I think what you’re talking about is more along the lines of consistent brand identity than project direction. However, I do agree that some websites can look hobbled together. I think this problem occurs most often when a company has a new promo website that focuses on a new product or service. In many cases, there’s a completely different identity that doesn’t jive with the existing brand at all. Sometimes, it may be warranted, especially if the product is self-contained, or if the brand is in the process of realigning itself. But, more often than not, I can’t help but feel whoever was in charge of designing the website had no regard for the brand at all, and was only interested in aesthetics and self expression.

Keep up the great articles, they’re worth it! :)

… a satisfied, validated individual who’s proud of his work and station in life makes for better, stronger society, moreso than any design project could.

Well said!

I think you’re right — we’re bound to affect others’ perception according to our own belief system, no matter how objective we try to be. But there’s no harm in that; like you said, we should only try to be true to ourselves. In a broad sense, a satisfied, validated individual who’s proud of his work and station in life makes for better, stronger society, moreso than any design project could.

… on the occasion that taking a certain job does reflect my personal moral compass, I feel that it’s my responsibility to make a decision based… on what the finished product says about me as a person

Agreed. I think that’s all we can really do, and I think it’s true for all professions. Ultimately, we can’t dictate what other people think, and it’s not something we should be doing anyways. The only thing we should be promoting is the freedom of thought and open communication.

It’s not my responsibility to tell people what to believe, regardless of my power as a designer to have people perceive things in a certain way.

I think this is where things start getting fuzzy. I agree that it’s not our responsibility to tell people what to believe, but, as you said yourself, we do have the power to make people perceive things in a certain way. I think Milton Glaser said it best when he said that we have access to people’s minds, hence his belief that we have the responsibility to communicate ideas that cause no harm to society.

As much as we might like to distance our personal beliefs from our professional work, it’s usually the case that we’ll accept projects that don’t conflict with our own morals and ethics. I think all of us have a bit of innate hubris—it’s what makes us human. By simply accepting a project, we make the first step towards imposing our beliefs (but perhaps not ideals) on other people.

Of course, maybe we’re waxing philosophical a bit much. My intent with my original post on social responsibility was to suggest that we should carefully consider our work and make sure that we stay true to ourselves. Doing otherwise would just be a disservice.

To me, being socially responsible means only taking the jobs whose premise, message, or motives I agree with. But the fact is, the vast majority of jobs I take are ethically neutral; they’re strictly there for me to make sure I pay my rent at the end of the month, and require no moral or ethical stance.

However, on the occasion that taking a certain job does reflect my personal moral compass, I feel that it’s my responsibility to make a decision based, not on how others will perceive my work or how it shapes their ideas of the product/service advertised, but on what the finished product says about me as a person.

It’s not my responsibility to tell people what to believe, regardless of my power as a designer to have people perceive things in a certain way. My job has nothing to do with right and wrong, and everything to do with answering a brief; my responsibility, though, to myself and to my own belief system, is to do work that I can look at and be proud of, both for its artistic merit and for its moral reflection on me. This has very little to do with what I think other people should believe.

The sort of attitude you’re talking about — acting as another’s moral compass based on personal beliefs — is hubris. Most people don’t care what we believe, and will have their moral perception shaped how they see fit, regardless of the design community. What matters is, not telling others what to think (in a moral sense), but making sure our work reflects what we believe in a socially responsible way.

After writing this post, and also having just read yours, I’m starting to think that there’s a flaw in this kind of thinking. While I still think that we should have some responsibility to make a positive change in this world, I’m wondering if we should really be the Communications Police. Seems rather idealistic in a totalitarian greater-than-thou kind of way. In other words, it just seems wrong, don’t you think?

I think I need to work on a follow-up post…

I agree though. It’s important to realize that what we do as designers can have a direct impact on the rest of the world.

Some might call that egotistical, because we’re ultimately here to answer a brief and make our clients happy while at the same time keeping food on the table and a roof over our heads. But design has such a serious effect on the human psyche — effective design does, anyway — that we need to be careful as to what, exactly, we’re doing with our billable hours.

I’d been so comfortable in the old interface when I started using it. Simple to understand tabs, large clickable buttons, draggable interface elements, etc. What’s not to like?

Your statement highlights our amazing ability to adapt to the objects that we use. Even with the most unusable interface, given enough time and practice, many people can learn to use it quickly. Of course, anything should be designed to require the minimum amount of adaptation and learning necessary. It’s not that the old WordPress was difficult to use—it just required more thought than necessary, especially for people who are new to the CMS. Whether WordPress 2.5+ makes life easier for more experienced bloggers is something that we’ll witness with time.

I’d been so comfortable in the old interface when I started using it. Simple to understand tabs, large clickable buttons, draggable interface elements, etc. What’s not to like?

But they streamlined so much. I regard Zeldman &co. very highly in this business, and they really delivered in spades (though as you noted, it’s not perfect, and will likely never be).

I think, ultimately, the face lift was a long time coming. I’ve used WP on client sites for no less than a year, and many have been using it professionally for much longer than that; it’s about time WordPress looked as professional and sophisticated as it actually is.

Thanks again for the comment!

Cheers for the recent message, your site looks really effective.

All the best, Matt

Glad to have you here!

I’m current loving Media Temple, although thinking about upgrading from Gridserver to DV if I can afford it.

Good luck!

Jon: You first introduced me to Swiss pie, and now you tell me about Swiss soup. What’s next on the menu? =) Thanks again.

I have to disagree, I think I got soup. A classic Swiss soup, if you don’t mind me saying so. Great write-up, even better process. All the best with your journey. :)