How To Simplify Complex Page Designs with Brent Jett

We are welcoming Brent Jett to WordCamp DFW again, and this year, he will be taking you through simplifying complex page designs.

Last year, he covered a pretty technical topic (browser dev tools) and this year, he will be sharing his expertise in a more beginner/design-focused session.

I’m a total design nerd and always happy to talk about issues that people encounter when creating for the web.

In his session, titled “Don’t be Afraid of Complex Page Designs,” Brent Jett wants to dive into what makes certain modern web designs really hard to think about and build.

We have lots of examples of large companies with big web teams putting out really amazing page designs and these are leading people to expect more from every website. It’s also common to find yourself in a situation where a graphic designer has handed off a very complicated design and you’re not sure how to even approach it. These things make creating sites hard, especially if you’re a freelancer or part of a small team.

Brent Jett’s session will be really valuable because he will outline a way of thinking about any design, no matter how complex, so that you never have to be afraid of a project or turn it down because you think it’s too much for you.

I’m hoping WordCamp DFW attendees will gain some inspiration and courage to tackle harder designs and more demanding projects. For me, that’s what makes the web fun.

Simplifying Complex Page Designs with Brent Jett

Before his role as As Design Lead at Beaver Builder, one of the most popular page builder plugins for WordPress, he worked for about 7 years as designer/developer at a digital marketing agency in Austin, building WordPress sites.

Around 2015 he started using Beaver Builder and ended up adopting it for most of his site work. He was able to get to know some of the Beaver Builder team and get involved in the community around it and at the beginning of 2016, he was hired to do some UI design for a new product they were thinking about (Beaver Themer Add-on).

It was part culture at Beaver Builder to attend WordCamps and that’s how I got pulled in, happily, into the overall WordPress community. Now I get to do product design full-time and go to awesome WordCamps for a living!

This year, Beaver Builder hit a milestone of over 1 million active installs of Beaver Builder and Brent Jett is very excited about that. We can’t wait to celebrate with him.

I think one of the things that makes WordCamps so compelling is just how welcoming our community is. Websites can be kind of a cold topic but there’s something really humanizing about talking with people who are dealing with the same struggles or issues that you have before. I was blessed to land in a team that was already established in the WordPress community and that got me connected to people very quickly. As a product designer, it’s invaluable to get to talk to people who use our products and hear what’s working well for them and where the pain points still are. When I go to camps I know there will likely be friends there, and I’ll probably make some new ones too.

You can tweet at Brent Jett during his session at @brentjett, using the hashtag #WCDFW.

Make sure you ask him about his work illustrating “silly alternate versions of the Beaver logo.”

So far he’s been a cowboy, a turkey, Frankenstein, a pumpkin, he’s been tie dyed, he’s been several country flags, and most recently a Star Wars rebel pilot.

We love that the Beaver Builder team brings stickers to WordCamp DFW, so if you see him walking around, check if he has any fun special edition beaver stickers on him. They are so fun!

Make sure you register for this year’s WordCamp DFW!  Head over to the Tickets page so you can be part of our community!