Designing for the Web combines two rather contradictory practices; I need to be artistic, and I have to be analytical.
Artisanship requires a certain sense of playfulness and attitude, while analytics demands exactitude, precision and standardization. In short, a Web site has to be useable as well as attractive. The challenge is the balance achieved with the final product.
My first advice to clients is that a Web site is not about its design, it is all about its content. Unless you have something to say, and you're saying it clearly and with a point of view that expresses how your business does business, the entire Web site development project is an exercise in futility. No matter how pretty it is—and how award-winning its design and designer—if you have nothing compelling to say or show or provide, you have no audience.
History
I have been designing for the Web since 1996 for a diverse set of clients, from the Boston Ballet to Playboy Entertainment. My career has taken me from Boston to San Francisco and all points in-between, and I've worked with sole proprietorships and multinational conglomerates.
My experiences on the Web include all aspects of the online cultural experience, including owning and operating my own web sites, managing a small designer-based online community, designing and coding pages and consulting on usability and information architecture. I've spoken at several conferences concerning Web development and culture including Thunderlizard Seattle and SXSW in Austin, Texas.
As a former creative director for two firms, I'm comfortable speaking with top level management concerning Web philosophies and capabilities. I also regularly construct HTML and CSS by hand and I know what PHP, JavaScript, Flash and the other online interactive technologies can accomplish so I can understand and speak techgeek.
