Samantha Warren, ON THE TOPIC OF General and Opinions/Reviews and Tips and Tricks and Trends

When I asked Doug, the Viget Designer behind the typography on the Inspire Blog ,why he used Avenir he replied “because it is the greatest font ever”. Doug is not the only one to have such an opinion of the geometric sans-serif typeface, in 2004 Avenir was named one of Typographica’s favorite fonts. When Andy Budd asked Cameron Moll what fonts would he choose if he could only have 6 his first reaction was “ Avenir, Avenir, Avenir. I’ve abused this typeface in both web and print work, and it’s held up to the abuse with flying colors.”.

In French “avenir” means “future”.  This hidden definition makes it a perfect choice for the Viget Inspire Blog because web designers are innovators who are always looking to push the boundaries and limitations of their medium.

Adrien Frutiger designed Avenir in 1988 and is best known for his typefaces Univers and Frutiger. Frutiger explained his reasoning for designing the San-Serif in an interview with Linotype:

“Looking back on more than 40 years of concern with sans serif typefaces, I felt an obligation to design a linear style of sans serif, in the tradition of Erbar™, Futura®, and to a lesser extent Gill Sans®. These have purely constructed characters from which the element of a handwriting movement has been removed. Obviously this could not be an outstanding new creation, but I have tried to make use of the experience and stylistic developments of the 20th century in order to work out an independent alphabet meeting modern typographical needs.”

Avenir has become very popular in web, print, identity, and environmental graphic design. As part of their national identity the Netherlands uses Avenir on their site amsterdam.nl as well as in signage and brochures about their country. You can find Avenir playing a key part in the branding systems of the Reuters and Dulles Fort Worth Airport. On the web a customized version of the font is used in the logo for Shutterfly and the book and medium weights on purevolume.com.

Frutiger describes his typeface as “modern and at the same time humane” but I find Avenir to be an inspiration.

Erik Olson, ON THE TOPIC OF Events and General and Opinions/Reviews

As a designer and presenter at this year’s DC Design Talks, I couldn’t have been happier with the way it went. It was full of great speakers, great people to meet, and it was on my home turf not just at our office but in the DC area itself.

Based on the overwhelming popularity of the one-day conference (90 seats sold in a few weeks), it is obvious that talks like this one are important to the community.

The day started with Viget’s own Samantha Warren speaking about web typography.The topic came easily to her; as a self-proclaimed “font-geek,” she at one point actually confessed “I could talk about fonts all day.” She urged us all to think about which fonts to use and why to use them beyond stereotypical, “because they look cool” reasoning.

Later in the day Robert Goodlatte gave an inspiring talk called “Justifying Design.” He emphasized the notion of using the grid for making layouts more effective and distinguishing designers from decorators; decorators are the ones who make the site look “pretty” while the designers make the site as a whole more usable.

As a first-time speaker at one of these things, I was happy with the reception I received. My thanks to organizers Jackson Wilkinson and Jason Garber for successfully creating an open and receptive vibe for everyone involved.

Samantha Warren, ON THE TOPIC OF Events and General and Opinions/Reviews

This past Friday, Viget Labs hosted DC Design Talks, the first of a conference series called DC Talks that promote collaboration and creativity in the web community. Jason Garber and Viget’s own M. Jackson Wilkinson did a fabulous job of organizing the event, which was smaller than Future of Web Design, more organized than Barcamp DC, and as inspirational as many of the panels at SXSW.

With an entire day of first-rate speakers, the amount of information I absorbed was overwhelming. “Coming to Terms with Sociality,” the talk given by Thomas Vander Wal of InfoCloud Solutions, was fascinating.  He referred to “online interactivity” as being the engagement amongst participants in an online community, rather than the interaction a user has with the site. “Finding Design Inspiration” by Alex Giron of n’clud reaffirmed my belief that investment in creativity and inspiration will pay off in the quality of design work produced.

In “Speaking in Styles: The Importance of CSS for Web Designers,” Jason Cranford Teague (of AOL) articulated the importance of CSS through a humorous demonstration that both dispelled its myths and illustrated its advantages. He compared a web designer who knows CSS to a print designer who knows press specifications and explained that a designer needs to:

• understand the limitations of her medium.


• take ownership of her design.


• create accurate specifications.


• be able to talk to developers.


• triage problems.

Viget’s own Erik Olson spoke on “Sane User Experience in Flash,” during which he said, “just because you can make it move, doesn’t mean you should make it move.” Many people don’t realize that anything that movement in peripheral vision dominates awareness. Too much animation on a page can distract the user from making the decisions necessary for her to find a site useful.

Overall, DC Design Talks was a marvelous community event that brought together very talented designers. It’s fantastic to play host, and I look forward to attending (or maybe just peeking into) all of the DC Talks in the future.

Clinton Nixon, ON THE TOPIC OF General

As a web professional, it is very exciting for me to see the continued growth and vibrancy of Refresh the Triangle. The February meeting happened last Thursday (February 28th) and we had more than 40 people show up, packing first-time sponsor iContact‘s meeting room.

After the traditional meet-and-greet, Rob Goodlatte gave an excellent talk entitled ”Justifying Design,” which was challenging to the designers in the audience while being accessible to the developers and others in the audience. The principles he shared were good guideposts for designing within the rapidly-changing aesthetics and building blocks of the web.

iContact was gracious to let us have a longer social hour after the meeting in their office. The Refresh after-talk is quickly becoming one of my favorite conversational and networking opportunities in the Triangle. If you haven’t been yet, I definitely encourage you to join the mailing list and come to the next meeting.

Peyton Crump, ON THE TOPIC OF General

A few of Andy Rutledge’s words from The Design View Show, Episode 2, although aimed at answering the question of formal vs. self-taught web design education, reminded me of an important topic web designers need to remember: that constraint – not creativity – should be the overriding drive behind our designs.

As Andy shares, when designers think creativity – not problem-solving – is the prime measure of success, they enter a competition of artistry and decoration. I would add that true originality is often a high expectation of the creative-crazed designer, too. If it’s creative, looks nice, and feels super unique, then it’s assumed to be a successful design.

Such an assumption lays a comfortable foundation for designers to “trust their intuition” (advice often given from one designer to another) and fall in love with something they created – even though it doesn’t work. Too often, we designers create a logo, marketing idea, tag line, web design, or UX technique that we believe is innovative, when, quite frankly, it’s just not.

I call it creative over-thinking; when our desire to be inventive usurps our rational instincts. The end product is forced, and we might even feel some catharsis because of it. Sharpening our internal radars to recognize when we’re headed down this frustrating path is among the best ways to balance the art with the design purposes.

Techniques to stay oriented

Instead of “trusting your intuition,” I say “trust the intuition of others.” Be proactive about seeking feedback from outside sources knowing they usually don’t get it (often for good reason) but they’ll be honest in their reactions.  The truth can hurt, yes, but most of the time we’re designing for them – not other web designers.

If you find yourself explaining your design decision in paragraphs rather than a simple sentence, then it’s time to re-evaluate. Portfolio pieces can look great but don’t communicate clearly or connect effectively. The more you explain concepts, the deeper you’ll dig. Effective design decisions will explain themselves.

Regularly along the way, re-orient yourself to the intended users and audience, and don’t waiver from this focus. Generally, “creative flare” isn’t at the top of their list of design needs. It doesn’t hurt, of course, but the best designs are credible, usable, easily digestable, correctly targeted, and clear.  Often, it’s the simplest designs that achieve all these characteristics fluidly.

Quick takes to prevent over-thinking

• Know your core: are you an artist or a designer? Identify your leanings.


• Know that naturally creative people aren’t necessarily naturally design-oriented people and vice versa.


• Remember that art and design often clash. Save examples of the two working well together.


• Balance your desire for creativity with a desire for constraint and simplicity.


• Stop forcing ideas. It’s a great waste of time and energy and results in frustration.


• Seek out and accept feedback frequently from non-designers.


• Make achieving the client’s goals a priority over achieving your own personal aesthetic.


• Remember your users and audience and prioritize your design to meet their needs.


• If you’re compromising originality at work, seek fulfillment with intensely unique and creative side projects.

Bigger picture

Yes, this post in some ways falls into the age-old categories of art vs. design, creativity vs. constraint, form vs. function, original vs. ordinary. However, I’m more and more convinced that the best designers are those that understand the balance of all of these things. Here are a few links if you’re interested in any further reading:

• The Design View Show


• Universal Principles of Design


• Be a Beautiful Designer


• Collecting for Design


• Form vs Function (all the way from 2001)