Her ideas about working with clients are noteworthy, but don't you think her blog is too busy? Yours is much better in appearance and navigability. Now, the Digital Web Magazine site--that's a beaut!

Yours is much better in appearance and navigability.

So, where do I send the check? ;-)

I agree that she has a multitude of elements on her site, but the layout is such that I don't find it particularly frenzied. If you click through to a specific post, it's quite readable.

The one thing I don't like about it is that it requires a wider browser window than I normally use.

She makes a comment in the interview to the effect that you either have design talent or you don't, and if you don't, well, you're just out of luck.

I tend to agree -- I like Stephen King's take on this general area of human endeavor -- it is impossible to make a competent writer out of a bad writer, and it is equally impossible to make a great writer out of a good one, but it is possible, with a lot of work, to make a good writer out of a merely competent one.

I've done a lot of web work, and while I am a competent *reviewer* of design, no amount of effort would take me beyond "not totally pitful" when it comes to original creative design work. I'm just not wired that way -- I can edit/suggest/help evolve from a starting point, but to take that blank canvas and create anything but a tired copycat of something else is beyond my abilities. (Thankfully, that's OK -- my job, as I often describe it, is to be the plumber/electrician and let the designers wear the ascots and do the interviews... :-)

And you're nuts if you think your design on this blog alone places you anywhere but in the good+ category.

When it comes to dealing with clients and deadlines, cost, etc., I follow the rule my Daddy taught me...

There are three options:
Done right, done fast, or done cheap. The customer gets to pick two out of three.

I'm with Rob, above, who found her blog too busy. Way too busy! My eyes started to cross.

Plus, it forces you to use a sidebar-less Firefox window (I keep my bookmarks open at the left side all the time) to see the full page.

While that layout might work fine for other sites, I'm not sure it works for a blog. Plus the only post showing is the current one. Where are the rest?

I hate to disagree with you O wise one, but I'm not impressed with her blog at all.

Give me the Gazette's clean design and easy readability any day of the week.

Well, I have learned never to argue design, because it's such a subjective area. One can argue usability or accessibility, because there are some fairly objective standards for judgment, but everyone has their own opinions about what makes a good-looking site.

What does impress me about her site is the technical prowess involved in pulling it off. If you browse through her source code and CSS, you'll see what I mean.

I confess to preferring a cleaner look, but not everyone goes for that sort of thing.

Bret, I'm not sure that King didn't lift that quote from "All That Jazz," where Roy Scheider (playing choreographer Bob Fosse) tells a young female dancer who's having a bad rehearsal and wants to quit, "I don't know if I can make you a great dancer, or even a good dancer, but if you keep working, I'm sure I can make you a better dancer." Then again, maybe Fosse stole King's line.

John, believe it or not, for the right client and project I can do all three. It's not a recommended model for ongoing business, however. ;-)

I have to third the opinion that Veerle's site is a bit busy - technically superior, perhaps, but a little hard on the eyes. And the colors are weird.

The good thing about your approach to web design is that you keep it simple.

I'm a GMC truck commercial kind of guy: do one thing, do it well. And simple is what I do well. ;-)

I for one like your layout, Eric (though I kinda miss the pre-blogathon look, but I don't like change and I suspect that's what is behind my resistance to the current look - it's not that different.)

As for design, I had an art teacher in college who said that with enough work, anyone could be a great artist - just some will have to work harder than others. This has always been my contention re: learning to program as well. That said, I disagree with her "you've either got it or you don't" though I will give her "you've either got it easiliy or you have to work for it." :)

I didn't go look at her site, so can't comment, but as I like a clean look, I imagine I'd think it was too busy as well - which is pretty much how I feel about 98% of the content on the Internet.

I think Veerle Pieters' blog is also too busy. Simplicity like this one works better. No bribe given for this comment. :)

I'm obviously quite late to the discussion, but I have to echo the opinion that Pieters' blog is too busy. With so many graphic elements warring for the visitor's attention, how can she ever hope to focus their attention on the content?

And please... don't become one of those deluded designers who thinks Flash is the be-all and end-all. I'm getting really, really sick of sites where I can't even bookmark specific pages because all the navigation is popping, whirling Flash goo that won't let me get my clipboard on a real URL.

Keep the faith, Brother Eric.

P.S. - I apologize for no fewer than two flagrant grammatical errors in my previous comment.

Beth, I just haven't gotten around to reinstalling the pre-blogathon style sheet. It's on my to-do list. But...I do have a re-design in the works. ;-)

AC, thanks for the vote of confidence...and for not demanding what little I have left in my payola fund.

Foo, I'm not a fan of Flash sites, but I do think there are legitimate uses of Flash objects. Some cutting-edge designs are using a combination of Flash and CSS to deliver what looks like HTML text (and it's indexable by search engines, if done properly), but it allows the use of non-standard fonts...which is the Holy Grail of most designers who eventually chafe under the limitation of Verdana, Arial, Georgia and Times New Roman.

That said, the problem isn't so much with me feeling that Flash is needed to build a good website, but so many potential clients are under the impression that that's what it takes. I'm always afraid I sound like a whiny underachiever when I tell them I don't do Flash (but I usually add that I'll be happy to redesign their Flash site when they find they can't get it updated or it stops working).

I can't believe my GrammarHammer® MT Plug-in filter didn't stop your poorly worded comment! ;-)

After reading all the comments, I knew I didn't need to click over to confirm that yes, indeed, her blog is way (WAY) too busy! I'm with the others...your niche is clean and simple, get 'er done, GMC Truck commercial design. And that's a great niche to be in. It is classic. And it is desireable from a reader's perspective. Sometimes clients think they are impressing with all the whistles and bells, but mostly it does nothing but confuse the reader. Your job as a designer is to remind them of this, imho. "Less is more," in the words of a very famous designer.

And I don't believe you either have it or you don't. I do believe you either want to engage in design or you don't. Design is far too subjective to put limitations on who "has it."

I know that this discussion has ended, but I just can't thank you enough for not "Flahing" on the ole website. That is one picture that I don't want floating through the ole eye-socket ;>)

Gwynne, thanks for the kind words. I really wasn't fishing for compliments with this post, but it's always nice to know that ones efforts meet with some approval. I also like your take on who "has it or doesn't."

Lyle, the discussion never ends around here (well, technically, that's not true; in two weeks, my little Comment Ogre will slam the door on additional input to prevent spam, but until then...), and we're always especially grateful for inSIGHTful observations and FLASHES of brilliance. Ha. Get it? ;-)

Too much is still too much. Less is more. All those cliches - they're actually true. I don't like busy design which is overly designed to say "hey, look how good I am at designing." I can't handle the overload. Balancing lots of elements means a designer didn't learn to edit him/herself. Pruning.

I like clean, simple, organized, and nothing fighting for focus. I wouldn't stick around and read that blog because it is too distracting for a person like me. Think of it this way: Adrian Monk's head would explode if he saw that page. It's all wrong for a certain type of person (like me) who can't take too much extraneous distraction. It seems illogical, which is something the design shouldn't do, just your blog writing. (Heh.)

I'm not just saying this to make you feel better. I'm serious. Simple simple simple - always better for a certain set of people, the people who don't deck their homes out with lots of drapery and Victorian furniture, for example

OK. Way too long of a comment. Just saying don't be distracted because it's a dog and pony show if all you're looking for is a cat.