Thread

Hello…

I am an Economist, with a keen taste for programing webpages… but my"taste” and creativity for the design of a site is close to nill…

So…please answer the poll and help us Designinpaired ones to improve 😊, where should I invest? Should I take another graduation, or can I punish my parents because of my genetic information?

😊

JPCarvalhinho

Your poll doesn’t include beauty in the world, other people, or any form of alcohol. 😊

Taste is so subjective. There are rules to design and I think “taste” is a matter of how good a person is at breaking and bending those rules toward the particular need of the art or the client or in rare cases, both.

I can’t remember who said it, but the gist of it went something like “creativity is unlearned through education”. I would have to say of the list you’ve given us ‘My basic education’ plays a large role in each of us.

Your poll doesn’t include beauty in the world, other people, or any form of alcohol. 😊

Couldn’t that be “God inspires me…” 😊

Salt!

mmm…tasty web designer…

I checked the “basic education” box because, as Les mentioned, there are design rules, color theroes, typographic principles and I learned those in design school. That set me up for the basics. After that though it’s been mostly practice and self study…books and online. The biggest to me though is just observation…what others are doing, what works and why.

And, for taste, I agree, salt.

testing

I put my everyday surfing and learning. I draw inspiration from what is going on online. I dont have any education as a designer other than what I have picked up online. I come from the “education is where you find it” camp. In other words I dont care for education that takes place in a classroom. But if someone is driven enough and really wants to learn something they will seek out the education whether it be from other people or from books. Anyway, just my .02 but my English degree does little for my Web Design.

Taste is so subjective.

It is, and it’s not.  Paul Graham discusses this in terrific detail here:

Taste for Makers

Reader’s Digest:

“It’s a matter of pride, and a real pleasure, to get better at your job. But if your job is to design things, and there is no such thing as beauty, then there is no way to get better at your job. If taste is just personal preference, then everyone’s is already perfect: you like whatever you like, and that’s it.”

Poll needs two more of the most important elements:
Old age and country livin
lol

Everyday browsing and learning comes the closest. Good design is time based, you spend time creating the solution, but if you don’t see any beauty in the final outcome, you will never be a designer of any great consequence. Oh yeah you’ve got to know your way around an image editor also.