Panel: Dan Oliver, Jina Bolton, Brendan Dawes, Dan Mall, Shane Mielke
Problem is designing within a pre-set structure – structure and sitemap take priority over content and goals of site. It is a tool that comes in behind the design to see if it fits. The panel agrees that it creates bad habits if you start thinking that it is the right process to develop sites. It creates a lot of focus on things that are easily changeable like fun headers and footers. There also get to be issues when people start seeing sites that all look the same. Some on the panel felt that CMS tools like WordPress are creating a “standard” web design which can be dangerous.
These are customizable, but there’s a heavy reliance on themes. A well-trained web designer can become lazy by relying on themes, but if you don’t know much, it’s an easy way to learn, get up to speed, and customize your site for your needs.
