuff w/ lots of colors & illustrations, which can be a bit heavy when it comes to the web. Scale is a big factor with me as far as subjects go--in a print,I'd be working larger. My subject matter has deviated from what I typically choose for painting or print--I find myself being more attracted to smaller objects in my work, to make my work more efficient as animated objects. In print or painting I did a lot of work with the human form, but on the web, I simply feel as though I cannot get the physicalspace to play around with human form, except in bits & pieces.
A frequently expressed artistic gripe about the web is cross platform compatibility & instability in general, especially in relation to viewer experience. Unfortunately, if you want for a piece to look consistent across the board, you've got to make some major sacrifices. Display "space" is a factor that is difficult to control on the web. We are limited to viewing a piece in a browser window, on a monitor, so any image we create is confined to that space, as opposed to an exhibition space environment. Monitor color calibration and screen resolution are factors which are not controllable from viewer to viewer, as well as dial up speed. You may have the loveliest image, but if someone is on a 56k dial up, they may not be willing to wait for the visuals to download.
The printed piece is a stable form, overlooking the average wear that paper will undergo, fading colors, etc. Surface texture is an element of print that it's tough to take advantage of on the web--by this I mean paper stock,print techniques such as thermography, metallic inks, embossing, etc.- -the tactile nature of print is something that I miss on the web...
All areas of creative expression need a strong vision & intent in order to be successful & memorable. Currently, a lot of the work on the web is either experimental or portfolio oriented, which to me, signals proof of its youth. In time, I think, people will expand these ideas outward into more original, complete "idea-driven" pieces. In print or film, because of maturity, theme & content are considered more.
The amazing thing about the web, though, given all of its shortcomings, it is easy to access, & you can't get much better than worldwide distribution in your own "space"! This is what attracted me to the web in the first place--self publication that's affordable. Print & film simply do not offer that kind of affordability, combined with distribution. The ability to pull from various artistic disciplines is something that makes the web very different from other mediums--painting, sound, video, typography, programming, etc etc can all be lumped together into one luscious piece to delight out eyes & sizzle our brains--plus that added element of interactivity...Ohhh, goody! It would be excellent to see the web viewer's experience level out a bit, much like the home video viewing experience-- where the "work on display" would appear similarly from household to household.
Web centric sites that I find appealing tend to combine artistic skill with movement and excellent visual themes. For example presstube--James Paterson employs a hand drawn feel to his work, & manages to make lines & shapes loop around to create forms that have a lot of raw energy. I greatly admire Lee Misenheimer's (destroyrockcity.com) work, because he uses very subtle, simple movements on top of crazy rich drawings of characters. This is the sort of stuff that I find myself going back to again & again, because I really appreciate Lee's expertise in drawing, image collage and technical skill. Natzke.com is an absolute beauty--inspiration from orderly chaotic forms in nature, and wondrous attention to detail make Erik's work strong in every dimension. I enjoy Wonderfulheadhurt because of interesting imagery combined with strange, actionscript driven movements. Rustboy(as well as all other work involving Brian Taylor) is a site that meshes technology & artistic vision in a very impressive manner. All of these sites manage to live on the web in a very comfortable way--these folks have managed to work around, or by-pass the web's limitations, and the outcome is absolutely stunning. Other sites that are equally successful in establishing the web as an excellent forum for artisticdisplay are Volumeone, Going on Six, Prate, Turux.org, Pitaru, Megatight...I could go on and on...These folks (and many more that I'm sure I will smack myself for forgetting) invoke something that is very refreshing in the mass of e-commerce & corporate sites that live on the web.
Karen Ingram
http://www.designiskinky.net
http://www.krening.com
STEVE CADDY
Print is beautiful and classical. Its what I curl up around and peel through under lamplight. Sliding fingers over and around the powdery sleeves. Its the crumpled and abused Bike rag that has followed me through dirt, tent-condensation, hours beneath sweaty clothes and months on the bottom shelves. It's the mighty tome of architecture that lives atop the draws that house the things that are closest to me. Print is somehow real in a way that film has never been for me, and that the web can only fleetingly be late at night.
It is in the spacious and velvety confines of well spec'd caverns that film-makers reach out. Call it the luxury of a controlled audience environment. All you have to do is step in, sit down and get comfy, open your mind and dive in. The big, dark room, the 40 foot screen, the precision sound equipment: its all there to deliver it just the way it was intended.
And the web. It is perhaps its own worst enemy. Design for the web -- most design on the web -- exists in the context of . . . web design? I wonder who read my heart's outpouring in their lunch hour, coffee break or while 'checking the links' off K. There's nothing more I can really do than hope that maybe someone will see it the way it was created: Late at night in some melancholy void, as ready to be inspired as to close their eyes and drift away - that's where I hope we reach someone. In the same way that volume|one, staticlife, the first submethod, and the old FameWhore blew me away with what they said, and how they said it.
There are gaping differences across all aspects of these three disciplines, some are closing - to the glee and dismay of whichever parties - as we feed off each other and push harder and harder. Web is historically the least defined of the three - in many ways similar in terms of possibilities, but consumed and rehashed and spat before anyone has time to even take it in. For a space that was never meant to be designed all that graphically, the web has been pushed a long way. But look outside design circles and take note of how things really are on a larger scene. Film may primarily be the domain of film-makers, and print that of authors and publishers, but as designers on the web, we're a minority.
Among oceans of others, the defining differences between print, film and the web -- boil down to:
1. the price of admission,
2. the method of delivery, and,
3. the audience, their environment and what they're preparation to bring something to a piece.
Now its starting to get very late, so I shalln't delve any further into those three lest things start making even less sense than they are now, so I'll swing around to five of my favourite examples of the web being used as only the web can...
volumeone
Matt just keeps drawing me in again and again. One summer night I stumbled over volume one and spent the next hour exploring the way it moved and responded, and thinking about what it might mean. But that was before I was aware of a web design community, at that time I'm not sure there really was one... well, there was, but not like now. Think mid 1999.
submethod
- the original one The original Submethod kept bringing me back for the same reasons volume one did. It was at times intensely personal, other times social commentary, but the thing it really embodied about the web - something that really is part of the huge power of the web - is the way it responded to me, and to the things that were (are) happening in the world. No vacuum.
google They don't come much more web-centric than search engines. Designed with one part big dob of common sense (the interface) and two parts hardcore (the searching and indexing algorithms). Google came along about two months after I'd completely stopped using search engines. It still pains me that they had to pay *ahem* someone to build that interface - its 200% common sense (what more does a search engine need than a search box and a go button?)
staticlife Sun An is one of ... let's say less than ten people who have genuinely wrapped emotion up and let it wander around in a place on the web. There's no hint of ego, nor the kind of teenage blogger mope that's so pervasive. I really don't want to say much more or to even pimp it too hard. It just is what it is, and lately I've been missing people just being themselves.
dreamless Because its a hint at what could be achieved. I'm still hopeful for the rebirth of the information superhighway - the concept of sharing and communicating freely. Don't go getting cynical before your time.
So... could you print these sites out and read through them? Put `em in a book? On a wall? Sure, most of them, yes. Would they still be alive? No. Could Submethod's message be delivered on film? Maybe. Would it be the same? I don't really think so.
The power of the web as a medium is unique, if not the all encompassing juggernaut of The Future, as so many companies have tried to have you believe. We've just got to remember why we're here and how we're different from other media. Both are important if the web is going to keep progressing towards something that isn't something we already have.
Thanks for your time reading this. Sorry if it makes no sense, its late.
Steve Caddy
vanillacircus
[email protected]
THEORY 8 - The Dot Com Meltdown.
Discuss how the fall out from the dot com meltdown has affected you, both on a professional, and personal level.
THEORISTS
Oz Dean, David Johnson, Gary Lockton
OZ DEAN
Almost a year ago, I was visiting Sydney with the thought that I would come over and work for one of the studios. I didn't think it would happen, too much was in my way - I was in the UK, pretty settled, visas were required etc etc . .but here I am a year on from then and much has happened.
I landed a job at OVEN digital as a Senior Designer and couldn't get out here fast enough - leaving friends, family and dj slots at home. OVEN was everything and more that you would want from a job, great people, perfect atmosphere and all the perks of working for a large studio.
Four months later, OVEN digital Australia was declared insolvent and the studio goes down. I was pretty shocked as to how it could have happened ? OVEN was one of the major players. I realised that you are never truly safe in this industry.
So my dream job had abruptly come to an end . . where to next was anyone's question. Most sat back and dwelled, I panicked. I contacted and visited most studios in Sydney. Most had just seen us go down along with Rush TV, Zivo, K-Grind and a few others (I forget), so the competition was out there and could be of high quality.
The panic eventually subsided and I experienced a period of happiness and relaxation, I had all the time in the world to enjoy the beach and this new city that I had not yet explored. Furthermore I now had a great deal of time to spend on personal projects, while waiting for work to come through. I'm always moaning about not having enough time to devote to personal creativity and now I had it. In the first few weeks I found that the general consensus, in Sydney, was that the industry was on its arse. Why would they want to be taking risks employing more people when they did not know where their next job was coming from ?
Early on I had a particularly bad run for a couple of days and decided there and then that I would go to the IDN Fresh Conference in Hong Kong. I am very glad that I chose to go, as mentally it was very strengthening and physically it was very restorative - I came back full of energy and bursting with ideas.
On my return, I had a run of interviews but all came to nothing. Up until now I have been headhunted from job to job and have risen up the employment ladder. So, it has been strange being rejected and each rejection has chipped away at the confidence levels. I am pretty resilient and have held up well but if I hear "we'll let you know next week" one more time, I'll scream. It is extremely frustrating and my self esteem has certainly suffered.
I suppose this is a 'survival of the fittest' type situation whereby the blaggers, dotcom money grabbers and way-high earners are being weeded out, because it is those who are skilled and creative who shall remain employed in this environment. I just have to wait until one of the above leaves a gap for me to fill (in Sydney). Funnily enough when OVEN digital went down I had my fair share of excellent offers from Europe and America but coming over to Sydney had been such a mission and I have fallen so in love with this place that I turned them down to give the industry in Sydney a while longer before giving up.
On a professional level I have begun to doubt my worth. I know that I have something to offer when applying for jobs but it is incredibly difficult to continue to believe in yourself when there is constant rejection. I would say I have a good range of skills but I have found myself considering whether I need to improve on these - am I good enough ? Could I do more ? Should I learn this ? Should I better that ? etc If this is what it is like for someone with my experience/skills I dread to think what it is like for a college graduate looking for that lucky break.
A seed has been planted - I have begun to think about making myself more employable. I find myself thinking should I be looking into games design ? Cartoons ? Print design ? Or book illustration ? Do I specialise or continue to be an all-rounder in multimedia ?
One of the hardest things has been the feeling of isolation and being the only one in this situation. I know this is not the case, the forums and boards provide a glimpse of how many people are out there looking for work. It is easy to become introspective when you find yourself on your own for a long period, if you are used to being in a busy creative studio.
The social life since we arrived here has been pretty much 24 / 7, the OVEN guys are a good bunch and I've met many other great people over the last few months. We went out a fair bit before the insolvency but now I rarely see people because of my (and their) lack of cash. This adds to the isolation factor.
Another hard thing to deal with is the constant rise and fall of your hopes. For instance, on several occasions I have had the 'you've pretty much got the job, oh. . .no you haven't' phenomenon. You've virtually been offered the job, only to get home to find an email indicating the exact opposite. Or you call in expecting to discuss details to find that the studio is suddenly no longer hiring and all your efforts were for nothing.
Financial gain is not important and has never been - I have always been in this industry for the fact that I can live my life doing something I love as an every day job (which rarely feels like a true job). My mother always told me I'd wear a suit and work 9 to 5 - I Iove the fact that she was wrong and hope it stays that way (sorry mum). Wish me luck eh =]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - just in :
. . .my girlfriend Caroline was made redundant on Friday . . .as Peter Cunnah (D:Ream) once said 'things can only get better' . . . hehe, you'll be humming that one for the next hour . . .
oz dean
forcefeed:swede
www.forcefeedswede
DAVID JOHNSON
In early 1998, myself and a friend, Damien Cummings, started a small web design company called Dark Horizon in a run down 4 bedroom house in East Redfern, Sydney. For the first 6 months or so we were working from our respective bedrooms, waking up at midday, and generally just having a lot of fun. We wanted the big clients, but knew we did not have the cred of larger companies, so we concentrated on pushing the boundaries of traditional web design, and making a user's experience intensly graphical. During this time, Damien's girlfriend, Rebecca Voorn came on board as our Marketing/PR person, so it could get a bit tense at times, but I digress.
Sometime after moving to a grand old house in Newtown in 1999, we realised that we had some cash flow problems, and we could not sustain any sort of real growth. We were stagnant. We could not justify charging as much as our competitors due to our relatively low overheads, but what we were charging wasn't enough, we increased our prices and took on 2 people. At this time I was broadening my skill base, and learning how to develop dynamic sites in ASP and Cold Fusion. Being young and full of life, we had a lot of ideas - most of them were stupid, but a few of them were, and still are, ahead of their time. During a client meeting in January or February of 1999, I noticed that our client, despite their client base, had corporate presentations that were of a very poor standard. I then spotted a niche market in developing a dynamic multimedia application, whereby an office shit kicker could easily generate spiffy Flash presentations from a template file, by simply filling out a web based form - enter X2 Showcase, built on ASP and Flash Technology, this was going to be the product which was going to make us rich.
Around this time the whole dot com boom was just starting to happen, and we knew that people were being given millions upon millions of dollars, simply because they had an idea, and no proven track record. Perfect for us! By then we did have a track record, and we were gaining a name for ourselves within the industry (or so we thought - our judgment was most likely blinded by our egos). We then sort about schmoozing with some venture capitalists at functions like First Tuesday, but without success. Then one day, out of the blue, we received an email telling us that a mining company from Perth was interested in investing in technology start ups, and taking them to an IPO stage within 12-24 months.
Everyone we talked to were simply blown away by our age, vision, skill and intelligence - it didn't take much to convince them that we were the right choice. X2 Showcase was at a stage where it could be used for demonstration purposes, and our vision for E-Brochure - our second product which integrated dynamically generated multimedia with mass email capabilities - was set in stone. I was amazed by how much I learnt about big business/law during the negotiation stages - often I felt like I was drowning in a sea of legal and business jargon, but I knew if I wanted to cover my own arse I would have to keep my head above water.
Several months of negotiation later and we had the money! $500,000. A measly sum by the dot com standards, but it was what we needed to expand our business to a stage where we could eventually drop our web services division, and concentrate solely on our email marketing software.
We found a nice office in Glebe, hired a new designer, a business development manager, 2 project managers, a developer and a receptionist. Which took our staff levels from 5 to 11. As directors, we did not pay ourselves exorbitant wages - 70k was more than I could've ever have hopped to earn in my life, considering my father is a truckie and my mum is a part time bookkeeper - and we kept staff wages relatively low. Despite keeping our feet on the ground, at times our egos did tend to lead us astray - often causing conflicts between ourselves and current clients.
I worked on E-Brochure solely for about 3 months, and got it to a stage where we could send around 3.7 million emails a day over a 1mb link, which was one of the fastest rates around, even with our rather inferior server infrastructure. I was not one to manage the books, and I rarely looked at our cash flow situation, so I wasn't worried. 9 months of 14+ hour days started taking its toll on me - the stress of trying to manage 2 designers, 2 developers and a Systems Administrator, spoon feed 2 Project Managers and 2 Biz Dev managers was unbelievable. Not to mention trying to do 3 projects at once, keep them on the specified timeline, and deal with clients. One day we were so stressed, we just took some time out and went down to the pub for a beer, and a serious talk about our personal lives, and the direction in which we wanted to take Dark Horizon. I was nearly on the verge of tears, and said "I want to sell, I just want to get out of it. I don't want to deal with this anymore, I don't like what I have become and what this business has done to me." We all agreed that it was time to suck some corporate cock and sell out.
Around this time, the NASDAQ crash had occurred, the effects of which did not filter through to Australia for about 2 months afterwards, and there was a hell of a lot of interest in our E-Brochure product, as well as our staff. There was talk of deals between 1 and 10 million dollars, but due to the NASDAQ crash, the Olympic Games, and the introduction of Australia's new tax system, the response was invariably the same "We'll make a decision next year." We couldn't wait until next year (2001), we only had a few months cashflow left, so it came time to do what we really did not have the stomach for - "downsizing". It was so hard to do, we had to sack one guy, who had immigrated from China with his wife and 2 children, as well as several others, just before christmas. I felt like such a scumbag. Never before had the responsibilities of being an employer been so evident, I was holding peoples livelihoods in my hands, and it was something I couldn't stomach at 22. Eventually the team dwindled to 4 - 3 directors and a designer, Lee. At this stage, 1 client was going to be our saving grace - a dot com - retrospectively it was wishful thinking, and we really should've shut up shop there and then, but we continued working on this site in the vain hope that it would save us. But they could not secure any investment for the project, so that was that. We put Dark Horizon into Voluntary Administration a few weeks later, and started packing up. At first I was incredibly depressed - I mean, I had lost everything I'd worked so hard for - but then a wave of relief suddenly washed over me and I felt free.
3 months of being unemployed gave me a lot of time to think about what had happened, what I had learned, what mistakes I made, big business, the stock market, lawyers, clients, venture capitalists, workplace relations, etc. I think for the most part the experience was a good one. Despite the stress, the paranoia, the depression, the helplessness, I've come away with a world of knowledge that usually takes years of university training, and years of climbing the corporate ladder to obtain. If I do start my own business again, I won't be making the same mistakes. I'll be making a whole heap of new ones, and the learning process begins again - but I'll have a much greater advantage than other startups. But for now I'm happy working at Deepend - and gradually learning how to be myself again, rather than a corporate drone.
David
-
http://bio-mechanical.net
GARY LOCKTON
I first thought of starting my own company at the age of 19. I had forgotten this but was reminded by an old girlfriend recently that I could not stop banging on about it even back in my second year of college. I did not have the chance then of course but by the time I left my first degree course I was ready. Looking at the market in 1992 in the UK however I felt I should be careful. Britain was just coming out of recession so I decided to apply to the Royal College of Art to do a masters degree and if I was given a place there I would start the two year course.
I did get a place and hence did not start Deepend until 1994.
The name came from a day out at a local swimming pool to think about names for the company. After a few hours of stupid suggestions (Moist, Aubergine, Hole etc.) we saw the Deepend sign by the pool and decided it was perfect � straight out of college and starting a company was certainly 'in at the Deepend'.
From there it was down to business. Family contacts helped to get a company registered and family and friends again helped with a small amount of furniture and a telephone to get started. Our office at the time was at the back of our house in West London, the area that once was a dining room.
My partner Simon Waterfall was still studying so I was pretty much a one-man company for the first few months. I called in favours, contacts from freelancing and any other leads I could to locate work. Our main offer at the time was multimedia, using an early version of Macromind Director (that was the name at the time, now Macromedia Director of course) to create presentations for companies often showcasing 3D animations which we had created for them as well.
As this grew we started to look at video and other areas such as the web. Through this time we had been keeping our salaries very low and we asked the team working with us to do the same. The whole thing was more of an adventure rather than a job although this only just made up for me earning less in my first year of Deepend than I had in my last year of college!!
Within a year we had decided to move to larger premises as the back of our house was making it a little difficult to give off a professional image. We moved to a small shop about a mile away and did all of the painting and repairs ourselves. During our time in this space we were able to grow from four to fifteen people with work found through a great deal of networking. This in fact was the main way we found work. Keeping your feet on the ground and using every connection you can is the best way to build a good flow of work. Potential clients were impressed with our enthusiasm and our human way of explaining technical issues to them � so many competitors at the time were trying to create a smoke-screen of technical jargon to confuse clients.
After a couple of years at this office � always known as the sex shop because the windows were painted black so we could work inside � we moved to our current location in London's Shoreditch.
This office was massive compared with what we were used to, enough to house a team of about 50, but we still all came in on the first weekend and painted the walls ourselves.
By this time in late 1997 Deepend was starting to build a name in the market. We created this by always keeping a good relationship with the press and always understanding that a good story for us was not necessarily one for a journalist. The best way to get press therefore is always to think of a story from the journalist's perspective.
During the next few years Deepend and now Deepgroup has expanded out of all recognition and we now have nearly 300 people in 8 cities around the world.
Our most recent challenges have of course been caused by the fall of the dot com era. Although none of our companies worked for many dot coms the effect on the market as a whole has been significant. The current time to agree and start a new project is much longer than it used to be because even traditional company clients are now nervous about investing in digital media. The process reminds me of our efforts in 1996 when the web was just starting to get popular. Back then you needed to educate the client first as to why to invest in digital media and then write the quote. The same is true of early 2001.
Business is still strong though and we are confident that if we do what we have always done, and give our all to producing great creative work, we will get through this difficult period.
Just as we do not plan to change our approach to this even in tough times, many things have remained true since we started in 1994.
People must come first in all situations and the desires of your team are more important than pure money within business. Still to this day we ask our studio teams what sort of work they would most like to do and then try to find this type of work out in the market.
Always trust your instinct when making difficult decisions � as a good contact once told me, "common sense in business is just not that common and it ought to be!"
Always use the advice of those who have been there before. Passion and commitment are all very well but no-one is ever too experienced not to take a piece of advice from someone more senior. Even as I write Deepgroup is interviewing non-executive directors to advise us through the next stage of growth � and we are a �18M business!
Gary Lockton
www.deepend.com.au
[email protected]
THEORY 7 - The Web Design Industry...
Discuss, good and bad stuff experienced and whether we need to rethink our process, to make things happen again!
THEORISTS
Nivek, Holger, Nikola Tosic
NIVEK
The Good
Freedom of expression is one of the best things to happen with the Web, it is a new medium for which designers and artists can self publish and show their work to literally millions of people. The Web connects people with common interests faster and easier. Some of this for example can be seen with sites like K10K, DIK, INfront, Shift, VolumeOne, Praystation, and a few hundreds more.
Inspiration, collaboration, experimentation and community are the good things about Web Design. Some of the good experiences have come from personal collaborative projects and client jobs where an open canvas was presented to create.
Recently, one of the best things to happen was that Fresh Conference in Hong Kong, it was where everyone got together to experience and see how the "masters" went about with their designs. Its events like these that the Web Design Industry needs.
The Bad
A few years ago there wasn't much of a "Web Design Industry" Today, almost anyone who has a computer and access to the net can launch a site and say they are a Web Designer. This has lead to a situation where : Web design is not just making a page look pretty, it is about understanding the issues relating to the web, how your page will render on browsers and platforms, wether to use HTML or Flash wether your page has to comply to the blind browsing the net, how you are going to build it,this list goes on. Not ot to mention the Web Developer and taking general design issues into consideration yet . So until you actually sit down and think about all this when you are making a site, you are not a Web Designer, you are just someone making things look pretty in photoshop! ( or whatever graphic tool you use)
There needs to be credebility, Take this example I read a while back. Why is it that a client feels the need to tell a Web Designer how a site should look like, when he should leave the designer alone ? Because there are so many Joes and Bobs out there who claim to be Web Designers that there is no perceived professional credebility ( this does not however apply to a certain handful who are true Web Designers ) Whereas say if you are an electrician, your client, is not going to tell you how you should go about fixing or designing his house wiring plan. Why? because Electricians are part of an established Industry that has credebility.
Another thing is the issue of compatibility, browsers, platforms and technology, why can't their be a standard?
So
What needs to happen is that Web Designers/developers aren't seen as "Web Monkeys" The process needs to shift away from the bottom line, the need to make money, or the marketing share. Commerce has both helped and hindered the Web Design Industry, in one hand it has created jobs, on the othe it has created a load of crap because designers are pushed to come up with something that was due a week ago.
The Web used to be a place where you can find useful information, now its a place filled with too much watered down sites that are trying ot sell you something.
The process needs to move towards making the web a more cohesive whole, adopting one single standard where the designer and user experience is more enjoyable, this will surely get things on a roll again!
-Nivek
ds9r
http://ds9r.com
HOLGER
[Hpunkt's Dream | The story about me and the Web Design Industry]--Couple of weeks ago i re-structured all my personal and professional stuff that i've created within the last 5 years. This took me more than 12 hours and really strange things happened within this period of time! Things started to happen when i moved the first 1.5 gigs to the new location on my server's hdd. For more then 25 minutes I just stared at the animated 3d-statusbar of the finder's copying process. I was just sitting there, staring at the screen like an idiot, while strange thoughts came up my mind. And the more i got into, the more i got the feeling of having a bad hangover after a really pissed night!
I didn't want to believe, that this binary-data, arranged in different file-types and moving in front of my nutty mien, should represent the sum of all i had lived and worked hard for within the last 5 years. This strange experience prompted me to start thinking about all the good and bad stuff happened with me and the Web Design Industry (WDI).
Years ago, during my years of study, i had one of those inspiring dreams you won't forget for your whole fucking life! This dream was about me and a warm, young, relaxing, open minded, easy-living, inspiring, exciting, honest and straight-forward-moving industry, that was based on simple rules to ensure that things can happen within a minute. 1995, my first year in this industry. Wow, that was cool! Everything was so new and exciting, like having your first real good sex! 8)� Just plug in a computer and let make things happen in your own way! I started immediately experimenting and playing with this new medium and this new level of communication and interaction. People from all around the world started to play around and got a lot of money for making their dreams come true. Yes, of course also me! The idea of getting good money for doing what you love, enjoy and already live for was too seductive not to join. So i jumped on this speedy trip and experienced a lot of exciting, strange and serious fun!".
A rapid growing biotop full of creative and smart individuals playing and experimenting with a new and fascinating toy called WWW, yes, that was this WDI supposed to be about. A biotop full of fancy-looking-and-often-strange-talking-people, cool-and-strange-ideas, super-expensive-and-excellent-designed-locations, excellent-Asian-and-Italian-food flavoured with-a-lots-of-Champaign-and-Caipirinhas, super-artificial-pseudo-tech-blabla-and-abbreviations no one had a clue about (a new kind of artificial communication has already started! 8)� ), (pseudo)-serious-and-(pseudo)-fun-businesses, m(b)illion-dollar-deals while experimenting with the idea of �global-company-strategies, -alliances and -structures", a lot of superfit-and-gorgeous-ladies, wearing fancy and sexy dresses, eating sushi and drinking cocktails at those super-stylish �Do you wanna join our company?"- or �We want your money, let's do a project!"-parties and all the other-wicked-stuff that pushed and influenced the worldwide Economy and Society in a new dimension no one couldn't have imagined before! Everything was just fine and cool!
Ahhhh, this was really a great time, wasn't it?! All those fancy people, having those fancy cell-phones connected to those fancy tiny small computers, using a lot of fancy words for telling you fancy stories about their fancy business. But the wicked thing about was, that not only the New Economy was enjoying this new kind of doing business more in a �cool-artificial-chillish" way, also some parts of the Old Economy started to act more cool while trying to be more innovative and open minded. Be cool, act global and have a direct connection to your client's awareness! PR & Marketing, yes, i need that! Wow, a lot of money had to be on the International Markets. And the Economy (= Clients of WDI) paid often so much money for getting delivered such a ultra-poor-and-bad-quality-buggy-pseudo-innovative-and-unusable-small-piece-of-web-shit, while supporting them (WDI) at the same time to conquer almost the whole fucking world just like a big fat hurricane! Really bad and ugly, isn't it?! Yes, MONEY, finally that was all about! Money = AudiTT = Sex = Power! Wow, that's amazing, isn't it?!
Anyway, there were a lot of smart, funny, nice, inspiring, busy and honest people out there! They understood what this new medium was (should be) about! Just start to experiment a lot with the given possibilites of this new and exciting medium (or define your own ones!) and try hard to sell your ideas, fictions, dreams and failures (nothing bad about, often excellent stuff comes up of failures)! All of them really made things happen, no one couldn't have imagined before! Excellent works, done by excellent people! MAXIMUM RESPECT goes out to all of them! Maybe we will get in touch in the near future! Feel free to ping me to init() a new process! At this time i also wanna pass a big shout out to all my buddies that i've already met out there, you are all unique, great people tryin' hard to follow constantly their own special way, On- AND Off-line! I love that excellent shit you are doing!
Ok, back to my dream! While the first companies in the New Economy crashed, everything changed again, but with lots more speed then it happened first. Crash! Boom! 404! Error! Game over! Already too many bad people were moving from one of those fancy places to the next one, contaminating the whole biotop and getting too much money for doing only bullshit! But unfortunately also the "good" or "dazzled" ones had to pay for the failures of these craps. A lot of them got used to live in their own cool new world, consuming all those expensive and fancy modern lifestyle-stuff, enjoying all those fat and exciting cities all around the world, but often without taking care of themselves and the more-and-more- lousy-and-double-dealer-getting-industry they worked hard for! Strange deals, done by strange people in a really strange time! Everything was just too obvious and collusive by now!
Unfortunately also a serious part of the global Web-Designer's-Scene moved into the wrong direction (at least in my dream). Too many projects, without having any concept or idea behind, were already online, getting you the feeling that the only reason for these wasted domains were to show other craps how cool and original they all were while copying and modifying ideas/styles/technologies/contents of others in their own �original" copy-modify-paste-style, flavoured with copy-paste-technologies and without having any message behind or useful information inside! Ah, sorry, i've missed something, it seems that the definition of "Inspiration" has changed a bit! Isn't it?! That's why i already try not to stay that often at one of those �pseudo-inspiring" places, telling you where �cool" but �meaningless" stuff can be found online (Uups, that was not for the public!). Of course, i know also a lot of excellent and original places are out there too, where really excellent stuff and fresh information is going on! Hey, come on, but we have already too many fancy interfaces, often based on those fancy and cool actionscripts, but having no idea or concept behind and/or any useful information inside! Hey dudes, don't be that �selfish" or �scene-dazzled", just shutdown computers, stay some serious time offline, read a nice book and think about what you are currently doing! Maybe you come up with something more sophisticated afterwards! By the way, NO, i'm not the bad ass, that you are maybe thinking of just now! These are serious thoughts based on serious discussions flavoured with personal experiences and interpretation!
And NO, i don't try to diss' someone out there, but some of them should wake up to realize and accept the circumstance that too many similarities in design, contents, animation and interaction unluckely happend (knowingly or unknowingly)! Too many Instant-Projects featuring Instant-Content done by Instant-Designers using Instant-Software-Products serving Instant-Audiences! Sad but true! So wake up and don't be that slavish! Try your own special thing (On- and Off-Line!), based on your personal environment-ideas-dreams-thoughts- discussions-interpretations-experiments-experiences-aims and be prepared of failing sometimes, but nothing bad about failing, failures are often a important step to invent something new and sophisticated. It seems that almost no one really wants to try being more innovative and/or maybe thinking a little bit further! First 1+1=2, then 3=2+1, that's logical but trivial and often confused with "Innovation". Innovation is a non continuously process, and if you know that, then you also maybe can imagine that 1+1=3, nothing new but certainly NOT trivial; inasmuch the human being itself is a kind of "non trivial object" (�Hient von Foerster', thanks Michi) 8)�
2001. Yep, finally a lot of us are already �back to earth". All others are welcome! Game over?! NO, i don't think so! It's certainly not that bad and i'm sure that a lot of really inspiring stuff done by inspiring people will come up soon! Often a lot of good stuff happens when people are really pissed like me! So stay tuned and be aware! Anyway, let's try all hard to find new and good ideas to define the requirements of the "Play-Again-Button"! Let me know if you've already started! Respect, may-the-source-be-with-ya-all.
Holger
/ init() delisting procedures / logout / un: demlhosc / pwd: ooooooo / shutdown -h now / executing... / delisting procedures completed / account "demlhosc" terminated / system halted / end 8)� -
http://www.serverart.com
http://www.ilpornostar.com
http://www.pixelshit.net
NIKOLA TOSIC
First I wrote a very personal article that ended up as a biography full of crappy complaints.
Then I wrote a really bad empiric overview of the industry based on stock market reports.
I really don't know what kind of concrete thoughts I can lay out that everybody doesn't know already.
Everybody knows that web industry hasn't even been an industry. It was a big scam to make people invest. Now its going trough its purgatory. Maybe it will start with bullshit again or maybe people will actually start to take it seriously and it will be a REAL industry one day [ so even my mom and dad can consider it as WORK and not quake or icq 8 hours a day ].
As for web design I think it's in the same shit as the entire industry. There was none or very little real web design. It was mostly brochures or book like e-commerce with poor jerk off attempts here and there.
Its shit and probably will be shit for a long time.
It will take decades before websites reach production quality of cars, refrigerators or toasters.
I don't care what others do anyways.
Nikola Tosic
[email protected]
www.nekada.com
THEORY 6 - The effect of style in design.
Many designers have a style which they become recognized by, which is fine, but at what point does this style hinder work. Creativity, evolution, and experimentation all suffer when style is held too long without change. People can say "oh, that looks like so and so's work." Also, how is client work affected? The application of a certain style which fits the designer may not fit the client.
THEORISTS
Ty Leetau, Mat Poprocki, MR EEL
TY LEETAU
Style, as I define it, is the reoccurrence of elements from one piece of work to the next. Style should reflect the designer and his/her experience. Rather, style commonly tends to be a recycling of major parts. I said "elements" before for a reason. Reusing a good font, color or grid is fine. But... I wonder if applying the same formula to everything is really design? Think about it like this: If everything you did looked and worked as if cast from the same mold, how would you evolve? Experimentation is a big part of design (at least for me). Doing the same thing over and over has to have a negative effect on exploration, because, well, you aren't exploring.
Allow me an analogy. A young carpenter builds a house. It is a great house and people like it. Soon, others want a house just like it. Different knobs, faucets and tile, but the exact same house. After some time, the carpenter has built hundreds of these houses and has grown very efficient in doing so. He can now build one in half the time as the first one took. So, is he a great carpenter? What if someone approached him to build a completely new house. Could he do it?
Designers need to evolve to survive just like anything else. There is always merit in figuring something out. I think this is what design is all about. The challenge is doing it the first time, not the 10th time. Once you find the right combination of layout, color, image, type, content, intent, etc. let it rest. When it all comes together, call it done and try something else. Take a lesson from music. Popular music is trend. But there are artists who surpass this, who stay around over time. Why? Because, some artists have been in a perpetual state of reinvention since their first song. No one wants to hear the same thing from the same person forever.
Design is no different.
With that said, I also wish to take issue with the client side of design. How does style effect client work. It is easy for most designers to do a great site for their own firm. But, can they do it for their clients? I see a lot a great self-promotion sites with very substandard portfolios. I think, and I could be wrong, but I think that this happens because the client doesn't want the "carbon copy house", they want the "new house". And the "carpenter" can't build it. The usual response to this is an attempt to put the client down at a lower level. You call them stupid and talk of how
bad their taste is while you sit suffering through their project anyway. You wind up getting your check and you add their substandard compromise to your already substandard portfolio. And I ask you, couldn't this have been avoided if you approached the problem in a way unique to the client andtheir individual problems? In these cases, what I find most ironic is that the client will strip away the style from you, thus removing the only resemblance of the designer at all.
Set trends then abandon them. Reuse elements that work, but don't overdo it. You can shear a sheep many times but skin it only once...
-Ty Lettau
Fourm Design Studio
http://www.fourm.com
http://www.infourm.com
http://www.soundofdesign.com
MAT POPROCKI
Establishing a defined style for yourself is the hardest thing you'll ever do as a designer, and is also the most important. The main thing is, once you create a style for your self to a point that you can be recognized by, you have to learn how to use it for you and not against you.
For the worse:
Your client could care less, he or she may see your style, and wants it. Your client doesn't care that your style may have nothing to do with what they are selling, but the way they see it is, your style is hot, it's fresh, it's groovy, and they want it. So, they hire you, knowing what there going to get, and how there going to get it.
For the better:
You can take what you have learned in developing a style for yourself, and relate that to developing a style for your client. Hell, you already have been able to define yourself as a person threw design, so creating a style for your client will be no problem at all.
Theory Two _ Style is for Artists.
Once you define a set style for yourself, you are no longer a designer, but an artist. In design, you take all aspects of the client, and relate them to that design of whatever you are creating for them. You yourself, have nothing to do with your clients design. This will hinder you work, if your a punk, all you will end up doing is working for punk rock companies.
Conclusion _
"You could be the strongest person in the world, but if you don't know how to fight, even I could kick your ass"
What it boils down to is, that if you have a style or not, you have to learn how adapt to your clients needs. In fact, you are a designer, aren't you?
-
Mat Poprocki
http://www.inferiordesign.com
MR EEL
There is nothing wrong with adhering to a particular style. It's limiting, but this in it'self can be an advantage. Some of the best work is made while exploring the limits of a style or school of thought. Maybe people will disagree with me, but think of all the schools of design and art and architecture that do this. It's perfectly possible to adhere to a style, whilst simultaneously pushing the ideas further. It's perfectly possible to do this and have satisfied clients.
'Creativity, evolution, and experimentation all suffer when style is held too long without change.' Styles almost never remain static. They are fragmented and changed. Face it, people copy each other all the time. But imitations are never perfect and so a style can change incrementally. Yes it may stagnate but sometimes someone will make work that is exceptionally interesting and exciting while staying within the constraints of a style.
I think the real culprit for dissatisfying clients is not simply brainless adherence to style. I think it has more to do with an arrogance that some designers have. The perception that they simply know what is best and that the client is a pleb if they critisize or complain or simply disagree. This is so very wrong. Clients are a designers business. You need to make something that they are happy with.
This arrogance may show it'self as a stubborn adherence to a style. But let's not blame the style, blame the designer. It should a case of the right tools for the job, or more correctly, the right styles for the job, not satisfying your own ego.
Paramount is that the design must fit the job, and ultimately the client must be happy with the work that you do. All other concerns are secondary. If it's possible to do this while keeping to a style of design that you love, then good luck to you, but having an un-happy client because you won't change style is pretty damn silly.
So in basicly, I don't think styles themselves are bad. Adhering to them isn't bad either. Failing to be flexible when you need to be is bad.
Ok, there is my view. You may disagree, you may think I'm completely wrong. If this is the case, convince me otherwise. I'm willing to change my mind, but I need a good argument for that 
Mr eel
[email protected]
www.metempsychosis.com/mr-eel/
THEORY 5 - Is usability dead?
THEORISTS
Glen Murphy, Aaron Harper, Thomas Brodahl
GLEN MURPHY
Usability is not dead, it's never going to be dead - it's so multifaceted and
universal that by its very nature, it can't die, no matter how many designers
fire silver anti-vampire bolts at certain people.
This tension between 'usability experts' and designers is borne out of
fanaticism from both camps - the self-proclaimed 'experts', eager to prove
their new religion, brandish 'authoritative' notes, decrying anything which
conflicts with their view on 'how it should be done.' The designers cry foul,
angered at the sudden encroachment upon what was once their exclusive
territory.
But this shouldn't be the case - usability is an integral part of the design
process, it always has been - on the web, even if you can make pretty pictures,
it doesn't mean squat if you don't know how to let people navigate to those
pictures. Designers have learnt usability through time and experience. All
these experts are doing is showing us the way, alerting us to potential
mistakes before we make them (and now that some sites cost over a million
dollars to build, we can't afford to learn by trial and error anymore.) But
instead of swallowing our pride and accepting their words, we arrogantly turn
up our noses at the insinuation that we need to be told what to do.
As someone who takes great interest in different forms of interaction, I believe that the web's still too new and large for usability to be qualified in such a simple, 400 page 'bible', and so I believe that usability in its 'Jakob Nielsen Extremist Fad Franchise'-style form will continue to exist for many years to come, which is little a shame, as it's little more than hotair, wafting off a layer of redundant words describing how to build for the lowest common denominator.
The book isn't geared towards designers, and therein lies the same problem I've
spent the last three paragraphs unnecessarily repeating (guess this isn't a
very usable theory - usability is being promoted as a separate branch of the
development process, where currently, there are already too many branches - we
have development and design, the backend and the frontend, and it's this
separation which is causing so many problems. We can't continue with our
current methods of building sites - we get designers to build pretty pictures
and menus, we get the developers to build fantastic database driven systems,
then we whack them both in the same directory and expect it to work.
And does it work? No, it often fails miserably, and as internet
companies around the world began to lose revenue due to user-unfriendly pages,
usability came to the fore as a solution, except somewhere along the way, some
people went a bit overboard and came out with self important comments like:
"In the future, first of all, websites will be designed by my guidelines ...
for the simple reason that if they don't, they are dead." - Jakob Nielsen.
Ignore it.
I guarantee you that there are usability experts out there who hate Jakob and
his over rampant ego, who believe that he's destroying whatever credibility
usability has. Please, for the love of god, don't base your stereotype of
usability experts on him; he's an aberration. Closing your mind only makes you
as bad as him.
Usability is new to the web, the web is new to usability, let the kinks iron
themselves our before we start baying for blood, lets mold usability into
something we want it to be, rather than bitching and moaning at it until it
grows into something immoveable, bitter and wrong.
Regards,
Glen Murphy ::
Design Lab: http://glenmbox/ sausage internal]
Kaput.org: http://kaput.org/ _______________ /
AARON HARPER
Usability�
By Aaron Harper
For "Theory" on Designiskinky.net
Instinct
Personal instinct distinguishes how useable a website is.
The usability of a website or navigation should be taken into account when the project is in the design stage. The designer should be asking him/herself "who is my target audience?".
A website for public consumption, like a commercial site, should have an instinctive usability to someone who isn�t used to features outwith the norm.
If the site is aimed at the new media or design world, then the sky is the limit. The website can afford to be much more exploratory and less obvious, yet still instinctive to the target audience.
Navigation or features should not be so obscure that the page has to include instructions or a demonstration. I like to see minimal things that are not obvious, yet your mind unconsciously spots them and you know what to do or where to go.Should I stay or should I go?
I find myself tiring quickly when I come across a site that involves dragging something into another to activate changes. What seems to be a novelty on the homepage soon becomes tedious on lower levels.
More often than not, sites that have a challenging usability factor don't have the content within to sustain the user's interest enough to explore the site further.
The magnetic and interest qualities of a website are decided in the user's mind within 30 seconds of them opening the homepage. If they can�t get to grips with the navigation or are bombarded with so much that they become confused, will they stay? � Probably not.
Mind you, every now and then, a site will come along and it will go against exactly what I just said.
These are the sites that grab our attention, make us sit back from our monitor and pause in awe.
Sites like Yugop, which inspire the creative minds of both designers and developers. Innovative navigation ideas and interactive toys to keep you amused for most of your lunch hour. Mind you, saying that, I remember tiring of having to waggle the mouse to reveal streams of text on the site.
I have to admit, even the likes of K10k doesn�t inspire me to delve further because a fear of getting lost. I mostly use k10k for their news and reviews, probably logging on five or six times a day.
C*nted
When I'm designing a site, I always consider navigation, usability and the design at the same time. Whether it's a project at work or a personal site like konspiracy or ****ed.
A lot of designers tend to design how a site will look first and the navigation takes back pew. Sometimes, not even tackling the navigation until the site is in the hands of the developer/author.
If the designer isn't involved with the building of the site, he/she should discuss options or ideas with the person/people who will be. More often than not, they can throw in new ideas or suggest 'toys' they have been developing. Authors like their fun too.
Criticism
The best test of usability is to get someone who isn't involved with the project. They can cast a fresh eye over the work and usually point out things that have been overlooked.
If someone who isn't a designer or author casts judgement on any of my work or points out faults, I don't take it as an insult, I'll take it as a point to ponder and probably resolve.
I have had a lot of positive feedback about the simplicity of design and usability of i.am/****ed. This site was dreamt up in a day and was built over a weekend. The navigation was born from a JavaScript source online which made me stop and think "nice and simple". The design side of the site just basically reflected the simplicity of the site and the functions needed.
No clutter, no fuss, no bright colours or distractions and arial.Conclusion?
I hope this has been an informative read, I�ve just been sitting typing whatever's been coming into my head while supping a beer. If you oppose my views, or if you�re with them, I have hopefully provoked some new trains of thought.
aaron harper
http://www.konspiracy.co.uk
http://i.am/****ed
designer / author
at www.blackid.com
THOMAS BRODAHL
"Is Usability Dead?"
Lets start out by defining what we understand as usability. For my purposes, I will limit my comments on usability to that which pertains to the internet. Usability is the measurment of how well the user interacts with and navigates a website. Although there is a wide range of usability levels, I feel it is safe to say that all webpages are usable in some way, shape, or form.
If usability was dead, you would not be reading this page, you would not be online, the web would not exist without usability. Anything that triggers a reaction from the user is usable. But as with anything, there are different levels of achievment within the confines of usability.
Navigational systems and user interfaces may change, but usability will always be maintained. Jakob Nielsen dictates that usability is at its maximum when we stick to designs and interfaces that resemble yahoo and amazon. This may be correct for websites targetting first-time users, but more and more people are moving into their fourth, fifth, sixth year of using the internet.
As people continue to become educated in the advancement of online communication, designs will push the envelope further, developing new and interesting methods of user interaction. People are smart, they can handle change, they learn, they adapt. 30 years ago, the remote for your Television had 1 button, now it has 60. People have grown with the technology, and will continue to do so as technology advances. New experiences, new ways of presenting them, and new levels of understanding from users will continue to make usability more sophistocated. We are in the fetal stages, looking to evolve into a full grown industry. It just takes time..
Thomas Brodahl
- Surfstation
THEORY 4 - Inspiration or ripoff... where is the fine line?
THEORY 4 - Inspiration or ripoff... where is the fine line?
THEORISTS
Andrew Johnstone, Peter Reid, Nick Finck
ANDREW JOHNSTONE
Have you ripped people off? I have. Have you been influenced by people? I have. Have you taken a design that just blew you away and recreated it using your own style? I have. Have you seen an element of a design and thought, cool I might do something like that as well? I have. If your answer to these questions is No then your either a liar or your not a designer.
Face it people, everyone uses elements from their day to day life in their designs. These elements have all been designed. Whether it is something as invisible as a chocolate bar wrapper or the font used at the train station, they are all products of a designers ideas, skilled or not. We use these things consciously or not but we still use them. The same goes for designs we see in books or on the web. Whether we like to admit it or not these elements are all being stored in our brains and used later. We may not know exactly how and we may not have consciously thought about it but they are there. If you dig deep enough into ANY design you can find some influence. My argument would be why bother digging?
Ok ok, I am not going to be hypocritical and say that I do not get annoyed at seeing people rip other people off (It has happened to me). If a design, layout or idea has been blatantly ripped off then I am all for trying to castrate the people who did it. However I am just tired and bored of all the people out there who seem to have started to look at designs not for there beauty but to see if they can find the influence in it. You can hear them all over the net squawking things like, 'Oh see that arrow. That's soooo Designers Republic!!'. No it isn't, it's a fucking arrow. Ok the Designers Republic have a thing about using arrows, but does this mean they are the only people who can use them? I think not. This may sound like an excuse as I myself tend to love using arrows (bastard things look so funky) but it isn't, it's just the cold hard facts. Too many people are too preoccupied with what other people have done, they should start worrying about their own work instead.
A good illustration of this is the recent anti 45degrees talk going on around the design scene. What I want to know is what exactly are they complaining about and why is that the people doing the complaining have sites with 45degree graphics all over them? It's such a pointless waste of time complaining about the angle of a graphic or line that someone may be using. Ok lots of people have done it , but so what! Why can't they? The thing that annoys me the most is when 'big name' sites hassle smaller sites for using them. What's all that about? Simply trying to make excuses for being the major culprits. Trying to be cool by going against the trend when not long ago they jumped on the bandwagon just like everyone else. I may be a cynical bastard but at least I have enough brains to just let people design what they like regardless of their influences.
Well, I seem to have started rambling again. So back to the question. I don't think that it is a particularly fine line between ripoff and influence. Everyone knows a ripoff, it is so blatantly obvious and so pathetic that it is not even really worth commenting on. To illustrate this point let me go back a few weeks and explain something that my good mate Justin Fox of Aus Infront said to me. A website had blatantly ripped off the MUGSHOTS section of DiK and in my usual fiery manner I got aggro. After a day of stress and death threats Justin called me and trying to calm me down said "Everyone knows that DiK did it first. People will know that these guys ripped you off so why are you worrying?". This is true. A blatant ripoff while still very annoying is, as I said above, so pathetic that we really shouldn't even dignify it by getting annoyed.
Influence is influence and it is within all of us as creative individuals. We should embrace it not try and fight it. We should stop bitching and hassling people who show obvious influences as we have all been there and it is all part of the learning process. I know I personally taught myself a lot by copying what other more experienced designers had done for fun. It taught me things that no teacher or class could teach and allows you to grow and create your own style.
The reason I decided to write on this Theory topic for Jade was that it is something that has been on my mind for ages. I made a cover a couple months ago for DiK that sort of made fun of it all. It illustrates how I think people are taking this all a little bit too seriously and should just relax and enjoy!
Comments are welcome - [email protected]
Andrew - DiK
PETER REID
there is inspiration everywhere. It flows through our work, throughout our lives. We are inundated by it with a simple search , we create it, we buy it, we criticize it, we feed ourselves upon it and without it, we might lose our drive for glory.
Therefore , inspiration seeds itself into our thinking unknowingly, without pause. As we feed ourselves with inspiration as we do, it inherently becomes the ground in which we proceed upon. It lives in an infinite amount spaces, and brushes through our thinking in new forms every single day, sometimes unknowingly.
We reference this inspiration with respect, and apply thinking inherent only to the current problem at hand. This is the point in the entire process where the fine line can surface, where you either begin to surface inspiration within yourself, or you fall down to the streets of the copout, the undeniable ripoff.
the ripoff is blatant and totally exposed, especially in this market. a breakthrough revelation will surface, but this idea will have an undeniable course of repitition in execution until it is exausted by the one or many. This is the model for trends in my opinion. There is too much to be had, to surround yourself in an endless pursuit of repitition.
"If you strive to inspire , you will never copy , you will create."
Isn't that what we, as artists, are here to do? to create ? To put forth ideas in hope that they may infect change into the largest media man/woman has ever witnessed? We have quickly become part of the building process, and I see no reason to level off anytime soon. The ripoff is another day wasted, we must enforce change to ensure new inspiration for days to come.
take your inspiration as it surrounds you. You can feed off the monitor and marvel in the worlds design crew (k10k // threeoh // h73 // dik // zeldman) as I do daily. But we also must step outside for at least twenty minutes a day because the inspiration surrounds you, in all senses. It can be a creative director, it can be the woman next to you on the train. It can be submethod, or it can be Wallpaper. It can be Fila Brasilia or Frank Sinatra. It can be David Carson s Second Sight or Harper Lee s To Kill a Mockingbird. Take a walk to the center of town, and watch how the world operates for an afternoon, this is inspiration. The people in the museum are as much inspiration as the art itself. Inspiration is what you want it to be, and it is everlong.
commonsense.
NICK FINCK
We have treaded this ground in the past. The question is simpler to ask than to answer. Where does one draw the line? Why is the line so gray and vague? Who is to say what is over or under the line? The facts are that only you can define the line and therefore only you can pass the judgement on yourself. True inspiration comes from the heart and mind and soul, to quote Webster's:
inspiration (nsp-rshn) n. 1. a. Stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity. b. The condition of being so stimulated. 2. An agency, such as a person or work of art, that moves the intellect or emotions or prompts action or invention. 3. Something, such as a sudden creative act or idea, that is inspired. 4. The quality of inspiring or exalting: a painting full of inspiration. 5. Theology. Divine guidance or influence exerted directly on the mind and soul of humankind.. 6. The act of drawing in, especially the inhalation of air into the lungs.
Inspiration is all around us, it is in our music, it is in our homes, it is in the way we talk and the way we walk. Today we have the web and that brings us one more step closer to each other. We can now communicate with those � ways around the world from us and in doing so we become inspired. Inspired by different cultures, inspired by different philosophies on life and visualizations of the way things are and they way they ott to be. Inspiration can make us or brake us; it can drive our passion and fuel our soul. Inspiration can also make us into followers, clones of each other replicating pure craftsmanship over and over until it no longer is a craft or unique in anyway. We are at the hands of our own mercy, only we can pull ourselves out from the crowd and make a difference. Only we can choose not to follow the beaten path and build out own paths.
For every brick laid in the most elaborate and phenomenal architectural structures of the word there will always be one brick taken. Not for the sake of inspiration, but for the sake of hoping to achieve the same beauty that was in the original work. The result is simply a well-crafted brick that is out of place, all alone, separated from the original idea that it is but one brick of a greater being. Alone the brick is nothing but a stone, but when used within a structure and guided by a master plan it is truly a thing of beauty.
Today I think of us as the architect of a new generation. We work in a digital medium surrounded by pulpless offices and binary bits of data. We are but ones of thousands if not millions like us. Each of us struggles to be the master architect. Each of us wants to stand out and be recognized for the beauty that we create. However, some of us feel that there is no beauty in out designs, our architecture is flawed and out of place. So those of us who struggle for perfection sometimes go to see other structures, other works of magnificent creators to feel inspired almost as if we were three years old again, oblivious to the world and convinced of immortality with a strong passion in our hearts.
Little do we learn that it's not about being perfect with unbridled creativity, but it's about learning from our mistakes and learning from others. For every piece of work we see, we see someone's passion. For every piece of work we take, we take away a piece of the creator's heart. We can only save ourselves from this pain by being ourselves. Making mistakes and learning from them. Watching others make mistakes and learning from others. We can only be inspiring original to others if our works are original and our hearts are pure. Do not paint a picture with used paints. Invoke your passions and ambitions to guide your works and use only fresh paint take you there.
- Nick Finck
Digital Web Magazine
Theory 3
THEORY 3 - As a designer just starting out on the web, how are you affected by the people and sites that have come before you?
THEORISTS
Jeffrey Musante, John Hoyt, Chason Chaffin
JEFFREY MUSANTE --
I've been affected mostly in positive ways. I think it's important though that those who are just starting out absorb what you see, and just let your work speak for itself. Just keep it on the down-low for a while, don't let anyone know about your work.
Usually those who JUST started like to tell everyone about their work, and seeing as how people are so harsh these days, they get the worst criticism possible, and since they just started and aren't used to it, it brings them down and they don't want to design anymore.
Some people say, "Oh, this Skizz person is a genius. He's a quick learner". Not true. I experimented for a LONG time before skizz.com came about, just not on skizz.com, but on other domains (marketingassets.com) which doesnt exist anymore since I never paid the NetSol dues, and on my HD.
I came up with the ugliest stuff you see. Just ask anyone who knows me from the old Glassdog site and ask them to tell you the kinda shit I would put up in the Screening Room ;-) I tend to stay away from criticizing a site unless I am asked, or unless I think it's nice. I still don't like saying bad stuff about people's sites, even if it's the worst site I've seen in my life.
I know it might help if I do, but I just can't bring myself to do it. You might find a few rare occasions where I might have said something, but not often.
Who am I to put down someone else's work anyways, right? That doesn't mean I lie though. If someone asks me to tell them what I think of something, and I say it's nice, then I sincerely think it's nice. If I ignore you, then go back to work =0P OK, but on the real though, I learn new stuff everyday. Sometimes, I feel down because I see work that makes my work look shitty, but it's all in your head. I'm critical of my work, and I'm never satisfied, which is why I'm always changing the look of my damn site. I think that's a good thing though, because I'm in constant change, and each time I get better and better, or at least I know I try harder than the previous time.
So it all comes down to what YOU want to do. A while ago, I felt like an idiot. I wanted to be an ActionScript genius, breaking rules and expectations here and there, doing the same with DHTML, being able to draw those little pixely characters, being able to use Director like Amy Francheschini does with her 3D-ish style, make good use of 45 degree angles, and so on. Every style I saw, I wanted to do it. That's unreasonable of course. So now, I have a good idea of what I wanna do, and I'll just stick to it and see what happens.
Oh, and while respect is always called for with anyone you interact with, that doesn't mean you have to listen to some jackass tell you that you suck, just because he is better than you or he's been doing this longer than you.
When you can respect everyone around you and also respect yourself and your own work, you know you've reached a new level.
When you just sit back and look at something you finished, and it's perfect. Nothing else needs to be added to it. You JUST LIKE IT. That's a good feeling.
So many I's in this article, I think **I** am going to be sick. Enough about me! I wanna read the other articles already, so here it is. I'm out.
JOHN HOYT
In order to fully answer the question I think it would only be fair to seperate the two main topics: The affect of websites, and the affect of people.
Trends : websites : When I look at my work, I see a lot of the latest trends in design, navigation, and technology. Forty-five degree angles, pink, and grey colour schemes, and the ever elusive small text. Pop up windows, scrollable areas, css, layers, and action script that boggles my mind. Flash based projects, dhtml widgets, and funky audio plague the sites I look at daily. It's hard not to incorporate those ideas into my work. In fact it's quite easy, and often it allows me to focus more on my technique rather then style. Mike Young from Designgraphik, and Submethod has been one of my biggest influences. While I was in Australia, I had a very similar idea to Submethod and when I got back it was a nice suprise to see someone thinking a long the same lines as myself. There were a number of sites that really pushed my design direction into the intenet medium. Gmunk, k10k, DiK, and Famewhore were some of the first sites that I visited, and they've had a huge impact on my perspective of the internet, and design community as a whole. Which nicely leads me to my next point: community.
Community : people : Having an already structured design community on the internet allows me to easily develop my talents. I can use it as a place to gain knowledge, seek inspiration, and get the occasional kick in the butt. The community always pushes me to stretch my abilites, and constantly improve my work. They rarely let me go half assed with a project. They encourage me to be independent and to expand my creative process. Brent Gustafson over at, the always intriguing, Vitaflo and the "How the hell does he come up with this" Assembler has been a great friend, and very helpful by sharing his knowledge. The new Dreamless has been a great place to chat, and talk about design, movies, and other entertaining and shall we say interesting topics. Always fun, and always a great place to learn something new. A lot of my work arrises from oppurtunities given to me. For instance: The multiple contests, splash screen entries, and design co-laborations allow me to look at an issue from a diffrent perspective, and my work reflects that accordingly.
- The internet easily affects my work in a very positive way, change happens, which forces me to try something new. Every time I do, I gain more experience, and I find more about myself.
CHASON CHAFFIN
Well let me tell you: they influence me in 2 ways.
number# 1. i get to see what they do and what they have learned from : one of the most obvious examples for me for that is jeffery zeldman ; whose work has very obviously influenced me heavily : also the work at 37signals and alot of other minimalism : however ;; .
number# 2. the biggest influence that i get from older ; more experienced designers is something to rebel against: alot of the more established designers came to web design from the print medium ; either graphically or magazineish or both ;
but the web is not either of these
mediums :
this has been rehashed over and over and over and over and even over ; but i think the next generation of web designers will be the ones that actually utilize the web for what it is ; not what it is not ::
However ; do not get the impression that i think what the established web designers do is bad or crap or anything like that ;
Alot of what they do astounds me : Andrew and Jade from designiskinky.net ; for instance : alot of their site goes entirely against what i go for in my design (cept for the grunge/minimalist aspects) but i still love their site ::
I started on the internet in 1990 *at the ripe age of 8* and ive been experimenting with the web ever since then : so alot of my work is influenced by the mentality of that elder time ; when people were lucky if they had a 14.4k modem : im trying to break away a bit from that pure minimalism bit because while it is very nice ; it is also sort of limiting expression-wise :
The other style of design that i find attractive is both what has been termed the "woodmation hello kitty" school of design ; and the grunge style : the older design sites that i look to for inspiration with these are design is kinky and future farmers ; both are extremely delicious sites ; one may describe them as honey-mustardy::
If you havent guessed already ; copy and prose arent exactly my most talented forms of expression ; but i want to talk a bit more ; so bear with me :
As for my future as a designer ; i see two possibilities = either i walk away from the professional design scene and do something unrelated and stress free *like working in an ice cream parlor* or i keep with this crazy gig and hopefully become quite good and enjoy doing what i do : who can tell what the future is ::
[the above text was written by an insane person. you can find more of his debilitating wisdom at] [http://www.nulldesign.com/chason/]
Theory 2
THEORY 2 - When design doesn't communicate, is it still design? or is it art? or is it just unsuccessful?
THEORISTS
Jeffrey Zeldman, Kalle Everland, Brent Gustafson
JEFFREY ZELDMAN
It's art.
Kidding of course.
It depends. There are so many *kinds* of "communicating."
Is once-upon-a-forest.com communicating? Yes.
Is it communicating standard stuff like "About Us ... Our Services ... Contact the Webmaster?" No. Is it art? Definitely.
Does that mean cryptic communication is always art? Hell, no. Some design WANTS to communicate basic things clearly but fails. That is bad design. Sometimes good design falls down in places. Sapient is a zillion dollar web agency, and say what you will about the heartlessness of megacorporate web design shops, this one is not staffed by hacks, and the front page of its corporate site communicates very well. Except for those cryptic icons on the right hand side. They look good. The rollover effect is easy on the eyes. But unless you recognize the Adobe icon at the bottom, and extrapolate from that, you have no idea what those little icons mean. (They mean: selected client case studies. Who knew?)
So there's a site that communicates well overall, and has been put together by maybe a dozen highly skilled professionals, and in one key area it fails to communicate. That ain't art, that's a failure to communicate. But a failure that occurs in an otherwise highly communicative environment.
Many somewhat cryptic sites are art, or my name's not whatever my name is. Photomontage communicates richly and obscurely. Just like art! And it *is* art. Supermodified communicates on a sophisticated level. If you're familiar with web conventions and have a love of unique interfaces, you'll get it. If it's your first day with your new AOL account, you won't. Does that make it bad design? No. It makes it highly targeted design that selects a sophisticated audience. Is it art? It is beautiful and incredibly creative, but I think it is high level design, rather than art. What's the difference?
I ain't no professor, but I'd say the difference has to do with intention and execution. Intention, because Supermodified wants to wow you, wants to guide you to certain key locations, and wants you to take away certain messages (such as: that guy Amon Tobin is a great composer). Design does that. It conveys specific messages to targeted viewers.
Art does something else. Sure, Picasso's Guernica conveys a message too - "war is hell" - but usually art's messages cannot be boiled down into sentences like that, and the messages of design can be. (Also, if it's messy, it's probably art. If it's super-clean, it's probably design.)
Your question could lead to months of interesting speculation about the differences between art and design. I hate generalizatons, and I think your question really must be answered case by case. But generally, when a when a site is clearly set up to do something (sell books, provide information about dog ownership, share personal narratives), if the visitor gets lost or confused, then the design fails.
There are also plenty of designs that succeed in spite of being ugly as hell. That's another kind of bad design, but that's another question for another day.
KALLE EVERLAND
I think design always communicate in some way, even the design that is more like art, they all communicate in some way, maybe its intended to give you some kind of feeling or mood.
So even if the design itself doesnt have any informative content it still communicates. If there would be any design that doesnt, it wouldnt be design any more, I dont know what it would be, junk most likely, but definately not design or webart. And what would that be?
Even a blank screen communicates in some way, I mean a white screen gives you some kind fo emotion, doesnt it?
Communication is so much more then a users guide on how to use frontpage express, the most valuable communication is the one who makes you think twice or punches you in the chest with the force of a sledgehammer.
Communication with purpose and soul.
And it doesnt need to be some badass mindblowing supergraphics to communicate, sometimes less is more. But usually more is better.
Art without communication would be a total waste of space, not even worth looking at, literally.
BRENT GUSTAFSON
Design is a tricky word, simply because it has so many meanings, depending on which form is used (noun or verb) and in what context it's used in.
Since we're mainly discussing web design here, that narrows it down, however I think a lot of people have their own personal definitions of what is design or what is art, etc.
With that said, most people believe that design is all about communication. I tend to be one of those that agrees with that. But I don't think communication is just plopping text in a site and telling the user what you mean. There are a lot of ways to communicate, with color, layout, imagery, etc. Ways that are more subtle, ways that give the user a "feeling" without having to tell them how to feel.
Anyone who works as a designer for a living knows the virtues of knowing your audience and designing to communicate best to those people. In this instance if your design doesn't communicate to who your target market is, it's probably an unsuccessful design. Obviously, if a site like Bad Boy Online were made to sell pace makers to 80 year old people, it probably wouldn't communicate as effectively as something more trimmed down, minimal, with straight forward navigation, and the font size turned up a bit.
In the corporate web design sense, I think communication is the essential part of design. Ignoring it for the sake of pomp and circumstance (especially when it's not needed to communicate to the highest degree) is doing a disservice to your customer.
In the personal web world however, I think the idea of design changes. People design personal sites for so many different reasons, to experiment, to push technology, to learn, etc. I think success is still somewhat dependent on how you communicate that to the intended audience (usually the web design crowd in our space), but lately a lot of what people consider design is in fact "art". Meaning the content of the site is actually art pieces. And even the "design" of the site, the navigation and layout can be very experimental, almost artistic as well. In this sense the whole design/art/success issue is hard to gauge, because these types of sites mean so many different things to so many different people.
So just because someone doesn't "get" what you're doing on your site, I think doesn't necessarily make it unsuccessful.
There's obviously a fine line here though, and it will always be up for debate where that line is. Of course, that usually makes for good conversation, and a nice Theory article. 
THEORY 1 - Elitism and the Web
THEORY 1 - Elitism and the Web
THEORISTS
Justin Fox, Annette Bonde, Brian Limond
JUSTIN FOX
elitism: consciousness of or pride in belonging to chosen or favored group. I do believe that there are groups of elite designers on the web, groups of designers who have recognised that they are more talented than many others in their field and respect others who they also think are also more talented than many others in their field.
Many people will refer to elitism as a negative thing.
I am here to say it is not a negative thing at all. It is fact, it is a reality, and if you wiped it out it would only come back.
Elitism exists simply because there are different levels of skill. When I think of elitism I think of k10k (www.k10k.net). k10k has to keep QUALITY CONTROL. Toke and Mschmidt simply cannot just let anyone with anything showcase their work to the 80.000 unique visitors they get a week. If they didn't screen the content that was coming in then they are risking the death of k10k. Letting users down with perhaps a bad or just boring surfing experience.
Jealousy is a nasty word, it is negative energy. If people are 'jealous' of the design elite, or of design elitism then they are headed the wrong way.
This is a waste of time and energy on their behalf. I was always taught to be in competition with myself, not others. Instead of feeling jealous, why not feel inspired?! I admit I do sit there and look at some designers work and say "Fucking hell! What a fucking shit! How the fuck did they do that! Bastards! Bitches! Turds!" But I say this with absolute joking sarcasm and a smile on my face, a laugh even, and with total respect!
But in the end I feel it is about different levels of skill. And I can define many levels but will simplify it to two (and by the way, I am generalising here):
A) Juniors: I feel that the angry, anti elitists are on this level. But in general, these designers have trouble differentiating between something that is well designed and something that is not. Perhaps it is a lack of design fundamentals, or a beneficial background (I am an artist foremost, I had already grasped colour, form, balance, composition before entering the world of design). They are unsure as to why they like things, they simply have not learnt to be able to verbalise why they like tings or don't like things. In many ways they don't have enough knowledge to opinionise on other peoples designs. And thus find it hard ot achieve that level of quality in their work. The best way to the next level is to work closely with someone from the next level. For sure. Thus taking a job as a junior with one nasty, tough, fussy, pushy Art Director will do wonders. it will kill your attitude problem (if you have one, many young designers seems ot think their work is awesome, perfect, and there is nothing they would better about it) and push you to achieve quality.
B) Pros: Then there are the people who have passed to the next level. It's a feeling inside. You know when you are on this level. You just know it. Confidence grows, they recognise quality, they see detail and the big picture at the same time, they can talk about their work and always offer why they like it or not. They get stronger and better, faster and gain the ability to pass their design knowledge onto others as well as onto other fields of design whether it be sound, motion, print, industrial design etc. they recognise others who have passed to the next level too and respect each other for this, so, this level, is this the elitist club?
Is it bad? I think it is neither bad or good, it just is.
ANNETTE BONDE
elite - the best or most skilled members of a group.
web design elitism - the belief that certain persons or members of the web design community deserve favored recognition by virtue of their perceived superiority, because of their talent, accomplishments, or experience.
The elite exists in almost every group, class, or community. The web design community is no exception.The question is, is elitism good or bad?
According to the definitions as stated above I believe elitism is good because it is individually based, there are few negative real-world experiences, and they inspire people.
I think we each choose our own group in which to consider the elite. I do not believe there is one predetermined elite group. We each have our own ideas of who we think are the "best" or who is the "most skilled". This lets the idea of "elitism" rest on the individual, not the community.
I have never had a negative experience with those that I see as the elite. I think many people look at the elite as unapproachable. I have found this to be far from the case in my own personal experience. I have had many good conversations with those that I see as talented designers. Over time these conversations can usually lead into friendships with the common bond being design.
The elite can be looked at as leaders in this design community. I personally gain knowledge and inspiration from well designed sites. They inspire me to work and achieve more. They excite me. They make me ask the question, "How did they do that?", and because of this I want to learn more and this makes me a better designer.
All of these examples make me believe elitism is positive. I think these designers deserve respect and recognition for their talents. They work hard, and most importantly they lead by example.
BRIAN LIMOND
Hiv ye noticed how pretty much aw the nice sites oot there don't bother their arse wae a laugh or two?
Ah don't think it takes that much, troops. Just dae somethin a wee bit funny here or there. How many sites hiv ah saw n been aboot that - fair dues - look n feel crackin n are inspirational n beautiful aw roon, but don't bang a wee gag in, or a wee toy tae play wae?
Don't get me wrang, it takes aw types (ah hiv tae say that, though, cos check the nick o me), but gimme a laugh, eh? Make me smile.
There's almost a stockpile of good lookin sites oot there that make ye point at the monitor n say tae the guy next tae ye "That's nice... that's nice that bit... like how they've done that... aye", grab some ideas n then close.
One thing ah rarely do is gut myself at whut ah'm seein, or even raise a smile.
Naw, it's no cause ah'm a dour faced bastard (that's debatable, of course) but because there's nae laughs, man. Ah hope that ah've acheived fillin a wee part of the huge space that's there for funny but good lookin sites tae fill up cos hardly anybody else is givin it a shot, know?
Disnae even matter if ye're funny or no, just gie it a try.
So mah personal message n mah challenge tae the beautiful ones - the elite - is tae make me n others comin along SMILE.
Please. I'm ticklish.
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