It constantly amazes me how the industry supposedly dedicated to innovation refuses to utilize and endorse innovative technologies. What am I talking about? I’m talking about how web designers still optimize for browsers that are out of date (IE6), don’t integrate CSS3 capabilities into their designs because “not all browsers support them”, and wine how they “can’t” do or not do either of these things.
Even worse, Microsoft is one of the leading software companies globally, and they constantly create things (Internet Explorer, Office 09, etc) that are completely out of date. They aren’t creating for tomorrow, they’re creating for today. And by the time they release their product, it is no longer today but tomorrow. They are supposed to be a leader in the industry, yet they are constantly following the trends of others just to catch up, and it takes them years to do so.
Design is often equated with “innovation”. Though it is somewhat erroneous to do so, designers are supposed to create innovative solutions. They are supposed to shape and create the future, not linger in the past advocating the use of out-of-date technology. Those that don’t design for the future will fall behind. Or, in the words of Jack Welch, “the rate of internal change must be greater than external change or the company will fall behind.”
Here are some other great resources on why you need to turn your eyes to the future, whether you are a client or a designer:
Hard-Code Your Navigation and Get Over It
Using Social Media Effectively