21 Redesigner = Stylist

Interesting. I would point back to Adam Greenfield’s article and the idea of a designer vs a stylist. (http://www.alistapart.com/articles/bathingape/) If we compare the two ideas, your redesigner is Adam’s stylist and your realigner is Adam’s designer. A designer/realigner is trying to solve a perceived problem. Where as a redesigner/stylist is trying to improve the established aesthetic.

By the way, Adam’s article was written in 2001.

What do you think?

posted at 09:53 pm on October 26, 2005 by David Merwin

22 Consider your market

Purpose is definitely the driving force of innovation, but “realigning” is not the only solution that satisfies the marketing needs of a businesses’ web site. Before jumping head first into the realign mindset, realize that realigns and redesigns are equal, and both afford different purposes. A “realign” can add emphasis to features of a web site with growing popularity. However, to attract a new market or to “water” a growing market, a redesign of a web site can appeal to the people you mean to have as new or growing customers.

posted at 10:32 pm on October 26, 2005 by Brian Cray

23 It's all about confidence

Personally, I was trained in web development, not web design, so for me it takes several iterations to come up with something tollerable. I think this is a problem with a lot of sites being redesigned on a regular basis. If I’m not confident in my design, I’m not as willing to show off my site. A large number of sites just don’t cut it and require more than a “realign”.

posted at 01:49 am on October 27, 2005 by Dylan Berry

24 Functionalists Vs Designers

I believe this boils down to something even simpler.

Pure Functionalists: These people generally are the hard coders and project managers. ‘Keep it simple, Stupid’ is their matra as they slice away the aesthetics.

Pure Designers: Throwing functionality out the door in favor of ‘cool’ designs.

The trick is to combine the two.

posted at 12:54 pm on October 27, 2005 by Jonathan Dunlap

25 Functionalists Vs Designers

I believe this boils down to something even simpler.

Pure Functionalists: These people generally are the hard coders and project managers. ‘Keep it simple, Stupid’ is their mantra as they slice away the aesthetics.

Pure Designers: Throwing functionality out the door in favor of ‘cool’ designs.

The trick is to combine the two.

posted at 12:55 pm on October 27, 2005 by Jonathan Dunlap

26 On Realignment

great article, now “I” need to realign something… in my pants! heh.

posted at 01:10 am on October 28, 2005 by Richard Anderson

28 Great article

Thank’s for the article, it’s alway good to get a reminder of what it is we’re supposed to be doing!

posted at 10:34 pm on October 28, 2005 by Jan Romme

29 IA?

The trick is to combine the two.

I think that most webdesigners need to wear a lot of hats when meeting with and working for clients. And most of the clients cannot or do not want to communicate their goals. Wont give you time to do user research and only think of webdesigners as graphical designers.

If a webdesinger needs to realign, he is wearing the IA(Information Architecture) hat.

I think it is strange the author doesn’t mention IA. Because the items in the conclusion are part of the IA process, that is what Information Architects do in a webdesign project.

Good article, but I don’t think we need another buzzword.

posted at 05:55 pm on October 30, 2005 by Len Dierickx

30 Well said

I have been thinking along the same lines. If you pay attention to site feedback, usability test results, stats and market trends, the site will evolve as you go. Although I do think it’s okay to redesign a site that is about design or for an agency.

posted at 07:28 am on November 2, 2005 by Katherine Gibbon