Spicy Web Designer Interview with Dave Harrison

Dave Harrison is a web designer from Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. He started designing websites back in 1997 using Netscape composer and Photoshop 4 and has only continued to strive since then. He studied Business Studies from Napier University in Edinburgh in 1995 but he what he learned about web design he learned on the job. Dave is a student member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

1. I know this seems like a generic question but how did you get started in web design and when did you start designing websites?

I sort of fell into web design after being offered a year’s work placement at a university funded web company in Belfast, while doing a ’software creation’ course at a training organization. It was the governments chosen approach to getting people like me off the dole at the time. I had graduated a few years before with a degree in business studies, so design, and computers were completely new to me.

I started way back in 1997. To put it in context, websites were built with Netscape composer and Photoshop 4 or paintshop pro, and people browsed websites with IE3 at a resolution of 640×480 and in 16bit color!! IE4 and NN4 arrived soon after and I remember being so excited by the all the great things they offered (<marque> tag cringe!) (Then the browser wars started for real and the can of worms was well and truly opened. The web standards Project was launched across the pond the following year, but didn’t appear on my radar until quite a few years later.

2. I also checked out your site and see that you dabble in user experience design and i am wondering what you consider the best way to map out user experience when you go about designing a project?

For me user experience is really the reason we should design websites in the first place, Brand and Image are important and certainly have a large part to play in the overall experience but I think the ability to carry out tasks easily and without frustration is the key to successful web design, that and communicating effectively to the user. Before you undertake any web project you must endeavor to find out what the objectives are that you are trying to meet, the needs you must satisfy if you will. It is against these benchmarks that you measure the user experience. If budget allows this can be achieved using, usability studies and testing. There are a number of tools available to assist in this process. Not sure if that answers your question properly, this in itself is affecting my current user experience of this situation.

3. What are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently?

Helping clients understand why they should pay for good design, educating clients. Persuading people to invest in their website and educating them that it can be so much more than being able to say, I have a website.

4. Do you code any of the web sites that you design currently? If so, what language(s) do you code in?

I design and code all my sites. I really am a hybrid, always have been. I design with the build in mind even when working in Photoshop or sketching on paper for that matter I am always thinking ahead to the build and the semantics. All coded in (x)HTML, CSS, JavaScript (frameworks now mainly), PHP, ASP. Dabbling a little with HTML5, but my main deal is making sure all my sites are cross platform/browser compatible guided of course by audience profile and budget.

5. Did you study design at school or are you self-taught?  If you went to school, how has your education helped you become a better web design professional?  What other skills has it helped you to gain and what else has it taught you about design in general?

Completely self taught and learned on the job. I think for me the greatest teacher is my own experience of being a user of the internet myself. You can’t learn by reading alone you must do. Having said that I constantly keep myself up to date with new techniques and develop my own knowledge on an almost daily basis, using books, blogs, forums, video tutorials. Every day is a learning day!. As someone who is self taught, I don’t always know the theory off the top of my head, but I know how to find the information I need, which in my view is the best skill of all.

6. Since you first started how has the web design industry changed? Has it changed for the better? If so, how? If not, please explain?

I was mentioning to an ex-colleague, who has recently started lecturing at a university teaching a new media design course, that until about 2 or 3 years ago there were hardly any web standard designers/freelancers in this neck of the woods, now we are coming down with them, so in that respect things are looking up for the industry as a whole. Also I think back in the day it was all about “look what we can do” and trying to sell websites on the back of that functionality, (in my honest opinion it rarely served its purpose and certainly didn’t further the interests of the client a great deal. Now there is more of an ethos of OK what is your business issue? Here is what we can do to help. This is the design and functionality we will employ to do this, tailored specifically to you. Of course you could argue that this is the natural progression of any designer/developer and not really a reflection of how the industry itself has changed overtime. I mean back in the day, surely someone was doing it properly, weren’t they??

7. What are your favorite tools to use when designing a web project? Why are they your favorite tools?

It’s becoming a cliché but pencil and paper for sketching; it’s just a lot faster than trying to do everything with a mouse and keyboard. It’s the only tool that can keep up with the speed of my ideas! I also use Photoshop for the main bulk of the design work, although like most of us I probably only use a tiny fraction of its capability, I would say I am a little bit institutionalized when it comes to the adobe suite.

I am also getting more into HTML/CSS prototypes as an agile approach to web design and so use of CSS frameworks comes into play. I use this approach with clients who I know aren’t going to be to picky and who trust my ability to deliver exactly what they need not what they think they want. It also works on clients who aren’t too hung up on aesthetics and understand that the decoration is secondary to the main purpose of good design, to communicate and solve problems. However if a client is more likely to want to exert their control or presence more than it is definitely prudent to stick with the review approval process right from the outset, including all the design and planning stages

Conceptshare is an interesting tool for sharing comps online with IT savvy clients and get feedback and I hope to try it out in the future

8. Considering you are a “seasoned veteran” of the web design industry which part do you enjoy the most after 12 years of working in web design in various roles?

Being given a problem to solve. Its all about problem solving and communication. Good design is all about communication not decoration! I enjoy combining my years of experience and knowledge into an overall solution that is exactly what the client needs from a visual and functional perspective. So suppose that role would be as ’solution provider’.

9. What do you find most rewarding about the career and field you are in currently?

Again the most rewarding thing is seeing the look on a client’s face who is totally and completely thrilled with what you have created for them. When their expectations have been blown out of the water then I get a feeling of fulfillment. I enjoy being able to take something that a lot of people are afraid of and put it to work on their behalf. I Work mostly with local people and only do work for people who I want to see succeed. I know this rules me out of a lot of projects, but it is worth it as it means I can put my whole heart and soul into the work I do undertake.