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How Do I Design? What is My Design Process

Recently, I read this article about the Future of Web Design . It made me laugh (read final comment below). The most common question I always get, in one form or another is "How do you design something?". Since I usually design dynamic, interactive websites, my answer is to describe the web product design process. Design IS a Process Web product design is a process of refinement involving traditional design skills, merged with web development techniques. Web design is the balance of information and technology tailored to the right audience. And of course all websites should be adaptable, all web design teams should be very comfortable with the idea of evolutionary change, and build it into their business. You need to design it - try it - evaluate it - change it - and test it again and again. Always. When Problems Happen In my experience problems happen not in design but in the management of the design & development process. I can't tell you how many times I've wor...

Freelancing Part 1 - How Much to Charge?

Lately I've been freelancing a lot which has been great. I love the flexibility and control I have over my own time. I'm so busy, however it's hard to just manage that time. But my biggest worry is negotiating the right rate. In order to figure out the right rate I asked several friends & colleagues for their insight. It's interesting to compare what they said: Susan pointed me to this article which offers a calculation of freelance rates based on what you would be making if you were getting a salary. According to this I should be making between $90-120/hour. Calculating Your Freelance Rates - Part 1 A friend spoke more about Stock options. Since I work with a lot of start-up companies this is relevant. They are always trying to figure out creative ways to pay employees which I find does NOT work especially if you have overhead. He says, "...They should be indifferent between paying you in cash versus stock- perhaps they are trying to "get a deal" fr...

Believe it! Busy in Baltimore

This week, whilst crashing at Fran's in Baltimore I'm super busy. Would you believe I have a ton of freelance? It feels GREAT to finally be free from an office, truly independent, and best of all not paying rent . Hooray! I'm sooooo busy I probably wont be posting any more this week. OK maybe some Radar posts see the nifty picture window on the side. Next week it's my first foray back up to New York City where I'll be talking to some peeps and scouting out new work.

Finding Art Part 1 - Museum Tour 2008

The New York Times published an excellent special section yesterday dedicated to museums exhibits. If you missed it, this article The Choice Shows Around the Country , highlights some of the most interesting exhibits. Now if only there was a list like this for international art shows and events, festivals, workshops, and more. Hmmmm