» The long overdue dedicated web design application | The New Black Melbourne Web Design

The long overdue dedicated web design application

I was recently reading Jason Santa Maria’s article “A Real Web Design Application” which talks about the need for an application that’s made for web design. I read with amazement that id never really thought this through before – there isn’t a dedicated application specifically for web design. It was the elephant in the room. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew this was missing but the lack of discussion (I assume) resulted in it never being a conscious thought. I guess this is why I wanted to write this post, if this application doesn’t exist partly because there isn’t discussion about its need then that’s something the web design community can help with and this is my part.

The problem with the status quo

The design process for me is, from what I have seen and read, a pretty common one. It starts with pencil and paper, where I crudely mock up some rough ideas for the workflow and basic wireframe. Then ill go into Photoshop, mock up a basic wireframe/interface layout and then from there ill produce a full design for each of the key pages of the website. From there I go onto coding and database development etc.

The key here is the Photoshop part of the process. That I use a program called PHOTOshop should have triggered something earlier. We all know Photoshop has developed organically into much more than a photo editing application, but it still remains that it was never intended when it was initial developed to be used for designing websites.

Surely with the web design industry growth it is time for the lack of a true web design application to be rectified. Developing an application from scratch would surely come up with a multitude of benefits that Photoshop could never achieve, and it would allow Photoshop to focus on photo editing which would help reduce a common complaint about Photoshop these days – that its become too bloated.

So what should this app do?

This app should not be just another versions of Dreamweaver’s design view. Jason’s article I think borders on that a little too much. As far as I’m concerned there are 3 distinct stages of the web design/build process and good reasons for keeping them separate. Although thought and consideration needs to exist between them all, I think given their different purposes they should and always will remain separate.

The 3 stages are the planning/wireframing, design and build stages. This application should be for the second stage. It could incorporate the wireframing part of the 2nd stage, but I don’t think that some merging of the design and build stages is what is needed. Its important to be unburdened by the routine and structure of the build phase when designing, to ensure creativity isn’t stifled. Any dedicated app for web design would surely make the build stage more consistent and therefore improved anyway.

Here are the areas I think a web design app could vastly improve:

• Font handing – Having consistent rendering of fonts as they will appear in the browser is an obvious one for anyone how has taken a design from photoshop to the web.
• Standard layouts and common interface elements- A master file for each website, that in it allows for each page layout and to would be a god send. This could include common sections such as header, footer being consistent across designs so any changes are carried through, and well as global styles for elements (paragraphs, images, panels etc.). Also common elements could be simply dropped into the design when needed (similar to the library in flash I guess) with any changes to them carried across all instances.
• Page states – websites rarely are completely static, so being able to show various states of websites without have different versions of files or elements that have to be hidden/unhidden constantly would help in showing the interactions of a website greatly.

The way forward

I recall around 2007 an adobe executive talking about how the photoshop of the future would adapt to the specific need of the user – be they graphic designer, photographer, web designer etc. But why do we need photoshop to be an all in one application. I doubt adobe would take this approach without developing its own web design app in fear of losing market share, but perhaps with is too risky a move for a company like adobe. This is why I think a new player needs to come in with a fresh view. then it might force adobes hand anyway.

So lets get some discussion started on what designers need, and support start-ups that have already starting venturing into this field. Because if they are successful (and if they are they will make a tonne of money) we will have a application that with greatly help and impact on web design for the future. Spread the word…

I recommend reading Jason’s article. He makes some good points (and much more concisely than I can) and goes into detail a bit more about specifics on what the web design app could do and how.

No comments yet.

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

Website