Part 2: Browsers, dodging arrows and improving visual design

With the recent release of Netscape 6, developers were horrified to discover their websites were a mess in the new browser. What advice do you have for them?
Test with 6 if you think a significant enough portion of your audience will be visiting with it, and correct your code to fit. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. It's a shame that developers are the pioneers with arrows in their backs, but this is still a new terrain, and we're frankly at the browser's mercy.

There are always fixes, as much as you resent having to make the tradeoffs. I don't condone what Netscape did, but it is a wakeup call to us all that lets us know our ground is still unstable. And we all knew that a website was never finished, right?

What do you recommend to developers who want to improve their skills in the area of visual design on a website?
There are lots of books on design, typography, color and composition. Go to the art section of the bookstore, not the computer section! For Web-design specifically, Robin Williams has written a series of books called, "Design for the Non-Designer" that are good. Look at magazines you like, at movie titles, go see art in the museum. Design is everywhere, and a lot of classic and successful design principles aren't necessarily web-specific.

Flash is hot. Yet, people are complaining that Flash is used improperly and has long wait times. How and when should Flash be used, if at all?
All of the Web is used improperly at times. It's not the tool's fault; it's the ignorance of the person using the tool. If you follow good navigation principles and understand design hierarchy and user experience, the chance of your Flash work and HTML work being successful are quite high. Web graphics can sometimes be too big, but does that mean no one should use graphics?

The real issue is that the Web is still young. It's like desktop publishing. Everyone thought they were a desktop publisher when postscript and laser printers hit the market and there was dreadful work being created everywhere. It's a question of maturity and talent. Those people and companies that are skilled in design will rule this universe as soon as the newness of it all fades away and natural attrition occurs.

How is Flash abused?
Flash designers aren't using hyperlinking well. You often have to wait through long involved animations with sounds to get to the next point in the presentation. There is too much gratuitous animation and sound that have nothing to do with what is being communicated. I think that people have been too focused on making something move and feel like a movie instead of supporting the content that is being communicated.

How do you see Web design changing in the next 12 months?
More maturity, better design. Obviously, the age of the dot com is over, and companies are now using the Web as an extension of what they already did. The business model isn't, "build a website and they will come." It is, "have a business that works on its own and use a website to support it."

We're seeing a lot of large companies sending in-house staff to train with us, instead of using web design firms. There are still lots of jobs out there for talented trained people; it's just shifting in terms of whom to work for. The age of templates and data-driven sites has only just begun, that will become a lot more prevalent. The Web offers a host of new tools, and no one can master these tools overnight. With time, everything will improve. We still have to make mistakes though, there's really no avoiding it.

Thanks for your insight, Lynda.