Inthecommentstothatarticle,manyreaderswishedwe’dinvitedmorefemaledesignersonthepanel—inparticularbecause,“Thereisnowayofdiscerninghowtheexperienceofafemaledesignermightdiffer,simplybecausethereisacompletelackofrepresentation.”So,wedecidedtoprepareanarticlefeaturingspecificallyprofessionalwomendesignersgivingtheirexpertadviceforyoungWebdesigners.
Today,wearegladtopresentagroupinterviewofsuccessfulwomenworkingintheWebdesignfield.These16femaleprofessionalswilldiscussinspirationaltopicssuchastheinfluencesthathavehadabigimpactontheirwork,aswellaspracticaldetails,likehowtheymanagedtogetwheretheyaretoday.Ofthe15questionsweasked,oneobviouslyhadtobeabouthowthesewomenhavepositionedthemselvesinthismale-dominatedcommunity.Wealsolookatthechallengestheyfaceintheircareersasdesigners.Solet’sgetstartedbymeetingthesepeople,whomwethankonceagainfortheirthoughtfulinterviews.Herearetheirnamesandpositions:
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Asfarasdesignsthatinfluenceme,Ihatetobecliche,butApplewastheonereallypushingitsownstyleearlyon.Itsstylewasheavilydesignedbeautifulelementsonfairlysimplistic,whitespacelayouts.ThisissomethingIlookeduptoandtriedtomodelmyearlywebsiteson.
IfeelmystyleasaWebdesignerhasslowlyevolvedbuthasbeenprettyconsistentsinceIstartedfreelancing.Ilikedetail,attentiontotypographyandgivingthecontentroomto“breathe”andflow.Iwouldprobablysay,then,thatthemovetowardsgridsandminimalisminWebdesignhasinfluencedmystylethemostoverthepastfewyears.
Idon’tlikenamingdesignersbecauseI’mmorelikelytojusttakeawidevarietyofURLsfrommanydifferentdesigners.Sometimesadesignercanmakeonegreatwebsite,andthenthenextprojectisacompletebomb,sogivingupnamesisn’twhatIdo.Thelastbitalsoappliestome.:)Anyway,afteragreatproject,adesignermustexpectsomedipsintheroad.Successaftersuccessisanillusion!
However,Ithinkpartoftheproblemliesinthelackofwillingnessamongmanyfemaledesignerstogetinvolvedinself-promotion.Ibelieveasawholethatwedon’ttendtobangthedrumaboutourworkashardormarketourselvesasstrongly.InJeffreyZeldman’sarticle“WomeninWebDesign:JusttheStats,”hewritesinthecommentssomethingthatreinforcesmythoughtsonthis:
Moremenbragthanwomen;itseemstobeaculturallylearnedbehaviour.SeveralabsolutelybrilliantwomenIknowcannotbepersuadedtowriteorlectureorotherwisepromotethemselves…There'saconcensusthatwomen,howeversmartortalented,arelesslikelythanmentoputthemselvesforward.Weallmissoutbynothearingtheirvoices.
Withoutadoubt,theindustryismale-dominated.Forexample,justintheUK,womenmakeuponlyaround39%ofthoseinthedesignindustry(DesignCouncil).IthinkthisismainlybecauseWebdesignisstillconfusedwithITingeneral.Manyfemalesfeelyouhavetobeamath,scienceorprogrammingwhiztopursueitasacareerandsimplydon’tbelievetheyhavetheability.
TheWebasamediuminwhichyoucouldexpresscreativitywasjusttakingoff(thiswasinthemid’90s),andbetweenthegraphicdesigncoursesandteachingmyselfHTML(nocoursesexistedyettoteachWebdesign),IjustsortofwoundupdoingwebsitedesigninadditiontotheprintdesignIwasdoingforsomebookauthors.
Icreatedafairlypopularvegetarianwebsiteandusedittoteachmyselfallsortsofthings,inadditiontodoingalltherecipecreation,article-writingandgraphicseverymonth,likeamonthlymagazine.Ialsoimplementedacookbookscript,emailforusers,greetingcardsandothertechnicalfeatures,andusedallofthosethingsasexperimentallessons.Veryearlyon,ImetadeveloperwhowantedmetodesigninterfacesforhisWebproducts,andthatishowIbegandesigningsoftwareandlearningaboutuserexperienceandhumanfactorsanalysis.BecauseoftheworkIdidforhim,Iwoundupbecomingaspecialistinsoftwaredesign,usabilityandproductmarketing.
Buttheexperiencewithmyvegetarianwebsiteiswhatgavemetheconfidencetopursuedesignasacareer.Ididnottakethetypicalpathofbeingtaughtbyaninstructorandthengoingoutandgettingajobtogainexperience.ItaughtmyselfwhatIwasinterestedin,gainedexperienceand,onceIhadmasteredtheskillsofmytrade,offeredmyservicesdoingthatforothers.I’vebeenmostlyself-employedsinceabout1993forthatreason.
Istarteddevelopingwebsitesataverybasiclevelin1996.Atthatpoint,therewasn’talottolearn,soIdevelopedmyskillsastheWebdeveloped.Initially,Ithoughtthat,withanartsbackground,“design”mightbesomethingIcoulddo.Astimewentby,themoretechnicalsideoftheWebbecamemoreinterestingtome,andIampurelyaWebdeveloperthesedays.Idon’tdoanydesignatall.
Togetmynameoutthere,Ispentthefirstfewyearsindesigngivingawaymyworkforfree.ThismanifestedinthingslikedownloadableHTMLthemesandblogthemesforMovableTypeandWordPress.IalsoreleasedseveralfreeWordPressthemestothepublicbackin2003and2004.Thatisagoodwaytocirculateyournameandtalents;ifyourstuffisgood,peoplewilluseit.
Fromthere,mydesignbusinessevolvedorganicallythroughwordofmouthandthroughpeopleusingmyworkthatIwasgivingaway.Mybusinessgrewandflourishedin2003,somuchsothatIwasabletoearnadecentenoughlivingtoleavemyfull-timejobasanurseandtofocusonworkthatIlovedoingandthatallowsmetoworkfromhomeandspendmoretimewithmyfamily.
[Whatdidyoustudy,andhowdidyoubecomeinterestedindesign]Ineverstudiedabitofdesign,asidefromreadingSmashingMagazine—heh:).IbecameinterestedindesignthroughaninsatiableinterestinandcuriosityabouteverythingrelatedtotheWebandtheInternet.
[Whendidyourealizethatyou’dliketodesignonadailybasis]Islowlybuiltmydesignbusinessasahobby.WhenmydaysstartedbleedingintomynightsandIhadmoreworkthanIcouldhandlealone,IrealizedthatIneededtogiveuponethingortheother.Eithermynursingcareerhadtogoormydesignworkhadtogo—orattheveryleastbetempered.IrealizedthatIwouldalwayshavemynursingdegree,butnotalwayshavetheopportunitytoworkformyself,doingajobthatIloveandmakingadecentlivingatthesametime.
WhenIwassleepingonly15to20minuteseverynightbydoingbothjobs,thatiswhenIrealizedIwantedtododesignonadailybasis.
Icandoaclient’swebsitesomuchfasterthanmyownportfolio,forexample.Sometimesknowingwhattoemphasizeorfocusonishard,butyouhavetofindtherightwordstocommunicateinawaythatisunderstandabletothepeoplewhohiredyou(thosepeoplethemselvesnotbeingdesigners).Agreatdesignercanincreaseacompany’srevenuesmorethantheyrealize(designisasubliminalsellingaid),sofindingtherightcreativefitandgivingadesignerroomtocreate,experimentandpushtheenvelopeisreallyimportanttogettingtheirbestwork.
Anothersignificantchallengefordesignersissimplykeepingup,especiallyifthey’reself-employed,becausenowtheyhavetodealwithmarketingthemselvesandalloftheclientadministrationandaccounting.Throwinsocialmedia,andit’shardmanydaysjusttofindtimetodesignanything!
Sometimesthingssoundmoreglamourousthantheyactuallyare.Aswonderfulastheworldwideandlocalconferencesandothermeet-upssound,therealityisthatyousitatyourdesk300-odddaysayear.Somepeoplejustaren’tcutouttositinfrontofascreeneight-plushoursperday,andthat’sabsolutelyfine.
Oh,andoneeasything:writeandsketchdowneverything.Captureyourthoughtsandideaswhentheypopintoyourhead.It’samazinghowquicklyyouforgetalotofgoodstuff.
OneofthethingsIshouldhavedonedifferentlyinthepast(butwhichIhavedonenow)isfindastrongpartnerwhohasskillsthatIlackordon’thavetimefor,suchasbusinessmanagement.IbroughtonaCEOtodobusinessdevelopmentandmanagethiscompanysothatwecangrowandsothatIhavetimetocreateanddothethingsthathelpourclientssucceedandfocusonproductsandnewideasandopportunities.Onepersonusuallycan’tdoitall.Findingagreatpartnerorcompanyenvironmentthatallowsyoutoexploreanddoyourbestworkisoftenthedifferencebetweenahappydesignerandastrugglingone.
It’softenthroughthesetypesofeventsandconferencesthatwemeetpeopleandcompanieswhoshareourinterestsandgoals(whichcreatesopportunitiestoworktogether),whichisofcourseexactlywhatyouwantasapersonjuststartingoutintheircareer.
Thislastone,theonewhodoesboth,bringshomethebiggestdollarsfromourprojects.
ButgenerallyIuseanappcalledTheHitList.IturnoffallIMappsuntilaparticulartaskisdone,andItendtoworklatetocompensateforthelapsesinconcentrationthatinvariablyhappenduringtheday.
Therearenomagicalsolutionsinthecareerofadesigner.Everysinglepersonhasadifferentpath,adifferentvision,adifferentresult,andthatmakesthisjobunique.
Aboutthreeyearsago,Irealizeditwasgettingtobeverydifficulthandlingeverythingonmyown.Asafreelancerturnedstudioowner,Iworeallthehatsintheshop:accountant,bookkeeper,maintenanceperson,receptionistandeventually,whenIhiredstaff,personaldirectorandcounsellor.Iwasalsotakingoncreativeprojects,somytimewasextremelythin.
ItwasthenthatIhiredavirtualassistanttohelpmewiththeday-to-dayadministrativetasksofrunningabusiness.Shehelpsmewithemail,newprojectrequests,accountsreceivableandpayables,justaboutanythingIneedtohelpmere-focusmytimeawayfromadministrativedutiesandbackontothecreativeworkIlovedoing.
Whenyouaren’tgettingenoughsleep,eatingenoughfood,drinkingenoughwater,andyourfamilyiswonderingwhetheryou’vegonemissing,thatisgenerallywhenyouknowyouneedtoeitherscalebackalittleorhire.