Having fun,
doing good work,
changing the lightbulb.

How many designers does it take to change a light bulb?
Only one, but does it have to be a light bulb?

That’s a favorite joke in our office, and it is funny because it is true. Designers don’t like following the rules. But sometimes rules are necessary, especially when talking about making a website’s content accessible to everybody, independent of their physical abilities.

It is easy to forget that some website viewers see, hear, and experience things differently, and that is why the Americans with Disabilities Act put into place a set of guidelines to make sure all online content delivered by state agencies can be accessed by all computer users. These rules can make design and development a little more difficult, but they assure us that we’re reaching everyone out there … which is vital when designing a site such as the one we recently launched for the Minnesota Department of Education.

On the other hand, we decided breaking some rules would be a good thing when it came to their brand. Did the apple in the new MDE logo need to only be an apple?

Remember: Some rules are made to be broken, but a good designer knows when they’re meant to be honored.

Contact us. We promise to follow the rules … when necessary.

Scott Lindberg