Nov 3, 21:23
Why we redesign? or why design again?
Redesign, it’s a word being said a lot lately. Many articles been written about it; you must’ve read the Good Designers Redesign, Great Designers Realign by Cameron Moll on ALA, and if you’ve stopped by comming from CSS Reboot then you know what I’m exactly talking about. Okay, now a derivative has come to see light which is Re-Aligning, to me it’s just another way of saying redesigning but for a marketing purpose.
We could get things done in the right way from the first time. Or we could get the ball rolling and keep on enhancing and keep working on it untill it satisfies the need. These are how we people think. As life goes on we all grow and as ages pass by, things evolve, and get closer to perfection. Are we talking Darwinism? isn’t it so relevant?
So why redesign? or realign?
We’ll base our discussion on the theory that says:
An invention or innovation is to satisfy a need or a given goal.
So we’re not going to redo stuff or retouch things just for the sake of it or if we were some beginers and have no bills to pay then just for fun. Of course it is fun! but while rolling with you. We’ll start off by defining redesign atleast what it means to me.
The word “redesign” what does it mean in the context of Web Design?
In web design it could be:
- Redesigning the graphical interface and branding
- Re-architecting information
- Copy rewriting
- Designing the interaction and user experience once again
- On the technical side code redesign (XHTML, CSS, JS, Server-Side code)
- Data? yea, you could redesign your XML, RSS, or even Database
- And many more stuff that depend on the overal work such as SEO, Server side balancing and clustering
What makes you do all that?
Many answers could fit as answers to this question. Obviously the answer depends on the situation and the project.
Audiance, audiance, and audiance!
Graphical interface redesign is the work done after finding out that your design is either heavy to load, not liked by many(not always the case, but heck sometimes is), doesn’t express the marketing message and promotion, and most important of all it doesnt make the brand known anymore. Graphical interface or the design like everyone call it is usualy something that never ends. Do you recall how many times CNet has changed interfaces? or CNN.com? okay let’s talk about something more interactive—MSN? or Yahoo! ?
As days pass by us everyone is getting his hands dirtier with web and internet so, don’t beleive that you’re the only one that remembers all the keyboard shortcuts on Firefox! a cashier at your neibourhood grocery knows it too. So watch out you techie!
The point is as everything changes fast and the flow of information becomes faster we Web Designers have to be one step ahead to serve the users thus, we have to be redesigning from time to time and it’s a must.
Do it right from the begining
No, that’s a bad way of thinking, of course we have to do everything right from the start untill the end. It’s not that we don’t do it right the first time. It’s the darwin theory! remember I told you I wont discuss it? well, browsers are racing in version numbers and compliance to standards, new web technologies are evolving, many new ones emerging, and end-users becoming more greedy everyday in terms of options and ease of use. On the business side, cultures are changing, people habbits are changing, market segments are transforming, products and consumers in general evolving together, so the big picture if you can see it clear now, it’s a whole lifestyle that is changing. Be proud of yourself webbies! you’re part of this world.
Related Articles
« Previous post: CSS Reboot, tonight @ 12:00, Don't miss it!
» Next post: AJAX vs Flash, round 1, arena: Web2.0, fight!