Are You A Web Designer?

[GTMUK]

Does anyone on the board work purely in web design?

Seems whoever I talk to these days dabbles a bit as their job requires..

I am just starting out on a web design CIW course so basically was looking for some advice...

1) What are peoples study methods - how do you find it best to retain information and apply it beneficially...

2) Any tips on cracking into the web world?

As always, my heartfelt thanks - you stay classy GDF....

[Pixel8]

Heyo...no. I'm not full time at that either, though I have a fair bit of experience. I would suggest this text, however: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789723107/103-5106425-5403830?v=glance&n=283155

And I know others here suggest that book as well. Steve Krug: Don't Make Me Think. It's a very readable and useful book on the subject of web navigation.

I would suggest that my way to remember what I learn is that I put it into practice right away, either on a project I'm working on or on my own site. I also set up little area on my website where I just mess around with ideas: http://www.steprock.com/playground I dump things in there and change it up whenever the desire to do so hits me.

Lotsa luck on your studies! Any other thoughts, guys?

[colonel5]

yes, play around and practice! I've found the best way to retain information (especially html, css, etc) is to use it consistently when I'm first using it to get it engrained in my brain. & Then once you're confident enough in the back end, that's where the art comes in...

[PersonasBinar]

In terms of studying and retaining information you are lucky in that the field you are looking at is one of it's works or it doesn't. Design can be so subjective it can get frustrating where you hate what the client loves and vice versa. With web design, for me at least, it''s hands on. I may read up on a technique but until i actually try it on the web, that's when it really starts to sink in. Remember that not all your knowledge has to remain in your head. Knowing how to create associations to a repository of information can be super useful too. I find it virtually impossible to remember everything I've learned over the years, but I digress.

Studying..... go over your class stuff within 12-24 hours of the class, this includes reading the chapters. Try to create what the lecture was about...nothing fancy just functional so that you KNOW you were able to clearly understand the concept and it's application.

Breaking into the web world....hmmmm. At least it's free to play on the web so you get a leg up on most professions. Build it build it build it. Join associations, forums, user groups in your city etc, and buy them all drinks. :p ..... Seriously though networking is the way to go. One happy client can be the beginning of a career if done right. NEVER under estimate the awesome power of word-of-mouth. Don't burn bridges. Good Luck and remember.."If you can't amuse them, confuse them."

[GTMUK]

Many thanks for you comments people - I am struggling to get cracking on it as it's a distance learning course so there is no "lessons" involved. The study guides however certainly point towards it being lesson based as there are lots of "your teacher should" comments.

The first section I'm studying is Network Fundamentals - packets, protocols, networking and IP addresses...

Damn.

I thought web design study would be a lot of pretty pictures and uploading lots of smut.

Oh well.... (takes tongue out of cheek)

[PersonasBinar]

Oh no my friend..... you are going to spend the rest of your days looking for the semi-colon that should be a full colon as it's keeping your entire project from working. When I was getting my programmer's degree I spent 8 hours only to find a comma was in the wrong position. Wait til you get into usability and functionality and database architecture for variable sites..... the fun's just starting and you will never EVER stop learning as it all changes every second Tuesday of all odd numbered months..

[GTMUK]

Shall I just kill myself now then?

I have wanted to do it for ages - to break out and try something which will give me a bit of creative freedom.

The more it goes on I feel I will get some creative freedom - but ulcers to boot...

[PersonasBinar]

No no just be aware of what you are getting into, web design isn't all pretty pictures, but understanding the underlying technology behind it and how it interacts with the myriad of web browsers out there. If you want to do it and you feel it's what you want to do then you will do it. Go in eyes open though.

[JPnyc]

Well there's different leanings in web work. You can lean more heavily towards the coding end, or you can be more of a graphics type designer who uses programs to get everything done. I do know some freelancers who work that way. I don't know many of that variety that work for large firms though. 1 or 2, perhaps, but most large companies want someone who knows how to code.

[Patrick Shannon]

Does anyone on the board work purely in web design?

Seems whoever I talk to these days dabbles a bit as their job requires..

I am just starting out on a web design CIW course so basically was looking for some advice...

1) What are peoples study methods - how do you find it best to retain information and apply it beneficially...

2) Any tips on cracking into the web world?

As always, my heartfelt thanks - you stay classy GDF....

Yep, I transitioned from print design to web design last year and work exclusively on websites, and the marketing strategies of such. I'm currently working on twenty-one of them at the moment until the design team grows back :(

Study retention...I suppose that would not differ from any other way a person studies for a subject in school. But pertaining to web, the best way to remember coding is to keep doing it again and again as you build more and more sites. I'm currently studying Actionscript 2.0 more closely, and something I do is after reading up/studying/whatnot, is to go back and try to build out what I had just learned without looking at the material I learned off of. If I can't, then back to the drawing board, I study it again, and then try it all out again.

My advice for you is to study accessibility and what makes good websites attractive to visitors, and it's not all about pretty graphics either. It's not all that different than print design, positioning the elements to entice the reader, etc. A good book to look at is called "Don't Make Me Think," the author's name escapes me at the moment.

And WYSIWYG editors is near worthless, if you want to get anywhere big in web design, learn the code. CSS and a language like PHP or ASP, for starters. And keep up with new trends (blogging, Flash, etc).

[Flash MX Guy]

re:"But pertaining to web, the best way to remember coding is to keep doing it again and again as you build more and more sites. I'm currently studying Actionscript 2.0 more closely, and something I do is after reading up/studying/whatnot, is to go back and try to build out what I had just learned without looking at the material I learned off of. If I can't, then back to the drawing board, I study it again, and then try it all out again."

...this is true...and just to add, there is no end to the learning...there is always something new or something you need or want to know...

...good luck...

..sip..

[EC]

go to www.csszengarden.com -- a site that showcases what can be accomplished with CSS layouts. They encourage designers to download the html and css to see how things are done.

I still do this type of thing all the time, and I do consider myself a web designer. I try not to rely on programs too much (although I did just purchase TopStyle and so far I'm very impressed -- it really helps you to write beautiful stylesheets -- and for a fraction of the Dreamweaver pricetag). I am not an expert in CSS, but I know it well enough to write it by hand and troubleshoot. It does come in handy. Control is good!

Good luck! :)

[GTMUK]

I think the best way for me to see what I want to specalise in is to get my hands dirty and see what takes my fancy. I saw an article in a UK web design magazine outlining the future of the web and new technologies and it was very daunting.

Feel like I am behind enemy lines already - so if I know CSS by the time I can use it confidently it will be an old dying dinosaur...

We shall see I guess but the first section I have is Networking and I scanned the study books yesterday...

Does ANYONE understand binary!!! (cheeky smile)

[PersonasBinar]

No worries there......
Everything keeps changing, but it's built up on the products of previous generations. So if you learn something it won't be completely useless when the tools change as your understanding of the underlying tech is better than, say if you were using a graphical interface for everything. And yes to the binary.... lol. Just another number system.

[GTMUK]

Thats very good point, everything has it's origins somewhere and a bloke at work has told me that as basic as HTML is it's the way to learn - because so much feeds off it...

The good thing about starting off with the networking is it's quite apparently the most difficult and hardest to do - so IF I get through that it's plain sailing.

Ahem.

Mebbe...

[JPnyc]

Well no, programming is the hardest thing to learn. When I was in I.T. school the classmates that dropped out of the programming course went to networking.

[Tiki]

Yes, web development and design is 90% of my business these days. I don’t do this part time, I’m not a student, and in fact I have been in business for 10 years now. My wait list for clients is about a month.



My first website was done in 1993, let me tell you things have changed. I am still proud of my first design, the funny thing is, it was light years ahead its time. Dial up could never allow it. But today it would fit right in.





1) What are peoples study methods - how do you find it best to retain information and apply it beneficially...



Search the web and have a good group of other developers to bounce ideas off of. Stay in communication. pass on your tips and they will pass their tips to you. Find a dicipline and stick to that. I specialze in PHP/content managed sites. I dont do flash, cold fusion, or affordable sites. I one thing and stat with that.


I scour book stores for used and out of print books. A book a year old with a CD is worth $10 even if its dated information.





2) Any tips on cracking into the web world?



Look around your town. Back in '93 I made a deal with the guy that taught me. I did his graphics he showed me code.



If you can get a job as a lackey you will be better for it. Most people want up to speed developers and its hard to find someone to teach you. Just stick your foot in the best place and be willing to work for peanuts in lieu of training.



Good luck. Stick to it.

[cre8tor]

good questions and great feedback. i'm enjoying reading this and soaking it in :)

[GTMUK]

D'you know the only problem with forging a career in web - not sure if this resonates in the US or other countries. But so many UK jobs insist of giving the job the silliest title in the world.... "Webmaster".

Am I a 1980's retro game enthusiast? Erm no... Whats wrong with web developer or web designer...

I am sure my current employment are toying with changing the post to "Lord Of The Web"

[Jasmine]

Well I've been designing for about 5 years now. I would advise learning to hand-code html and CSS. This way you'll have more control over the layout and design of your site. And debugging will come easier. I've learned the hard way in some respects. Anyway, its taken me awhile to get this far, and I'm still learning. Now am working towards building server-side applications running a database. I hire outside programmers, so I can foucus more on the design and layout and have them program the back end.

I second another poster who mentioned Steve Krulig's book... I think the above is the easy part. Its making the site usable, easy to navigate and keeps customers coming back that is the challenge.

Other resources:
Information Architecture: Christina Wodtke
Designing Web Usability: Jakob Nielsen
Designing with web standards: Jeffrey Zeldman
More Eric Meyer on CSS: Eric Meyer

Good luck!!

[whammajamma]

hey ;)
I worked in web for many many years and my advice (I hope its helpful) is to concentrate on 1-2 areas and become a specialist in these areas. There are way, way to many things to learn all in one go....you may become a 'jack of all trades and master of none' and does the world need another one of them?..lol.

Listen if its web design you wanna focus on...

These will not lead you into web design interface design.

php
ASP
C+
Other database driven langiuages
networks
IP administration
Server
Hosting


For a starter I recommend like the other guys

User navigation
Web design protocols
HTML
Flash
Adobe/macromedia suite

Then go on to

Some Javascript
Pure XHTML
Actionscript
PHP

To save on the ulcers just become aprofessional in 1-2 areas first and see how things go....you will pick up plenty of other 'off topic' stuff aloung the way.

Best of luck

TG
www.feedmecoolshit.com (http://www.feedmecoolshit.com)

[Pete33]

I'm a jack of some trades and master of a few of them, I think. We never had computers in my school days (we were still using slates and chalk, :p) so I've done all my learning either on the job or in my own time. Usually it's a case of "if the client wants it then I'll learn how to do it".

My main line of work is Word and PowerPoint custom-made document templates, backed up with Visual Basic code and wizard dialogue boxes, but I have a few web sites under my belt, and a couple more under consideration.

Despite having built my first site in 1998, I'm still learning what needs to be done, especially with regard to search engine optimisation. After a flirtation with complex sites, I've returned to simple but effective graphics on simple but fast-loading pages, and it feels like a kind of rebirth, actually. Simple HTML and good navigation are definitely prerequisites before you start on the rest of it.