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There is one thing you’re sure to learn when you conduct a survey: just how many things you did wrong. My first attempt at conducting a survey of women web designers, made clear (sometimes embarrassingly so), just how many things I hadn’t thought through very well. It’s been a learning experience.

Back in late April of this year, A List Apart began the first truly comprehensive survey of people who make websites. This, following criticism in the media about the lack of gender diversity at web conferences.

I took an immediate interest in both the initial criticism over gender disparity and the response by A List Apart to conduct the Web Design Survey. One of the primary reasons I took such an interest in this, was because my personal experience was to the contrary.

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One year ago, on September 6th, 2006, I made a life changing decision to leave the doldroms of the 9 to 5 and start my own design firm with my fiancée. The decision was not an easy one to make. Leaving the security of steady pay and working for a well established design firm was not to be taken lightly, but it was time to move on.

The decision was not taken lightly, by Lauren or I, but it was made at the spur of the moment. The conversation was like this:

“We should start a web design firm.”

“Okay, let’s start a web design firm.”

Two days later we found ourselves at city hall, with a rough business plan and a check. Oh, and yes, right after “Okay, let’s start a design firm,” we bounced a few name ideas back and forth (precisely 2), chose the one that was the most difficult to say and then hammered out a logo. Designing the website took a little bit longer. Two strong headed designers battling it out to determine what the face of their company should look like, is a pretty thing. But a learning experience it was, and the it kind of paved the way for us, moving forward.

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Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t rule it entirely out, but chances are…

Anyway, this week I got to thinking, you know those moments where you just know you’re pushing things in the wrong direction? Like trying to back a car into a tent, or, I guess, pushing a cart up a hill? Sure, it might work, but chances are… Let me be the one blogger who isn’t going to talk about the iPhone or mini-feeds or Quicktime updates this week. No. I’m going to talk about something much more rudimentary and much more important to designers: inspiration (and not forcing the square peg in the round hole)

Sometimes, the absurd is the best channel for inspiration and when the peg doesn’t fit, most people will first try using force. When that fails, they will just give up. The hacker, on the other hand, will whittle the peg down so it is nice a round and will slide right in. The web developer needs to do better. The developer needs to assess the situation and understand that holes and pegs all need to work together and then come up with a set of standards.

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