Sponge Project Blog ~ Web design in Tewkesbury

For some people web design or website coding competitions can be a great way to get recognition for their work and where possible make some cash. Take 99Designs as an example. However, are they actually worth it?

I’ve entered a couple of competitions previously both of which I didn’t win. Now I’m not bitter about it because in both of these a better designer was chosen and well done to them. But I do wonder whether the time spent on these competitions (because I have some time on my hands of an evening) was spent wisely?

So this is a slightly inward-looking exploration of why I enter these website design competitions with a view to outlining my take on the pluses and pitfalls.

The pros

• Coding a website is therapeutic. It’s a great way for me to wind down after work and helps de-stress. Some call it a Zen-like state of mind that coders everywhere get: total focus on the moment with resultant high productivity. I love it.
• Getting your name about. Entering the competition, and even better winning it, can be a great way of getting your name about in various circles. From this could come other business and therefore generate some revenue, so all-in-all a good thing.
• My design skills improve. My coding skills are adequate for my needs currently, but “design” is an area that I acknowledge I need to improve on. Gradually, but doing more and more I hone and improve my skills.

The cons

• Are the people judging the competitions cut out to decide what makes a good design? I recently purchased The Principles of Beautiful Web Design (more on that another day) which is a great introduction to web design for the non-designer. Many of the concepts put across seem like common sense to me: clear layout, logical flow of elements, what makes good typography, etc. Now I am not visual designer, but I like to think I know what makes a good or ugly design. Much of my own work could be classified as the latter, but some entries to these competitions are simply dire. No logical flow from one element to the next. No awareness of basic usability. A propensity to over-use PhotsShop plugins.
• I have no proff, but there’s a sneaking suspicion that some people use competitions for underhand purposes. Either they are contracted to do the design and are farming it out making a massive mark-up or they are using the competition to help their own “creative” processes to decide on a design. Either way it doesn’t feel ethical.
• Like spec work, it can mean a lot of effort for potential little or no gain.
• Any kid with a copy of DreamWeaver or PhotShop can enter simply by knocking up a “design”. I’m not classically trained as a designer, but I read and like to think I’ve gleaned enough to know the basics for what makes a good design. Some of the entries aren’t good.
• Template flooding. It might not be a common phrase, but it’s one I’ve just invented. Essentially it describes the underhand practise of template re-seller or unprofessional “web designers” to submit template-based designs to the competition. Yes it’s against the rules and frankly ain’t cricket, but gullible clients get sucked in by their flashy designs. It makes a mockery of the whole website design process and the competition itself.
• Entering competitions could be seen by dire-hard designers as unprofessional or selling out the medium.

The conclusion?

A balanced analysis? Maybe. But at the end of it I’m still not sure if they are a helpful thing for the website design community, but my gut tells me they are a waste of time. Does it help designers get more business? Maybe. Does it promote good design? Arguably. Am I over analysing it? Definitely!

Contact Rob Mason for details on website design and build services in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.