Web design is like sculpting, not painting.
October 30, 2012
Hi!
Many years ago, during the time of the dinosaurs, I was taught a very important rule about the perfection of technique:
… The master’s movement is polished, minimal, without waste or clutter. One of the primary goals of a martial artist, is to strip away non essential movement, and to clear ones mind of distracting thoughts.
What the heck does this have to do with web design?
The process of web design and web programming is exactly the same!
The best websites are simple and have only what they need … nothing more. Because of this, the web design process is really much more like sculpting (where you strip away elements to get the final result,) rather than like painting where you keep adding layers. Yes, this process of minimalism is hard and it takes years to perfect the skill.
… This basically launches us into the subjects of usability, clean code and site structure. But that will have to wait for another article.
What makes a great web designer then?
The professional web designer can focus on those essential elements, they are experts in the process of trashing unneeded page elements, they can clean up the websites code and overall structure so that it is efficient and easy to update. Yes, a master web designer is much like a master martial artist.
… Probably not in as good shape though.
Stefan Mischook
killerSites.com
