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I can ask someone to look at a site that is clearly broken and inconsistent with the environment it is trying to create, and they will have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve held the belief that I simply am. I have always seen discrepancies and I could always point out and correct visual mistakes. But I’m beginning to question whether or not it is “part of who I am” or simply a way I have learned to see the world.

How a Visual Mind May Be Formed

When I was growing up my mother told me that when I was angry I should draw a picture of what was making me upset. I often drew pictures of people that were making me mad or I would just violently scribble with dark colors. It is quite possible that engaging in these activities created my framework for experiencing the world. Maybe I wasn’t getting rid of my frustration as much as I was forming one of the strongest parts of my personality.

I think most designers have probably been attracted to a visual lifestyle for similar reasons. Once that attraction to visuals sets in and we are able to think in-depth about its benefits, we set off on the course that allows us to do more visual thinking in the future.

What Do Others Think?

The most interesting part about this for me is that other people have no desire to be visual learners. They experience their worlds through very different avenues. A broken website doesn’t register to them because they aren’t even noticing the environment that is being created. Instead, they are viewing a website solely through its functionality. Are they able to buy what they went there to buy? Do they know where they are and where they can go?

I assume their way of thinking was simply formed through different experiences than mine was. Instead of their mother telling them to draw, she told them to write, cook, or play sports. These people use the internet too. These people make web sites and have opinions that are drawing from a completely different core of experiences. The real question is who is better suited to be running the web?

One could argue people like this are actually better at explaining usability. Many usability experts have a strong background in psychology and are able to break down a site in ways that may be more difficult for a standard designer. But is that enough to be a web leader?

“The Creative Genius”

A person that can design a visually appealing space is not necessarily rare. I am of the belief that it isn’t as much of a gift as it is a way of thinking that has been fostered by hard work and development at a younger age. Some people say that “they just aren’t visual.” While that may be true currently, it certainly doesn’t have to be in the future. If someone wants to “be visual” they can do so by restructuring how their mind encounters visual stimuli. Admittedly, this probably becomes harder and harder the older you get.

A prime example of this quandary is the difference between a good artist and a good web designer. A good artist typically needs to think only of how people with visual minds interact with their work. Most people that don’t care about art don’t go to galleries to see it. For that reason, artists pretty much have a universal starting point from which to move forward.

However, a good web designer has to think of both sides of the equation. It isn’t adequate to be able to communicate with the visual minds in your audience, you need to attract and maintain all kinds of people. For this reason, content and ease-of-use are really the two most important factors in a website.

Who is More Fit to Lead the Web Revolution?

Simply put, the person that is able to tap into both sides of their brain: the linear and the non-linear. I think the real “genius” is the person that has both the quality of impressive visual sensitivity and the ability to separate that mindset from a users’ experience.

There are hordes of designers that have little substantial background in usability and many usability gurus that can’t design an aesthetically pleasing coaster, let alone a website. I don’t claim to be someone who holds both of those gifts in unison, but there are a few of them out there, and they should be leading the next wave of thinking about the web.

Who do you think fits the role of true “web genius”?