When an organization decides to embark on a new Web project, particularly a Web site re-design, it typically forms a committee.  This committee is usually cross-functional in nature, comprised of personnel from marketing, IT, and/or finance.

There is plenty of reason to form a group for this type of project.  Web projects have so many implications for different parts of the organization that it is good to have a variety of people involved in planning, conceptualization, budgeting, and execution.  And gaining internal concensus and support for any project is a good thing.

Before producing a design, the designer typically meets with the committee to discuss the vision for the site.  Naturally, as is the nature of committees, everyone gets a say.  While this is often helpful to a designer, the designer may leave the meeting with four or five varying visions in her head.  The democracy of “everyone gets a say” turns into the anarchy of “everyone gets a say.”

Once the layout, color scheme, and graphical elements begin to be presented to the committee, each committee member may see a small piece of their feedback somewhere in the design.  Most likely, though, noone sees their individual vision for the site.  Hence, the “too many cooks in the kitchen” syndrome begins to take hold. You might have one committee members who says “I don’t like the colors” while another says “I hate that photo you have chosen for the home page.”  While this type of feedback might have merit, it’s usually based upon personal preference–not a formal design principle or consideration of the target audience.

Because design is a subjective area, a committee of five might have five various opinions on any one piece of work.  A lead designer is then in a position to try and produce a design that attempts to appease five opinions, some of which may be in conflict.  The designer ends up changing different segments of the design concept to try and appease the myriad of critiques.  Like too many chefs in the kitchen, the end product becomes tainted.  The design itself becomes about the committee’s personal preferences–not about fundamental design principles or the needs of the audience.  To make matters worse, the bevy of competing opinions and unmet expectations creates frustration and tension.  There has to be a better way.

The Web committee will and should always be prevalent.  After all, there is often power and synergy in groups.  But the Web site committee should have a strong structure and methodology in terms of taking advantage of groupthink without falling prey to it.  In order to do so, the committee itself needs structure, ground rules, and a charge.  While every committee might operate a bit differently, here is a handful of tips in terms of optimizing the structure and function:

1.  Encourage the committee members to look at the design from the customer’s eyes–not their own.  This will help team members to de-personalize the design and check their personal preferences at the door.

2.  Appoint one person, the one with the most experience in the area or understanding of the target demographic–as the liason to the visual designer.  This will focus both the group and the designer.

3.  Gather and synthesize design directives and feedback in a thoughtful way; simply collecting bullet points of everyone’s comments may not be constructive.

4.  Center design discussions around material issues like the audience and its needs.  Getting mired in discussions of individual photos and font selections can be counter-productive and quickly run a committee off-track.

5.  Trust your designer.  There is a good chance that he or she is more versed than most of the committee members in the area, which should count for something in the process.

Further reading:  http://boagworld.com/design/combating-design-by-committee

WebSolvers is pleased to announce a that it has successfully completed the move of its main office to the Baldwin Park Town Center. The new address is 4776 New Broad Street, Suite 100, Orlando, Florida 32814. The new telephone number is 407-722-7830 and the new fax number is 407-722-7831. Please update your records.

As a reminder, WebSolvers is moving on Wednesday, April 1. The new address is 4776 New Broad Street, Suite 100, Orlando FL 32814, in the Baldwin Park town center. As of April 2, new phone and fax numbers are: 407-722-7830 (Main Office Line) and 407-722-7831 (Fax).
We will be closing early on Tuesday, March 31 at 4:00 pm in order to facilitate the move. After spending Wednesday, April 1 installing furniture and equipment, we will re-open for normal business hours on Thursday, April 2nd.
Since our client Web sites are located at a data center off-site, we do not expect this move to affect any of our hosting capabilities or client Web sites in any way.
If you have questions or would like additional information about our move, please contact us at your convenience.

After spending over 10 years at our location on Orange Avenue in Winter Park, Websolvers is re-locating to a larger facility in Baldwin Park! The move will happen on April 1st, 2009.
The new address will be 4776 New Broad Street, Suite 100, Orlando FL 32814, in the Baldwin Park town center.
We will be closing early on Tuesday, March 31 at 4:00 pm in order to facilitate the move. After spending Wednesday, April 1 getting situated, we will re-open for normal business hours on Thursday, April 2nd.
Since our client Web sites are located at a data center off-site, this move will not affect any of our hosting capabilities or client Web sites in any way.
If you have questions or would like additional information about our move, please contact us at your convenience.