© Rachael Furn 2007 - 2010
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A sense of style » March 8th, 2008 · See comments
How important is it as a web designer / developer to develop a unique sense of style? I’ve always worked hard to not follow a style, but it seems my efforts have been in vain! In my quest to be different, I actually just result in producing the same work. However, I’m not entirely sure that’s a completely bad thing.
You always create very clean and spacious designs that are generally minimalistic with a set color scheme. I like your style because it’s quite unique from the normal stuff out there. They are different because 95% of personal sites are all “i like the mall n’ lip gloss n’ boys” kind of stuff with ugly celeb blends, teeny text, and all that crap. Either that or they are obviously overdone by someone trying to do too much all at once, like every “Web 2.0″ graphic imaginable. You design stuff to the point, without any question. It makes a visitor appreciate, and focus on, the content more when it’s that way, in my opinion.
That’s something the very kind Melissa told me, and it really got me thinking. Is this “style” I’ve developed something I’ve deliberately worked on, or is it just a result of what I have been working on? Either way, it seems a style has developed inside my work. I agree with everything Melissa has said, even if I don’t always recognise it in my own work. I think it’s a style that has developed subconsciously.
I don’t mind admitting that I’m not the best when it comes to working with graphics / images. This, I think, leads me to focus more on the usability side of things. I love creating layouts that use as few images as possible, and I get really obsessive over my markup, making sure it’s as semantic as possible so that the site still ‘makes sense’ when the layout can’t be seen for whatever reason.
Do you have a style that shows in your work? Can you recognise styles in other people’s works?
© Rachael Furn 2007 - 2010
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I do have a slight style that shows in my work. I use a lot of images; I use a lot of soft colors. I never use highly saturated tones or black. Sometimes, I try – but those colors never work for me.
Anyway, I think that I can recognize a “Rachael.” To me, you design layouts that are intuitive/well-structured, non-fussy, and low on images.
I also work hard to try and keep away from the same style, but like you, It always ends up in vain! I’ve found that I (we as designers), tend to go through prolonged phases of a particular style, whether that is because of a new technique we’ve picked up, or a style we’ve grown accustomed to. The thing is, you don’t realise you’re stuck in a style, until you find the next one
I do believe that each designer has his or her own identity, though, whatever style they use at the time. That identity stays with them throughout. It could be the theory they use behind their designs (grids, usability, etc), or just simply they way they use their design tools. Either way, that is what makes each designer unique, in my opinion. You could have 20 designers, all making something in the same style, but each one would look completely different.
Keep rocking the clean, minimalist designs Rachael!
Rob
Hmm… I haven’t designed layouts for very long, so I’m still discovering my style. I do know that I like to design layouts with different color schemes then everyone – I like to put colors together that look good, but you wouldn’t normally see together. I guess I just try to put some of my personality into the layout.
Oh, and Melissa IS completely right! Your layouts are really clean, and you don’t overuse graphics. Even though your layouts are simple, they’re never boring and are always pretty colorful. You change them a lot and I’ve never disliked one.
I think once you’ve established a design aesthetic, it’s impossible to NOT have a style. I, for instance, wouldn’t be caught dead with an atrocious “celeb” layout and flashing .gif images. I think that having a certain design style is what makes website designer/owners unique. It might feel kind of constricting to be boxed in to a certain style, but on the flipside I think that being labeled a unique designer is definitely a good thing to be labeled as.
Yeahhhh, I knew I got it right! ;D
I actually don’t think I have a style. I just throw different elements together, hoping that it looks nice. I agree with Melissa on your style. They’re very nice to look at, and they’re right to the point; no fancy-pants graphics to make it less readable.
I can imagine a banana somewhere in this design though — besides the banana favicon.
I like your designs, because I feel that you really want your visitors to be able to read your content without getting an eye disease. Compared to those tiny teeny sites which are developed to just trying to inflate the ego, your site is well designed and that is what makes the visitor come back.
About my style, I don’t really know. I tend to use strong colors and gradients, that’s true, but I cannot say whether it is a style at all…
I totally agree with what Melissa said. Simple layouts can be boring, but yours always have the right balance. Like, the layout doesn’t distract from the content, but it’s still interesting and memorable. I don’t think I really have a style, because I’m only just beginning to get the hang of making layouts that aren’t completely hideous. But we’ll see.
That description sounds very accurate of how your designs look like, that’s mostly how I tell your work apart from others
Like I mentioned in the related Snark thread, I can’t see my own style, if I have one :S
i can see your styles in your design i still dont realize why you have Blue border bottoms on your links!
Hey, I like that blue border on the links! Love your current layout anyway, although I do find the default text size a tad small for my aging eyes! Its good to have a style though.