Left Lane

I am all for innovation and fresh design ideas. However, I am not all for time limits. If it is taking me a long time to conceptualize a design for a project, I don’t sit down and force myself to design. A little thought goes a long way.

This goes for personal projects as well. Design tends to flow in my head. I like the concept of a “reboot” day, but frankly it’s too restricting. It creates a roadblock for creativity. This is why I’ve decided to break from the mold and denounce the idea of a design “reboot.”

Imagine if all computers in the world rebooted on the same day. Chaos! I compare this chaos roughly to what happens on “CSS Reboot” day: insanity. I’ve never seen so many new designs on one day in my life. After we sift through tons of sites, we can see the good, the bad, and the ugly. In one way, it’s good: folks get a chance to promote themselves in CSS design, some even for the first time. We must welcome these people with admiration and respect; it is a hard thing to jump into table-less design with CSS and web standards.

Take time to consider, though, how many designs you see that could be a lot better, given a little more time. I see many well-thought out concepts that were rushed because of the “reboot” deadline and suffered because of it. I bet that if those people did not feel the pressure to get their sites ready, they would have more time to conceptualize and add details that shine.

In addition, the connotation I give to the word “reboot” is a negative one. I reboot my computer when something goes wrong. When the reboot is complete, essentially nothing on my computer has changed (I hope). Why should I call designing my web site anew making it “reboot?” Presumably the design that is shown before any “rebooting” had nothing intrinsically wrong with it; I just became bored with the design.

I suggest calling it a refresh. I can refresh my personal appearance by getting a haircut or a new pair of shoes (or an extreme makeover! oh wait, they’re just building houses for felons now). I can refresh the look of my car by getting a car wash. I would like to think that if I am redesigning my web site then I am essentially giving it a refreshed look. I am applying new color and design principles to a site. Bring the analogy a step further: when I refresh my browser, I am able to see the new design.

So take your time. The web deserves it.

Posted in Design, Web, Rant.