Is web design a dying art?

As blogging leads the charge for rapid and universal online design, we ask the industry whether the trade is in jeopardy

We ask whether the web is at a turning point as a result of a commercial sub-current that is steadily gathering force as it builds its potentially evil undertow. The inexorable rise of automated blogging tools and the arguably inconvenient truth that hosting firms are now selling pre-packaged website solutions with a nice side order of supporting server space is already a reality. But will this trend kill off traditional web design and construction skills?
Those of us who love the web with a passion often regard it as a living-breathing beast that grows and develops on a natural evolutionary scale not dissimilar to nature itself. So do automated solutions have the ability to upset this ecosystem then? Will small-scale web design be wiped out forever and could the deleterious effects be felt higher up the food chain in the corporate web space too?
Trying to set the record straight and find out what the industry really thinks about this rather delicate situation, we spoke to a variety of web designers across the industry to create a ‘vox-pop’ forum that will help you to draw your own conclusions and opinions.

Clay Thompson
Creative director, Monochrome Ltd.
www.monochrome.co.uk/

“Good web design will always find a place on the internet. The web is vast and this means there will always be different levels of design needed for different purposes and automation will not destroy this.
“As a web designer who is focused on real-world use case scenarios, of course I think it’s interesting that automated site construction tools have developed in the way that they have. In fact, I’d probably go so far as to say it was inevitable. But going deeper, I think there will always be a case for professionally managed web consultancy work that has a true appreciation for usability.
“As the web becomes a more sophisticated beast it’s for sure that automation will be there to soak up the volume as the sheer number of users out there demand quick, down and dirty build solutions. But that’s exactly what they will be – down and dirty. There will also be a more ‘plugged in’ iteration of the web that is far more finely attuned to usability. From ease of use, to visual appeal to fundamentals like accessibility and corporate governance, these factors will govern the long term development of what we at Monochrome like to call the ‘productive web’ – the web that really matters. I am not negating the value of automated blogs or website constructs, I am simply saying that long term productivity and profitability will be governed by usability – and this is not something that just happens by mistake.”

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