I, like many of my fellow classmates, was puzzled by the concept of compassion in relation to the web design industry. I read their posts, desperately trying to find ideas. And then it hit me. In this industry, we have so much riding on our relations with others. Our ability to sympathize – to have compassion toward others – is integral to us effectively doing our jobs. There are a number of ways that this can be applied.
The first is one that has been mentioned before – accessibility. For instance, my vision isn’t terrible. Not perfect, but not terrible. But just because I can read 8pt font, does that mean that I should use it in my designs? Many people using the internet, including my husband, have much worse vision than my own, and they cannot read such small font. Likewise, sizing up the font manually using their browser settings often shows mixed results, even so far as to make the website unusable. But as a designer, if I look at and sympathize with their struggle, and design to be more accommodating, this is compassion.
Another example is in that, as a designer that is hired by a company or a person, my personal tastes will likely matter for very little in many of my designs. I will be designing to meet an end. Despite the fact that I, personally, may hate a company’s logo colours and their desire to use them in the design, I am being paid to design for them, and make it look the way they want it to, and so it is my job to be understanding. In particular, when dealing with a subordinate member of the company I am dealing with who has certain orders and must carry those out, I need to be compassionate in that his or her opinions matter no more than mine do, and so I should be careful not to take out any frustration on that person, and be understanding if they express frustration toward me and try to alleviate that pressure as much as I possibly can.
And yet, there are some people who simply cannot afford to pay, or cannot afford to pay much, such as non-profit organizations, charities, etc. Compassion is understanding their need for a convincing, compelling online presence despite their lack of monetary compensation, and willingness to do a little “charity work” and work for free, or for a barter of some sort. Compassion is being willing to bend a little, being willing to compromise and do the best I can to make the deal work out for both of us equally, and have a good resolution come of it.
So, in effect, compassion is very important for the web design industry, and we would all do well to remember that we are not simply professionals, but also human beings, and showing that humanity is not such a fatal flaw, but often a great comfort.
Britagne; 