Some jobs require creativity while others demand procedure, and the thing about creativity is that there is no real definition of what is good and what is not. When it comes to design, I guess all the clichés fit – you could say that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and that one man’s meat is another’s poison. So it’s one thing to be adesigner for yourself, and entirely another to be one for the masses. If you’re designing just for the joy of it and as a way to express your creativity, then you’re probably not going to worry about being popular or appealing to a larger cross section of people. And if you’re designing for purely commercial reasons, you’re definitely going to wring every drop out of the most happening and in-demand designs of the day – originality is not going to be something you worry about.

Most designers however, fall somewhere in the middle of these extremes – while they would love to create designs that push the boundary and shatter every preconceived notion about artistic ability, they’re forced to adhere to popular demand because only a rare few are lucky enough to make it on sheer talent alone. For every artist who has managed to become a brand name, you have a thousand ordinary artists slogging away making copies and trying to eke out a living. So in the world of web design, you can see why it makes more sense to toe a more balanced line – your bread and butter lies in popular demand even as you crave to unleash your creative side once in a while.

The thing about design is that it has to appeal instantly; unlike writing which is analyzed and appreciated after you have read a little or the entire text, design is either crucified or commended at the outset. This is why it’s hard to explain to other people how you came up with the design in question and why you feel it would suit their needs; more often than not, you’re forced to work with their idea of what is good design and improve on the basics of the outline they already have in their heads.

Web design is more of a commercial enterprise than an opportunity to showcase your design and creative skills; there’s only so much you can do when you’re limited by the constraints that technology poses (like when you must compromise on design to allow for faster load times and easier navigation) and when aesthetic appeal is not all that matters. Even so, the difference between an ordinary web designer and a good one emerges because the latter is able to provide a unique touch to even the most common of designs.

At the end of the day, that’s what matters when you’re a web designer – the ability to find neutral ground between your clients’ needs and your creative ideas and merge both to come up with commercially viable designs.