Taking pride in what you do
I saw a website today for recycling in Lithuania. Most designers know that European design is much better than American most of the time, but this was so far beyond better it made me ashamed. I’m not sure what the problem is with American design, whether we, as a society, just don’t value it enough, whether we still don’t use the internet the same way Europeans do, or what the problem is.
But compare this site: http://www.ecoservice.lt/ with the equivalent from Boulder County: http://www.ecocycle.org/. Even if you’re not a designer, surely you can see that there is a huge step down in quality once you get to our local provider.
Why didn’t eco-cycle have their site professionally done? They can pay their employees, why not a designer? At the end of the day, I have to assume it’s because they don’t feel it’s worth it. They’re wrong, of course, but I don’t think they can be convinced of that.
If I could inspire people to do one thing to improve their lives, I’d encourage them to take pride in what they do. If you’re in recycling for a living, or you run a library, or you “work” for the government, take some pride in what you do — everywhere you can. Even if you don’t like Obama (although, really, what’s not to like?), you have to admit the changes to the National Website are a huge step forward. This is an example of someone taking pride in every facet of communication. Because, at the end of the day, your website is how you communicate with people.