Is WordPress killing web design?

At the 2010 SXSWi festival, leading creatives from the world of web design asked if CMS tools have made designers lazy while forcing them into following a new set of design conventions.

Presenters

Brendan Dawes, magneticNorth

The two most dangerous things in the world are handguns and content management systems. WordPress takes away the pain of content management, which outweighs the design look and feel. WordPress is an empowering tool when you just need to get the information out there. This follows the Pythagorean mentality that nature is number. Data is a thing that can be molded and formed.

But how you say it is important as what you say. Everybody is starting to rely on themes too much. And it is the lack of imagination that is killing web design. The homogenization of web design is annoying. But it’s not necessarily the result of using the CMS. You don’t see the CMS, just the end result. CMS tools should not dictate the design.

Doesn’t give a shit how it works and long as it works. He doesn’t let the real world bring him down. CMS frees us up to do other things, use other devices and put the information out in a rapid fashion. It is magical because you can switch up your content any time.

Brendan went through a phase where he was changing the look and feel of his site every day. The thinking was that if you change it, you will not die. Take risks and do not be afraid to fail. Do not be afraid to piss people off. We are flat-lining. We living in a world where Opera tell us what books to read. That is not good!

It is exciting to see traditional designers transform in to web designers. Dawes would like to see the worlds of print and web come together more. Sites are becoming more like posters. But it is important to keep in mind that Web is still not print. If fonts get any bigger we are all gonna need to get bigger monitors.

He does not spend a lot of time looking at other websites. Spends time in other areas. He knows how to design websites by learning about other things, which makes you a well-rounded person.

The greater depth of experience you have, the better designer you will be. If you keep yourself interesting, you keep your design interesting. We have a programmer who has read every book ever and that is what makes him interesting. We are surround by a sea of shit. We need to keep our lives interesting and we will produce better work.

Dan Mall, Big Spaceship

The constraints are there, but you can still create within the parameters. CMS tools make life easier and the designers are running out of problems to solve. People are spending too much time on headers and not enough time on the important things like layout, tone, etc. Its all a matter of perspective.

We are problem solvers. We do work that relays to people how you solve problems. Do not let the CMS dictate and make the CMS transparent.

Jina Bolton, Crush + Lovely

Bolton grew frustrated with WordPress and left WordPress to work with “Reflect” for a while. But he ended up going back to WordPress. Themes are good for starting out and learning CSS. Using WordPress is a perception issue. If you view WordPress as a gap that you can not cross, then that is what it will be. Read the documentation so that you know everything you can about what you are doing.

Shane Mielke, 2Advanced Studios

Structure (site map) vs. design. Themes are really good, but not the end all be all. Using a theme for the novice is great. Designers get lazy when they rely on the theme and do not push it, and default to the out of the box solution. Loves design when it is not easy to figure out how the developer did it. Impressed by levels of detail. It acts as a level of expression. Show some detail, show some creativity.

In Mielke’s view, CMS tools are bridging the gap between web design and programing because they allow people to learn. The problem is that people are still afraid to jump in and get their hands dirty. And those who do make the jump are able to customize the web to their unique personality, which is nice.

Information has taken over and there is less of an emotional connection. Get away from the computer and use your hands. Make it tactile and different. Step away from your comfort zone and make it exciting. It is OK to show your personality.