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And We're Go!
The site I did for Kim Wilkins is live, which is cool and exciting and kind of weird.
Goth.net's a big site, and I remember feeling weird and apprehensive when my first design for it went live back in late 2000... I remember feeling like a bit of a fraud, putting up this goth site that had people all over the world seeing it, and assuming we were experts on the subject and such. The way people react to you when you run or design a site, especially a popular domain, can just be a bit strange. And I felt that way because I was a tad insecure about the design, knowing that plenty of people could design better than I could, seeing as Goth.Net at the time was one of my early forays into webdesign. Etc. etc. I'm not one to pat myself on the back for work well done that easily.
Kim's site won't attract the kind of numbers that Goth.Net does, so it's not super mass exposure or anything. But this is the first commercial project I've done that has gone live. A while ago I did a great design (in my probably quite biased opinion) for a site where the site owner later decided, after having it up very shortly, that he preferred the old site/book's artwork and decided to use the old design instead. And the old design stunk, and I'm not just saying that out of ego... it was riddled with bad outdated code, massively unnecessarily oversized graphics and a shoddy look. At least he paid me some money for the design (not enough, another lesson learned), but it was still a disappointment to me. You want to see your work used and appreciated.
But at any rate, Kim's site is one of the few sites that are out there right now that I've designed for someone else entirely, not as a project of my own or one I'm involved with, or something for a very close friend.
I'm still proud of the result. Though it's often hard to judge your own work, you're too close to it. Having stared at it for days or weeks also means it's not as fresh and novel to you as it is to the outside world, so you get a bit jaded and the excitement starts to leave you. But then it's nice to get the outside feedback, that people think it's incredible. It's always nice to hear, even if you've gotten jaded to the point that you're not feeling it's that super special anymore. Creation seems to take (some of) the romance and magic out of the final project... too much behind the scenes exposure can ruin the illusion. It's something I've seen many people comment on over time, so I know I'm not alone.
Goth.net's a big site, and I remember feeling weird and apprehensive when my first design for it went live back in late 2000... I remember feeling like a bit of a fraud, putting up this goth site that had people all over the world seeing it, and assuming we were experts on the subject and such. The way people react to you when you run or design a site, especially a popular domain, can just be a bit strange. And I felt that way because I was a tad insecure about the design, knowing that plenty of people could design better than I could, seeing as Goth.Net at the time was one of my early forays into webdesign. Etc. etc. I'm not one to pat myself on the back for work well done that easily.
Kim's site won't attract the kind of numbers that Goth.Net does, so it's not super mass exposure or anything. But this is the first commercial project I've done that has gone live. A while ago I did a great design (in my probably quite biased opinion) for a site where the site owner later decided, after having it up very shortly, that he preferred the old site/book's artwork and decided to use the old design instead. And the old design stunk, and I'm not just saying that out of ego... it was riddled with bad outdated code, massively unnecessarily oversized graphics and a shoddy look. At least he paid me some money for the design (not enough, another lesson learned), but it was still a disappointment to me. You want to see your work used and appreciated.
But at any rate, Kim's site is one of the few sites that are out there right now that I've designed for someone else entirely, not as a project of my own or one I'm involved with, or something for a very close friend.
I'm still proud of the result. Though it's often hard to judge your own work, you're too close to it. Having stared at it for days or weeks also means it's not as fresh and novel to you as it is to the outside world, so you get a bit jaded and the excitement starts to leave you. But then it's nice to get the outside feedback, that people think it's incredible. It's always nice to hear, even if you've gotten jaded to the point that you're not feeling it's that super special anymore. Creation seems to take (some of) the romance and magic out of the final project... too much behind the scenes exposure can ruin the illusion. It's something I've seen many people comment on over time, so I know I'm not alone.
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I think that both of us need to work on realizing that our talents are not only sought out, but they are in demand. Also, we have to quit thinking that 'anyone can do what I do' or 'I'm not as good as so-and-so', because it's bullshit. If those things were true, people wouldn't pay us for what we do!
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