Web Design is Dead
I know I haven’t updated with a new entry in a while. I’ve been working on this post for the last three months or so, but every time I try to write about something, I find it difficult to finish. But here it goes, another attempt at writing.
I said last year that I will work on a web application every month. I failed. Not because it was particularly difficult to implement, but because I thought it was a waste of time. I also don’t particularly enjoy making web applications or designing web pages. I’ve been doing it for a while, and the technical challenge isn’t so exciting; and it seems like everybody these days claims to be a web designer, and it’s true, being a web designer isn’t difficult (of course whether they are good is another question). With frameworks like rails and relatively compliant web browsers, it’s becoming simple to deploy web applications. Of course it is a nice change from the days of writing endless lines of redundant php code, but at this stage, it’s really about the idea and not about technological challenges. Ideas are hard, therefore I failed.
As a designer I feel the limitations of web browsers growing every day. Of course limitations can be due to security restrictions, and I feel like spending time to circumvent restrictions is a waste of time. Also, we have powerful computers, yet none of the graphics capabilities on the browser takes advantage of powerful graphics cards. This is why I don’t really spend much time working on web applications anymore. In a research context, when I think about what the “next thing” is for the web, I think it’s about the web as an environment we interact with, without a web browser; and give web designers a whole new set of graphical and interaction possibilities.
I’m focused on working on E15, and it’s been great. Implementing a desktop application comes with more complexity, but rewards with more flexibility. For the first time in a while, I feel like I can finally build things that I think, without discovering later that it is impossible. I’ve been knee deep in Cocoa, and I think I’ll probably focus more on writing about problems and solutions I’ve come across in future posts…if I ever decide to write onto this neglected blog of mine…
February 15th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I encourage you to write more about the work you’re perfoming in new internet applications through your blog.
I really second your opinion about web applications aren’t exploiting all the capabilities computers have these days. The principal use that people is giving to personal computers these days is concerning to what web applications can give to them. But here surges a big question: do the normal people need other kind of applications? The question will be probably no but you could have listened the same answer decades ago about the use of personal computers, that people won’t need big amounts of memory (for example) to get some basic tasks done, but technology is always moving forward. Thanks to the work you’re doing, taking applications to the future, and not exploiting the present way of internet applications but helping to make that change that will move entires generations to get better experiences.