Re: Tough Situation

[Rob MacKay]

Unfortunately sometimes these things need to be said… especially if you want to control the look of your site… I think merging to separate designs is a bad idea – what would be good is sitting down and sketching out ideas together, then using your design program of choice and both do the design. I would let them hold the mouse too – you drive with your experience on how to use the software and they feel useful… etc…

So what I would do is be honest, make sure you do it face to face with them and explain your reasons. Also pick up on all the details people starting out don’t ask – like how the user will interact with the site, how certain sections are going to work when translated into code etc etc…

Then like I suggested above – do it together, that way you get the control and the ability to be constructive in regards to your friends skills rather than leaving them with a gaping hole where you ripped out their creative heart. When someone is critical of your work when you are new to receiving criticism can be very painful – so just take that into account and lead them through it.

Not saying it’s gonna be easy though :D