I can sum it up easily.
A multiple levelled minefield of decisions with the added coating of complexity because it’s your own work and design. Then add in, continuing advancements in technology and software that will bring you crashing down on decisions you made at the very beginning. You then finally understand: whatever you do will never be good enough. I wish I could apply the calm and logical mindset that comes so easily when designing for a client, but I can’t.
The comforts of technology.
You know where you are with tech. Probably that’s why there are 1000’s of youtube videos dedicated to it. This thing does this, but this new thing does it better. Well, I now need the thing that does it better for my business, so it too can be better. It’s a simplicity that draws you in.
For a client, I listen, then think what platform meets all their requirements, and move forward with that platform.
For my own site, my questions get bent and deformed. Is the platform the best? Does it use all the latest technologies? Will it still be the best in 3 months, 8 months, 2 years?
The internal questions continue to bombard you as the project develops.
Aaah, a new website platform is out that does more and is easier. Should I start over? My design is no longer relevant as the colour ‘coral’ is in fashion. A new CSS rule is now enabled on modern browsers, I will recode all my fonts. Neumorphism designs are cool. What would my current design look like if it shoved neomorphism into every possible element? I believe that this image would be 100% better if I added 3.56% saturation to the nose.
As a creative designer, just because you can does not always mean that you should.
Let me put it another way. Imagine you are designing your website. Now imagine that you can take any photo or any video. You have the technical knowledge to achieve it all and gear to make it all happen. Now add in typography and colour management and colour theory and every software platform you need to design and edit with. Come to think of it, doing all this is free. If I want to change or add something, all it costs me is time.
Deep in the woods lost, trying to get out.
With a client, I very much create bite-size pieces to large projects. Not only for them but for myself. It creates structure and progression. When I view my work, every image, every word is more important. The more important it becomes, the more defects I start to see and the more opportunities I have to make it better. It’s a circle of perfection. Don’t get me wrong. I am a perfectionist and I believe it’s a good thing! But when you have this with no restraints -and normally budget is the main restraint- it can become a never-ending cycle.
I need it all.
That total and undying belief that you can not launch until every possible item is done… My site will not launch with every single thing done and I hate this so much. I have so many past and current projects that I need to have on my portfolio. Art Frame Center logo and website, Louis Belgium photography work, Colora, Cloud Innovation, Studio 100,… the list goes on. Creating all the assets -images, videos and text- are all designed to tell a story. Each one takes around 5 days to create.
I just don’t have enough time to do them all and in the end, I hear my own words being said to a client “Break your priorities down into must-haves and nice-to-haves”. I have to have a portfolio. I can continue to add projects over time and I will.
So there you have it, boom, a 2021 January 1st launch date. A few more grey hairs and the feeling that within a few more months I will begin my next company website on a new, even better, platform.
And just maybe I will add another 3.56% saturation to that nose.