29 October Accepting Your Limitations as a Web Designer October 29, 2019 Case Studies, General, Opinion Piece, Trends, Web Design With the sometimes-overwhelming number of tools, libraries and technologies out there, it's impossible to know it all. Yet it also seems like those of us in the web design industry place a great deal of pressure on ourselves to keep up. It can lead to a feeling of being burned out and hopelessly behind. The truth is that there's only so much you can know. After all, you have clients to serve and a limited amount of time to dedicate to learning. Therefore, there are going to be some skills where you're either not proficient or simply lacking. This is one of the hardest things for many of us to accept. If you look around, you're being bombarded with messages that you should know JavaScript like the back of your hand or how to crank out sites with a static CMS. If not, your career is apparently doomed. Every one of us has our own limitations. So, how do we learn to accept it? How can we still thrive as designers and developers? A Common Scenario Raise your hand if you've ever been in this situation. You're working on a project and your client requests a new feature (never mind the scope creep for the moment). The feature requires a skill you aren't so adept at - let's say it's writing some custom ASP.net. Sure, you can do a little bit of coding here and there - but you've never taken on something this dense. You're a little bit wary of saying yes, but you agree to do it. You begin building the must-have feature and hope that you can learn as you go. While you do pick up on some of the concepts involved, you quickly realize that you are running into some roadblocks. You're spending precious time and resources trying to piece things together from tutorials and support sites. Meanwhile, your deadline is approaching. This is not a good feeling. Finding a Better Approach It's likely that some version of this scenario has happened to most of us at one time or another. At first glance, it may seem like our lacking of a certain skill (ASP.net, in this case) is the culprit. But that's not the whole story. Sure, it would be nice to have a Jedi-like mastery of the language. But in our made-up plot, it's just not in our skillset at this point in time. And by refusing to accept that fact, we put ourselves (and our client) into a tough spot. If you're a fan of sports or action movies, you know the narrative of the brave soul who takes a hit but comes back stronger. However, web design is neither of these things. While star athletes and action heroes can afford to spend endless amounts of time fighting their battles, we have other things to do. So, while attempting to wing your way through this type of project sounds noble, it's also counter-productive. Instead, there are a few things you can do that will be more effective in the long run: Explain the Reality to Your Client When it comes to client relations, honesty is the best policy. As such, having a frank discussion about your own limitations can be a bit freeing. Plus, it sets a realistic level of expectation with your client. For the most part, clients tend to appreciate having some guidelines regarding what can and perhaps can't be done (at least, not without some extra steps). Make a Plan Now, this doesn't mean that your client doesn't get what they want/need. That still has to happen. So, in your discussion, it's important to have a plan for how that new feature gets implemented and what it will take to get there. This could mean pushing the deadline back. The advantage here is that you have enough time to work through all of the potential roadblocks. Or, it might require hiring on an expert to help out (and bumping up the budget accordingly). That will save you the burden of having to figure it all out on your own. Follow Through As far our fictional client is concerned, the most important part of this whole scenario is the end result. How it happens is of little consequence. So, by following through with the above process, we can satisfy their needs while avoiding a negative experience ourselves. Instead, we've taken the step to acknowledge our limits and still found a way to facilitate a positive outcome. Even better, the world didn't end just because there was something we didn't quite know. Pretty cool, huh? It's All About Perspective The web design industry, and society itself, often look at limitations as some sort of massive flaw. As if to say, because we can't do absolutely everything, that maybe we're not worthy of an opportunity. Both freelancers and agencies tend to perpetuate this myth by promising everything under the sun. The whole "we can do it all" narrative is great for marketing, but little else. The reality is far different. Accepting it is the first step towards breaking free of the impossible standards placed upon us. Related Posts Losing Motivation as a Designer and What You Can Do Sometimes, you just don’t want to do your work. It can be such a hassle to get up, start up the computer, fire up the software, and do what needs to be done. You feel tired and bored, having lost sight of why you chose a career in design in the first place, and you find yourself wondering whether you should just give it all up and become a dental hygienist. It can be really demoralizing to lose your motivation part of the way through a project, but what do you do if you absolutely have to get something done regardless of how you feel about it? I’m going to tell you about a technique you can use when you’re feeling burnt out and you simply can’t bear to think about taking one more step to complete that big, hairy project staring you in the face. Grumpy Monkey: Being a Workaholic Designer and How to Recover Designers are very fortunate. Unlike a whole lot of careers out there, we quite often genuinely enjoy what we do. We get to unleash our creative spirit and can make a decent living out of it, too. From my experience, it’s an industry full of talented and passionate people. It can be a bit of a mixed blessing, though. If you’re good at your job, more people will want you to do work for them. The trouble is that you may run into times when there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. Because you’re determined to get it all done, you start early and leave late. You work weekends and take time away from family. You might even be a bit grumpy. The Ups and Downs of Being a Self-Taught Web Designer Not so long ago, web design was a brand-new industry. Because it was so new, there weren’t many opportunities to get a formal education on its fundamentals. Thus, the most direct path to becoming a professional was to teach yourself the necessary skills. That’s how my career started. I studied the source code of different websites and figured out how things worked. I experimented with Photoshop, CSS and eventually other, more challenging languages. Over the years, most of what I know has come from the process of trial and error. Why Content Consistency Is Key To Your Marketing Strategy Many factors contribute to a brand’s success, but perhaps one of the most valuable is content consistency. From social media and blogging to responding to customer reviews and replying to emails, your content needs to maintain a consistent voice, tone and style. Can the Visually Impaired Access Your Site? When designing a website, it’s important to take all potential visitors into consideration. This includes the visually impaired – those afflicted with color blindness, low vision and even total blindness. The first thing to think about when improving the accessibility of your site for the visually impaired is the level of the impairment. Is your site suitable for users with color blindness, low vision, partial blindness and even total blindness? Fortunately, there are several online tools and software available that can help make your site more accessible. The Challenges Web Designers Face in Ensuring Website Accessibility Over the past several years, accessibility has become one of most-discussed topics in web design. And that’s a good thing. As more of our daily lives are moved online, making sure that content and services are available to as wide an audience as possible is crucial. The obligation to do so is both moral and, in some cases, legal.