pentangled designs: universal disclaimer

Universal Disclaimer

The WWW

There are external links from this site, to sites that I have found useful, inspiring, entertaining or interesting.

These are not my sites, and for the benefit of those who need to be reminded of the screamingly obvious, I have no control over their content.

These links may cease to work in the future - I check them from time to time, but if you find one I've missed, do let me know.

Abstract Art

"A picture speaks a thousand words" is more than just a cliche. That is why we have pictures.

I can answer questions about my art, along the lines of "How did you create this?", even "Why did you create this?". But there is no answer to the question "What is it?"

(The advent of digital viewing at least rules out the question "Which way up does it go?"). It is a visual stream of consciousness, every viewer could have a unique interpretation. That's cool, just don't ask me to justify it. Oh, and if I do fall into the trap of answering, don't tell me I'm wrong. Thank you.

Communication

In order to create a site, an image, or a shiny thing you like, I need to know what you like. Requests to "just make it look fantastic", will result in a site that looks fantastic to me. If I don't know what looks fantastic to you, my results may differ from your expectations.

I Can't (Accurately) Think For You.

While we're on the subject of images, let's take a little "for instance".

For instance, if you've asked me to design a web site for you, let's say you want it to include three images on a page. And then you send me a batch of 47 images with a note saying "You choose which 3 you think work best".

That is what I will do. I'll choose the 3 I think work best, even though they may not be the ones you'd choose.

You gave me that choice.

...Come back a while later and say "I'm disappointed you chose the pic of me wearing that blue shirt... my friend hates that blue shirt..."

Uh-huh. If you sent it as an option for me - you RISKED me using it. I didn't break into your house, force you at gunpoint to be photographed in a shirt someone else doesn't like. I didn't, honestly. What kind of lunatic do you take me for?

Sure I can change it, but I'm not here to say "Hey, I think blue brings out the color of your eyes, you shouldn't be pressured by your friend's opinions, perhaps you should take a long hard think about whether this person is really a friend...so on ... counselly, counselly counsel..."

Seriously.

This sounds ridiculous? Why, yes it is, but things like this happen. And the problem is bigger - it wastes my time, and while you're paying to use my time, it costs you money.

Gibberish

I do my best to steer away from littering my discussions with seemingly meaningless acronyms and jargon. While some see it as a sign of intellectual prowess, it does lead to enormous misunderstanding. If I do this unwittingly, please say, especially if our communication is not face-to-face, I won't see the tell-tale glazed fear of appearing foolish by asking.