How to be a Web Design Superhero

asAndyBuddAndy

ClarkeMalarkeyakaTheModfather

SXSW INTERACTIVE MARCH 2006

Buddmanhow to be a

web design superhero

images from www.alexrossart.com andy budd and andy clarke

StarringasAnd

who is coolest, web designer or superhero?

Q

85% replied that superheroes are cooler than web designers

1

85

14%

%

%

apparently a survey of 100 people asked

a

to survive in a modern world, web designers must be superheroes

Learn what it takes to become a web design superhero

what makes a superhero?

EVERY HERO HAS AN ORIGIN

A RADIOACTIVE SPIDER BIT PETER PARKER, BRUCE

BANNER WAS BLASTED BY GAMMA RADIATION AND THE

FANTASTIC FOUR WERE BATHED IN COSMIC RAYS

web design superheroes have

strong morals, strong code and a strong moral code

superheroes have a strong moral code, risking all for the greater good

web design superheroes

share their skills and information

freely

superheroes are selfless as they fight crime and keep the world safe from danger

many web design superheroes have

special motivations such as promoting

usability or web standards

superheroes have special motivations

you may have seen a web design superhero s work, but do you know what they look like?

are they sitting next to you?

superman is clark kent, spiderman is peter parker, many web designers too lead a secret, double life

’

superheroes often retreat to a secret hideaway

a secret hideaway is a source of inspiration,

somewhere to store super gadgets

superheroes are easily identified by their

costumes and logos

web designers also require a great logo to set them

apart from the crowd

and a super website

superheroes often have a mundane job by day and exercise their super powers by night

many web design superheroes are the

same, exercising their skills by night on

personal projects

adaptive path

happy cog

clear:left

sometimes superheroes group together to form powerful teams

the best designers are skilled their with

tools and have a utility belt full of

useful stuff: fonts, icons and images

some superheroes dont have superpowers, relying instead on gadgets and special abilities

web designers also need a weapon of

choice, be that photoshop, flash or

the humble text editor

many superheroes have a trademark weapon

what super powers do you need to become a

web design superhero?

a superheros main defining feature is their super power

superpowers

to keep pace with new trends and technologies

super speedto react when a client says i want it tomorrow!’’’’

invulnerabilitysometimes bullets do fly in the comments of design galleries or on design forums

x-ray visionthe ability to see through visual presentation to the underlying semantics, to avoid making presentational markup and css

invisibilitywhere ARE the women in web design?

elasticityan ability to stretch ones self very thin, particularly close to a looming deadline

mind controlan ability to convince a client that he does not need a flash splash screen or pages of content nobody will read

telepathy and clairvoyancean ability to see into a clients mind and understand what he means by i want it easy to use and other such vaguerisms

’’’’

empathyan ability to understand users, their goals and problems

precognitionan ability to see into the future and anticipate new trends

Ability to sense problem projects or clients

danger SenseSee problems and rectify them before they happen

illusion and photokinesisan ability to manipulate light to make beautiful, elegant designs

batman has robin, superman has jimmy

ollson, lois lane and krypto the

super dog

alongside many superheroes is a sidekick

superman s paljimmy olsen

the boy wonder robin

every superhero needs a pal

superman has lex luthor, spiderman has the green goblin

every superhero needs a villain

every superhero needs a villain

evil genius who plans to take over

the world

green goblin

who are your heroes?

Supermanwonder woman

daredevilcaptain fantastic

spidermanthe green lantern

captain americaflash

supergirlhulk

zeldmanmolly holzschlagjeff veendave sheadoug bowmanshaun inmancameron molljoshua davisveerle peitersjohn oxton

which superpowers would you choose and why?

Q

andy budd andy budd .com / sxsw 2006 / super .pdf

andy clarke stuffandnonsense .co.uk / downloads / sxswi .pdf

all images are copyright of their original owners and all copyrights, trademarks and ownerships recognised. this

presentation is for educational purposes onlyimages from www.alexrossart.com