Interface Design

How long does it take you?

[fashezee]

We sub-contract work for certain design interfaces; some designers take more the 10 hours to come up with something decent and come are done in 5?

For those graphic designers out there; how long (on average) does it take to create a unique interface?!

[limbo]

Really depends on the site brief. For sites requiring less imagination the initial 3-4 concepts can be sketched in a matter of hours (I usually rough out a page on paper and flesh it out in fireworks). But if the client is looking for something more eyecatching or different than a standard 'brochure' then you might stretch the design budget.

This is part of my initial design process. More has to be done to the sketch before I arrive at something I can pull into HTML. Refining the page might take another 4-5 hours & there will be work to harmoinize page elements and make compromises with aesthetics for usability.

This whole process becomes shorter and shorter the more sites you produce beacause you can rework older designs to fit new briefs - in a kind of template process. I guess this is why I use Fireworks - PNG's are sooooo flexible.

[Jon_King]

>>design interfaces

I guess you mean a layout? Just ideas for look and position of content blocks?

On average one to three days for us to design the look, (we provide screen shots of two to three comprehensive design concepts) although many jobs take way way more time; I've had plenty in the one week plus range. This is difficult to answer because of so many customer needs differences.

[krieves]

That's a tough question. In part the amount it takes is dependent on what the client is looking for. Do they want a basic, bare-bones site with 5-10 pages? For something more complex, you must take into account navigation, establishing certain standards for development (so the site is consistent from page to page), need for scalability, as well as the overall look and feel.

Depending on what the client wants, it could take a few hours or it could take several days.

[bunltd]

This whole process becomes shorter and shorter the more sites you produce beacause you can rework older designs to fit new briefs - in a kind of template process.

This does tend to be true - overall, most layouts are similar, in that they include the same general blocks or areas. I've got a number of layouts that were created but never used, I keep them around for inspiration, and use them, or elements from them as a starting point.

Depending on what the client wants, it could take a few hours or it could take several days.

Yes. Some clients are able to communicate their vision better than others, so don't require as many revisions. Overall, if I have a clear understanding, don't have to do much searching for additional imagery or do any logo work, it can be done in a handful of good hours if I'm on a roll. Otherwise, it can take days. Sure is nice when it falls into place quickly, though.

LisaB

[smokeyb]

Takes me only a few hours to create an interface, and takes me days/weeks of twiddling with it to get it right.......

[legalzoom]

It is great if you can get functional and link requirements before beginning. That way as a designer you can spec out some of the competition (look at other folk's solutions) and reinvent the wheel 'your way'. I'd say time wise doing this I can make a pretty good interface in about 4 hours. If there are major fuctions and lots of interactivity that 4 hours can easily turn into 6-8. Designing is strange in the sense that I can sometimes do 12 hours worth of work in 3 hours, and vice versa depending how how well the problem has been explained to me and how good I feel about a solution.

And depending how 'creative the client' get's AFTER the initial designs have been approved, designs can take weeks to finish and deploy with the new revisions and requirements being added sporadically.

[legalzoom]

It is great if you can get functional and link requirements before beginning. That way as a designer you can spec out some of the competition (look at other folk's solutions) and reinvent the wheel 'your way'. I'd say time wise doing this I can make a pretty good interface in about 4 hours. If there are major functions and lots of interactivity that 4 hours can easily turn into 6-8. Designing is strange in the sense that I can sometimes do 12 hours worth of work in 3 hours, and vice versa depending how well the problem has been explained to me and how good I feel about a solution.

And depending how 'creative the client' get's AFTER the initial designs have been approved, designs can take weeks to finish and deploy with the new revisions and requirements being added sporadically.

[claus]

>> how long (on average) does it take to create a unique interface?!

Averages... one can say a lot about them. If you want the best it doesn't come overnight - even making things simple takes extra time. Here's a true story to put those ten hours into perspective.

Right now, i'm finishing such an interface - i've had a team of around ten people or so working with me on one single page for 10 months, and it will become 11 months before we're done. Focus groups, surveys/research, and user tests not included (in headcount).

One page; straight HTML and graphics* - it's not like it's a whole site or anything like that. As for "decent" this baby does set a few new standards, so it's a bit beyond decent, but still it's a long time.

* well, really, there's some JS as well and a subtle flash animation, but what the user will see is basically one web page. The sophisticated backend development isn't really included in those ten months btw. as that's another process that runs in parallel - that time frame is just for front end work