Web design is package design

The main thing non-web people (IE clients) don’t understand about the internet is that web design is package design. It’s a wrapper around what really important, the content.

This is how clients think of the web

Let’s imagine a scenario where you’re a widget maker. Your widgets are friggin’ awesome. Since you started widget-making, these things have been flying off the shelf of your corner widget store. You can’t wait to get your widgets out to a broader customer-base. You say, “Man, I need to expand my widget sales by shipping them to customers that can’t come to my widget store. I need to put these things in a box of some sort so I can deliver them to people.”

We are the box makers

That’s where web designers come in. We are the box-makers. If you think of web design in this way, a lot of basic design concepts come naturally. What kind of box is best for the widget? How should it close? How should it open? Is the box hard to open? Is it clearly labeled?

This is also where a ton of widget makers get strung out over the box. I was once told in an interview that “The problem with web sites is that they’re all so black and white.  It’s so boring! I want a site with TONS of colors.” Tons of colors? Fair enough. Should I dust off the ol’ marquee tag?

Focus on the box

As designers we’re trained to focus on the box, but in relation to the widget. Many clients simply view a website as another widget. Something pimp-out, toss in features, and put on their shelves for sale.

This is clearly wrong because it ignores the purpose of a site, to house content. Would you buy an empty box? Probably not. Would you buy something if you needed to struggle for a half hour with garden shears to open the damned thing? Probably not. Yet this is what we are creating, time and time again.

Getting on the same page

The trick here is communication. Direct communication where possible. It’s usually the case that a client just wants what’s best for their company. If you can communicate your ideas and make it clear to them why that is the best thing for their company, they will likely be onboard. It just takes a little finesse.