As web designers, a lot of the work we create will have an expiry date. A couple of years after the launch of a website, providing it gets that far, it is likely to become extinct. Alternatively, they are morphed into a new design. The fact that web design is constantly changing, makes it impossible for most designs to have a long prosperous life. As a result, a lot of them make their way to the design burial ground.
The good news is they don’t have to stay in the burial ground permanently, not all of them, anyways. There are some that will be sent to their final resting place, never to be revived. Others can be. The reasons why they ended up in the burial ground in the first place is contingent as to whether or not they can be revived.
There are many reasons how they end up there, some of which are as follows:
• Creation of More Than One Design: There are occasions when a client requests for two or more designs creation. This is not an idealistic situation for a designer to be in. Chances are that they will not all be chosen and one or more will end up in the burial ground.
• Unfinished Projects: Sometimes, communications or the work relationship disintegrates between you and the client. Depending on the contract, the design (no matter what stage it is at) will either go with the client or to the burial ground.
• Sample Designs and Crowdsourcing: Through both sources, a lot of creative energy can go into a design that will never see the light of day. Since, they were intended for a specific purpose that did not happen, they will more than likely go to the burial ground.
• Old Age: Eventually, it will be time for a design to go to the burial ground. This happens after its life span has completed its course.
Whatever the reason that made the design to go into the burial ground, often it can be revived. It is not always a good idea to leave them in the design burial ground doing nothing. They can be used for other purposes, and some of these are as follows:
• Salvage Them: Sometimes, you can salvage a design and recycle it. Of course, this is not an option for designs that have launched. Only for those that did not make it that far.
• Share The Design: Open source the design, if it is of good quality.
• Teach Other Designers: If you are legally allowed to, use the design to teach other designers. If your design would be useful to others, put it in a blog, tutorial or article.
• Recycle Elements: If a burial ground design has an element that you like, use it in a different design.
Think of your design burial ground as a resource, rather than a final resting place. Time and energy had been utilized in their creation and letting them rot seems like a complete waste of time.
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