29.1.12

IA, What I Learned About the Web in 2011, reading response

What I Learned About the Web in 2011
I wanted to read this article before starting my wire frames for this next class to see if it could help me with this process. It didn't necessarily give me answers to any of my curiosity about web design, but it was good to read and process how web creators think. I just pulled some parts of the reading that I agreed with and that stood out to me...

We have to expand our definition of what the “web” is. More and more, the “web” is not a platform. It’s a service with clients on many platforms. Wired Magazine called it the “death” of the web. I call it an evolution.
-–Jeff Croft, Chief Designerd, nGen Works
 This instantly brought to my attention in that we need to really take the web to the next level. We are creative minds and we need to push our personal limits along with the limits of current projects. The web is evolving on such a accelerated pace and we are the ones that need to continue the push forward. 
 

And that’s why I’ve learned to let go and focus on incrementally folding these new ways of thinking into daily work as I grasp them—while at the same time trying not to worry about everything being perfect or solving a problem “correctly.” The web is an ever-changing beast, full of flaws and imperfection and experimentation. And that’s why we love it.
Dan Cederholm, Founder, SimpleBits
 I think this goes hand in hand with our discussion about really pushing the possibilities of the web. We might come up with an idea that seem impossible to create, but as designers we have to push our ideas even if we are told it won't work. It is like a big "experiment" in that we have to explore all of the factors, because who knows what the outcome could be. 


For the past couple of years, we have gotten into the habit of presuming that mobile means on-the-go, desktop denotes a desk, and tablet is on the toilet. But increasingly the lines are blurring on where devices are being used and how they’re being used in unison. This year I have learned to see devices as location agnostic and instead associate them with purpose—I want to check (mobile), I want to manage (desktop), I want to immerse (tablet). This shift away from objective context toward subjective context will reshape the way we design experiences across and between devices, to better support user goals and ultimately mimic analog tools woven into our physical spaces.
Whitney Hess, UX Designer
This statement makes me realize that the mobile phone and tablet are now becoming a person's main source to the web. Laptops and desktop computers are not a main source to the web anymore. Our society is constantly on the go and want the instantaneous, and when designing a web space it needs to be able to adapt to these devices.  


Tear down the cubicle walls In this brave new multi-device world we’re all designing for, I’m convinced more than ever that designers and developers need to be working more closely together. I spent the majority of my year on a large responsive design project, where the traditional “design team” and “development team” divide didn’t exist.      –Ethan Marcotte, Independent Designer, Developer, and Ragamuffin   

Tear down the cubicle walls first caught my attention. I think as students this plays such a huge roll in our learning. I completely agree with Marcotte's, "I’m convinced more than ever that designers and developers need to be working more closely together." Two heads are usually better than one. Why not really dig into group projects and work in teams. Collaboration is such a large part of design and with the rate of media growth in society, working in a groups is a way to keep up with the pace, provide more research, and reach faster outcomes. 



It’s all about the experience   

The most important thing I’ve (re)learned this year is that the greatest experiences in life aren’t designed at all. I’ve spent less time on blogs and Twitter and more time watching sunrises in beautiful places. I’ve obsessed less over gadgets and tools and more over finding the right wine to go with a great meal. I’ve remembered that I love my work more when it isn’t also my life. All of these things make me more patient, more optimistic, and more inspired…which can only make me better at what I do.   –Kim Goodwin, Author, Designing for the Digital Age 

I suppose I will end with this articles ending. I actually sent this to my best friend and she responded with, "You wanna do it?"  I know being a student may change things in the fact that it is school and it is our life at the moment, but often it catches up to us in many ways. That meaning, we are often all huddled up in studio or our face is constantly on the computer screen. But I know as an artist I have to get external inspiration. The world around us shapes our design and we have a greater appreciation for it when we get to experience it. We also gain more gratitude for our work when we have opportunities to remove it from our lives, because then when we return we have a new awareness of what is important. I often have to remind myself that if I am not being inspired and motivated then how, through my design, will I be able to inspire others? 


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