Since the beggining of the web, designer’s have asked many questions, but none so very debated as “Do I Design For Me? Or For The User?” Most will tell you for the user (I’d imagine), some will argue otherwise, but where should you put yourself in this ongoing battle? It all comes down to personal philosophy, but I’d like to possibly open some doors on this issue, that you might not have thought of otherwise.

The “I’ve got an idea for a site” probably pops into your head at least a couple of times a day, I can relate, but how one designs that site to be used should almost immediatly be put at the top of a very long list for the “idea” to surface as a real site. The user is the biggest thing one can worry about when making a site, they are of course what drives the site, without those users you just wasted a month of your life, designing your vision. Now, in my humble opinion, I believe that the usability of the site should be totally designed around the user. In fact when I design, I make a skeleton site, with no images or colors, nothing but text in a layout. I then ask anyone around me, ussually someone not very well versed in the workings of the Web, to see if they can figure it out. I take suggestions and then make corrections untill I’ve got an entirely usable layout. People should be able to find whatever they’re looking for, without having to ask/guess. If they have to, they will most likely not recieve the experience that you envisioned, and also probably not come back.

Now comes the fun part, your design. I truly believe that this is the domain of the designer/client, as long as the user knows what is going on then you can do whatever you like with the design. Think of the web as a community (a town if you will) and your domain is your housing lot. You have the freedom to design that house to look like whatever you please, it’s your house, have fun with it. The only requirement is, as I’ve stressed above, that a user can interpret the content in which you have provided for them. Who want’s a unique house with a labrynth of tunnels, none of which lead to where wants to go (i.e. the bathroom).

Design is a fickle thing, you’ll never win everyone’s heart with a design, so don’t listen to the “haters,” but do listen to those who have problems. Your content is key to your site, showcase it as you envision it, but make sure others can easily enterpret the navigation, articles, etc. Otherwise what was the point? Design is for designers, usability is for all. Hope that helps someone out there make the decision about how to design.

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