Sitting Down with UF Web Designer Al Kirby
Aug
14
I sat down with our designer here at UF WebAdmin and asked him what was different about working as a web geek and designer for a large, public university versus a private firm or freelance gig. His answers were interesting and poignant. The theme seemed to center around the idea that designing with limitations creates a necessity to pay attention to detail and make a lot out of a little.
I hope to profile some of my other coworkers around Web Admin to give you an idea of what goes on around here and what it is we are trying to accomplish. Maybe one day someone will ask me what I do around here, but until then…
First up, the designer:
Full name: Al Kirby
Degree/Institution: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from UF, 1997
Design Experience: 13 years
Personal Site: omtc.biz
Q: How long have you worked at the University of Florida? Office of Web Administration?
AK: I’ve worked at UF for about 10 years as the Web designer for the UF WebAdmin Dept. I was responsible for the previous design and helped design and build the current UF home page.
Q: Describe your role in the UF Office of Web Administration.
AK: I plan, wireframe, design (Photoshop), markup and style (CSS) Web sites. I’m also learning more and more about WordPress. The short version: Folks need a Web site, I take their information, then design a site based off of their needs. Once the design is approved, I then build the markup and CSS. I also maintain the UF home page Spotlights and several other main UF Web sites. Two things I don’t do are write/edit content and back-end programming.
Q: Do you have a general work flow process?
AK: My “regular work flow?” I like to think that working on the Web is organic in some fashion. Web technologies, trends, tricks and tips are constantly changing, and just when I begin to grasp certain skills, new and better methods pop up. You must be able to adapt quickly in this profession or you are going to become stale. I do have an overall type of workflow that starts with concepts and ideas. I ask myself, “What does the client expect to get from having a Web site?” I then design (wireframes, templates in Photoshop) based off of the client’s needs. Once the design is approved, I begin to build the site (html, css). Next comes lots of testing across browsers.
Q: What has been your favorite work-related project?
AK: Designing is what makes me happy at work. I really don’t get to “design” much in the creative sense here at UF. I would have to say that designing the WebAdmin Blog and Summer of Web sites were a real pleasure. I was able to steer away from the conventional UF template and official colors. I was able to have a little fun with the Summer of Web site. I am currently working with University Relations and Gville TV to produce a new UF Virtual Tour. This is the kind of project that I love to work on because of the interactive element and motion graphics. I really get a lot of pleasure from helping [other] UF Web folks. If I can make their jobs easier while keeping UF Web standards up to par, then I feel I have done my job.
Q: What would you say is different about designing for a large, public, educational institution versus a private company or freelance work?
AK: The big difference between working at UF and doing freelance is the amount of content and the function of UF sites. My clients are small businesses and have very little content. They are mostly marketing-related Web sites. For the most part, users need to be able to find information clearly. With that in mind, UF Web sites need to be very clean and have minimal graphics. Layout of the content is crucial, and white space plays a very important role in designing content heavy sites. The users eye should feel comfortable skimming the content. Another major difference is that UF sites must be accessible in all aspects, and we must follow Web standards. On a freelance job I may want to include more graphics to highlight certain elements within their site. On the other hand, I would make the same concept on a UF site be Web text so that the information is more accessible to screen readers.
Q: What are the benefits of working and designing in the world of academia? Is there a downside?
AK: The one major benefit to designing higher-education Web sites is that as a designer, I am limited to the amount of creativity I can have — this pushes me to focus more on the subtleties and details of the design. I’m constantly pushing my UF designs to become more mature and clean. [The] downside to working in the world of academia is the limit on design experimentation. The fact that things need to be clear and clean limits the amount of visual creativity one may want to achieve in their designs, but that just pushes me to focus more on the details such as fonts, whitespace, line height, font weight and CSS tricks.
Q: What are some of the things you’ve learned designing in this environment that have helped you become a better designer outside of work?
AK: I’ve learned to work more with Web standards and accessibility. I’m more aware of validating my markup. I take into consideration maintenance requirements for updating web sites. My design theory has matured to the K.I.S.S theory. Keep things simple and functional. Don’t just do things because they are cool. There is a time and place for everything. A lot of my design theories revolved around purpose and functionality. This isn’t print design so functionality rules over design. The key is combining those two elements to form a cognitive experience.
Q: What project(s) are you working on now at work?
AK: I’m currently debugging a new dynamic Flash system for the UF home page, and I’m working on a new UF Virtual Tour with University Relations and Gville TV.
Q: Do you have any words of encouragement to designers who, like yourself, are working in an educational institution?
AK: Keep a cool head. It can be frustrating as a UF Web designer due to the many limitations placed on us (standards, accessibility, colors, templates). The main thing you need to keep in the back of your head is that UF sites need to function in a professional manner. Content is key, so keep your designs clean and clear. Pay attention to detail; this is where you get some reward when you come up with something really subtle [while] at the same time enhancing the visual design of your site. Take the time to learn new things. That’s the number one reason why I enjoy working for UF. I take the time to learn and research new technologies. I wouldn’t have this opportunity in the private competitive world. I have the time to polish and make sure all my work is up to the highest of standards.
When things aren’t going your way…
K.I.S.S. = Keep It Simple Stupid!
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