Damian Conway is a PhD in computer science and, until recently, was honorary professor of computer science at Monash University. He’s a designer, a columnist and an author.
Why does the web still suck for most mortal users – and how can we reduce the suck-tion. We need a service pack for the whole damn web – Web 2.0.1. The problem is… web designers. Or at least their collective subconscious. It’s fun to think of yourself as a preternaturally higher being, yet more productive to think of yourself as a physician. So rather than bitching about what is wrong with the web, let’s come up with a new way of thinking about the web. Hippocratic web design;
I swear the following oath
- To study and share good design practices
- And then actually use those practices
- While avoiding the things I know to be fatal
- I will not pretend to be a specialist in technologies I know little about
- I won’t screw my clients (metaphorically)
- I will preserve my clients confidentiality
So how?
- Help them to find you
- Help them to find it
- Help them to read it
- Help them to understand it
- Help them to buy/learn it
It’s great for the Web 2.0 community to hear about reaching for the stars – but don’t forget the real users. There’s way too much talk about CSS, XHTML, web standards but not enough about people.
Hey, don’t forget … “then Damian showed us a picture of another guy with a kitten”.
Webstock 2009 was awesome, and Damian wrapped it up so well.
Project Managers and Business Analysts have got their act together with defining a Body of Knowledge and a professional code of conduct, it was about time someone kicked this off for web designers too.