--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good Web design is about the character of…" description: "\"Good Web design is about the character of the content, not the character of the designer.\" — Jeffrey Zeldman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg" --- # Good Web design is about the character of the content, not… ![“Good Web design is about the character of the content, not the character of the designer.” quote by Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg) > “Good Web design is about the character of the content, not the character of the designer.” [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective web design reflects the essence of its content, not the designer's personal style. **In simple terms:** Web design should serve content, not showcase designers. Key Takeaway Prioritize content clarity over personal flair. Themes design usability content focus authenticity visual hierarchy Mood analytical pragmatic Type technical inspirational When to use this quote - Website redesign projects - content strategy meetings - UX audits - brand guideline development Key Concepts User-centered design semantic integrity brand consistency Questions to Reflect On - How can designers balance personal expression with content needs? - What metrics show content-focused design success? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on style can distract users. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Web design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/web-design/) ## Related quotes > [You can have information and ease of use and have artistic integrity at the same time. The art of being a good Web designer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-davidson/you-can-have-information-and-ease-of-use-and-have-artistic-integrity/) [Mike Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-davidson/) > [Good web text has a lot in common with good print text. It's plain, concise, concrete and 'transparent': even on a personal site the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crawford-kilian/good-web-text-has-a-lot-in-common-with-good-print-text-it-s-plain/) Crawford Kilian > [I want to know what good is a web search engine that returns 324,909,188 'matches' to my key word. That's like saying, "Good news,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/i-want-to-know-what-good-is-a-web-search-engine-that-returns-324-909/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [Never design your character like a garden where anyone can walk... Design your character like the sky where everyone desires to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-design-your-character-like-a-garden-where-anyone-can-walk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Any time you design a character for a Disney picture, especially a fairy tale, it's going to become the definitive design for that character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-keane/any-time-you-design-a-character-for-a-disney-picture-especially-a/) [Glen Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-keane/) > [Never design your character like a garden where anyone can walk, but design your character like the sky where everyone desire to reach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-design-your-character-like-a-garden-where-anyone-can-walk-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The tone of good web writing grows out of email. It's more direct, personal, colloquial, urgent, witty, efficient. It doesn't waste your time. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/the-tone-of-good-web-writing-grows-out-of-email-it-s-more-direct/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [Never design your character like a garden where everyone can reach… design your character like the sky where everyone desires to reach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smsalmaan/never-design-your-character-like-a-garden-where-everyone-can-reach/) Smsalmaan > [I started designing book jackets, which was great because I was good at it. And then from there I decided to become a freelance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/biz-stone/i-started-designing-book-jackets-which-was-great-because-i-was-good/) [Biz Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/biz-stone/) > [Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/web-design-is-the-creation-of-digital-environments-that-facilitate/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/content-precedes-design-design-in-the-absence-of-content-is-not/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [I love the idea of web design that maximises expressiveness over functionality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-robinson/i-love-the-idea-of-web-design-that-maximises-expressiveness-over/) [Porter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-robinson/) > [In the final analysis of your life, you won't be asked about the colour of your skin - but about the content of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushra/in-the-final-analysis-of-your-life-you-won-t-be-asked-about-the/) [Nushra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushra/) > [If people are going to judge me without fully understanding the content of my character, then their opinion just isn't worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazz-jennings/if-people-are-going-to-judge-me-without-fully-understanding-the/) [Jazz Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazz-jennings/) > [The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-content-of-your-character-is-your-choice-day-by-day-what-you/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) ## More by Jeffrey Zeldman > [Good information architecture enables people to find and do what they came for. Great information architecture takes find out of the equation: the site…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/good-information-architecture-enables-people-to-find-and-do-what-they/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Comments are proof most people don't read the articles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/comments-are-proof-most-people-don-t-read-the-articles/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Web design is the creation of digital environments that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/web-design-is-the-creation-of-digital-environments-that-facilitate/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Test everything, including assumptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/test-everything-including-assumptions/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [That's the rational premise behind my spending hours of billable time adjusting my Facebook preferences. The real reason, of course, for all this stuff,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/that-s-the-rational-premise-behind-my-spending-hours-of-billable-time/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [When I see Facebook, I feel like Howlin' Wolf must have felt when he first heard Elvis. 'They finally taught a white boy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/when-i-see-facebook-i-feel-like-howlin-wolf-must-have-felt-when-he/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Whether the task is writing, design, or hanging a picture straight, it is obvious that we do our best work when healthy, rested, refreshed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/whether-the-task-is-writing-design-or-hanging-a-picture-straight-it/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [“Spec = asking the world to have sex with you and promising dinner date to one lucky winner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/spec-asking-the-world-to-have-sex-with-you-and-promising-dinner-date/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Don't worry about people stealing your design work. Worry about the day they stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/don-t-worry-about-people-stealing-your-design-work-worry-about-the/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Real web designers write code. Always have, always will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/real-web-designers-write-code-always-have-always-will/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Usability is like love. You have to care, you have to listen, and you have to be willing to change. You’ll make mistakes along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/usability-is-like-love-you-have-to-care-you-have-to-listen-and-you/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [The best way to engage honestly with the marketplace via Twitter is to never use the words "engage," "honestly," or "marketplace."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/the-best-way-to-engage-honestly-with-the-marketplace-via-twitter-is/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it's decoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/content-precedes-design-design-in-the-absence-of-content-is-not/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Content informs design; design without content is decoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/content-informs-design-design-without-content-is-decoration/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) > [Many young web designers view their craft the way I used to view pop culture. It's cool or it's crap. They mistake Style for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/many-young-web-designers-view-their-craft-the-way-i-used-to-view-pop/) [Jeffrey Zeldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) [Explore all 16 Jeffrey Zeldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Good Web design is about the character of the content, not the character of the designer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Zeldman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/good-web-design-is-about-the-character-of-the-content-not-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/good-web-design-is-about-the-character-of-the-content-not-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/jeffrey-zeldman-31946_character_good-web-design-is-about-the-character-o_845183.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Good Web design is about the character of the content, not the character of the designer.” — Jeffrey Zeldman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeffrey Zeldman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-zeldman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Good Web design is about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/good-web-design-is-about-the-character-of-the-content-not-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-zeldman/good-web-design-is-about-the-character-of-the-content-not-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```