Mike believes that designers have responsibilities, not only to the clients, the craft and themselves but also to the world. He reminded designers to think about the impact of their work on other people, the society and the environment we live in. The positive impact of designers can improve people’s lives, promote sustainability, and make the world a better place but if the impact is negative, it can also destroy the world.
If the design provokes violence, it should not be a surprise that it can hurt someone's feelings or cause someone to feel aggressive. However, a healthier website will help make a better world. One of my favorite websites is called the HK Electric Company. website (Ref: https://www.hkelectric.com) created by one of the electricity companies in Hong Kong. I was inspired by the website to pay attention to sustainability and environmental protection when I was in secondary school and until now, I still found it unique and full of positive energy. The company helps cultivate a greener world with the aim to reduce carbon footprint and improve local air quality by decarbonization, energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy. They launch green campaigns to educate parents, teachers, children and the public on how to reduce carbon emission. Each year, they also hold green competitions to challenge students to submit innovative projects to gain young people’s support to promote environmental sustainability.
Designers have the expertise to make a beautiful website and they can decide what to put on web. The content, images and pictures posted on the web clearly indicates who they are and their work leads back to them. Designers are, therefore, responsible for the content released to the world, for better or for worse. So if designers had in mind to create designs just to earn an income, they would definitely fail as designers.
“You always have a choice!”
Mike also remarked that, “Designers should welcome trouble” and criticism should be welcomed at all times. Though designers love to create and tend to keep decision-making to themselves and choose what is best in their opinion, like the layout, typography and colour palette, etc., finest designers should also view from the perspectives of anyone who may land on their websites. Besides collaborating and communicating with clients to understand their requirements, designers also need to be attentive to their audience who may have different point-of-views, backgrounds and needs. Whether they are working as a team or designing on their own, they should always consider the target audience’s expectations by gathering feedback throughout the process of designing. By stepping into the shoes of the audience, designers will know the reasoning behind for improvement and get better results. The better communication they have with the audience, the greater the results which will be seen on the designs. “You can’t fix a cake once it’s been baked” similar to the idea that you cannot fix a website when it is done!
"What's done cannot be undone."
Designers should view comments and feedback as inspiration rather than challenges.
“To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”
Designers should not be afraid but welcome criticism from the clients, audience and end-users. Designers should look into the reasoning for criticism and analyse comments and feedback with a view to improve their designs. This not only minimizes risk but prevents foreseeable mistakes.
Designers should act as gatekeepers in the industry because they always have a choice to provide what work to put on their website. Designers should not be afraid to make mistakes but learn from mistakes. Good designers should also learn from those who inspire them and help leave the world a better legacy.
I read from a book called, “Fall Off, Get Back On, Keep Going” written by Clare Balding where she said, “Baking is a science!” and “Cake of Kindness” required essential ingredients, such as listening, physical support, sharing and having the correct measurements. What this means to me is that the essential ingredients of a good website require essential ingredients, such as fonts and colours, typesetting and images, etc., and correct measurements which require feedback and criticism from others. The more feedback and comments you receive, the more you can improve.
“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.”
It is easier to make a website “being you” and not for someone else. “You can’t fix a cake once it’s been baked” as remarked by Mike Monteiro just like you can’t fix a website when it is done! So please try to make fine, authentic and gorgeous food to build a healthier world!
“With great power there must also come great responsibility”
The code of ethics are the basics that designers should know. Based on these principles, I did some colour research and tried out some experiments of colour contrast and compliment. I found that earth colours, including blue, brown and grey fits well with the context because they can produce feelings of appealing and reassuring moods to the audience. I hope that viewers would accept Mike's rationale that designers have responsibility to the world and should accept criticism. I used an elegant light purple colour that represents wisdom, royalty, power and authority to spice up the background and make it a unique colour tone. The choice of colour palette blended well with each other. Designers have the power to change. As inspired by some of the reading materials which quotations were marked red, the quotes in my work were hightlighted in italic and marked with red line. This would allow the audience to think about the importance of the context, be alerted of the statements and to support Mike's arguments and ideas.
Newspapers and magazines provide information and knowledge just like Mike's article. In this respect, I referred to these materials for inspiration. I was also inspired to have clear separation of texts in columns, used bold letters and coloured background for headings and sub-headings.
The fonts I used were "Open Sans" and "Inconsolata" because they are legible on the web whether the font size is large or small and the letters are readable as they are quite spaced out.