Filed under: Design and Digital Media
My initial reaction the the Kids Kottage website was shock. It reminded me of websites that were first found on the internet, the websites that I created in grade 7. I wanted to laugh, but at the same time, I felt bad for the company.
After actually looking at the company, I realized it was a charitable company. That would explain it.
As a designer, I understand the amount of hours that goes into a good design. The endless dedication and large workload are somewhat stressful. For a company to do a design for a charitable company, it is a big check that remains unpaid. If Kids Kottage approached the wrong designer on the wrong day they could have been denied a website. Depending on how the designer reacted to the idea of a free website design, the representatives of Kids Kottage could have been offended or scared into looking for the right company with big hearts.
As designers, we should give our heart out and do a charitable design every year or every 2 years. Not only does it look good for you, as a designer, but it also will help lift your spirits and will help a company that cannot afford a design.
We shouldn’t laugh at bad design on charity sites, we shouldn’t critique or insult them, we should offer our help, or do nothing. Critiquing a charitable website doesn’t help the company: they most likely don’t have the resources to “fix” the website.
Next time I stumble onto a website that reminds me of Kids Kottage, instead of laughing, insulting, critiquing or questioning, I will remember that I am a designer, and donating a design is just as important as donating money.
With a decent design on their website, they may get more donations from visitors, they may get more people offering to help, more people volunteering…
Design is a powerful tool.
For post 7 Design is….
Design is to … create something Greater than the Sum of its Parts.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
