200 Wanna-be’s vs. 1 Bonafide Designer

I was inspired today when a coworker of mine passed on this blog post, “American Airlines Web Site: The Product of a Sef-Defeating Design Process”.  To sum it up it’s about a designer, Dustin Curtis, who was absolutely disgusted by the American Airlines website so much that he redesigned it and send a public letter to AA expressing his disappointment.  One of the Designers replied to Dustin’s letter saying “The problem with the design of AA.com, however, lies less in our and more with the culture and processes employed here at American Airlines”.

The post goes on to say that American Airlines website is over seen by at least 200 people.  That is 200 people that have to sign off on a design, 200 people that have an opinion, and 200 people who need to review the design.  You could imagine how even the most brilliant ideas or designs once filtered through 200 people would turn out… far from the original masterpiece. Read more

The Ongoing Battle Between Design, Marketing and SEO

In my industry, graphic design, I find I’m always arguing with the marketing team.  This isn’t because they aren’t nice people ­– they’re all swell – or because I’m confrontational – I’m the most laid back person I know.  Mainly, it’s because we have different goals.

I know this seems a bit strange, considering our goal should really be the same, to sell, promote and market our products, but to a designer it’s all about looks and to a marketer it’s all about sales… So sometimes we don’t always see eye to eye, especially when a design is compromised for the sake of reaching yet another target market.

I’m a big believer in stuff like white space, subtle accents and not too much copy (especially on the web, because people HATE readying through content on websites).  I have a big affliction to flashy buttons, drop shadows, big arrows, ANY outlined text, starbursts, basically anything a marketer may use to grab someone’s attention.  I also don’t believe in cramming content into every space…   But, like everyone, marketers and designers have to find a way to live in harmony, and I think after my 5 years in this field I’ve learned how to coexist. Read more