Creating ‘Bad-ass’ websites: A thought

“I need a very bad-ass web designer asap“. This is the third time I am seeing this phrase on twitter and also the third time I am being referenced in these tweets.
First it was Kemi Adetiba, then it was Lola Maja, today it was Don Jazzy of Mo Hits.

But when people want a bad-ass web designer, do they really know what they ask for?

In my opinion, a ‘bad ass’ website required two things.

• One, the right assets
• Two, the right person to the job

Talking about right assets, do these guys who call out for ‘bad ass designers’ know that creating a website as bad as the adjective implies means that they need to furnish the designer with all he requires?Will they be ready to give their time while quality planning is implemented? Will they be ready for photoshoots? Will they be ready to listen to the cans and cannots of breaking out of non-bad ass creatives?

Talking assets, are they willing to pay the bad-ass monetary currency? A lot of clients actually think web development is like getting a sheet of paper, scribbling words and pinning pictures to the paper and then gluing the sheet to the computer monitor.

They forget that creating ‘bad ass’ means getting inspiration to sketch ‘bad ass’ graphics, putting these graphics into thousands of lines of code and then optimizing the results for view on all platforms, and not only considering ‘bad ass’ in your eyes but considering the END USER.

Secondly, getting the right person is in fact the most important part. Getting the right person means getting one who is skilled and whose business ethic is well tuned.
Don’t stop at checking the ‘portfolio’. Find out their knowledge of the field. Go online, do your own research on what you want and what to look out for.

Rush projects often don’t come out right!

Time waits for no man. True! We are in the jet age. True! But then just like you can’t because you need a child urgently, get a pregnant woman to give birth after 7months of conception.
There is a life cycle for projects. Creative projects especially when they are to be ‘bad ass’ will take time. Try as much as possible not to push the designer too hard.
I personally have run into loads of trouble because of the client’s refusal to understand these things.

I believe creating bad ass websites is really simple. And the creative process is really fun. But I am yet to find someone who will give bad ass for bad ass.