Web Design
Web design, a relatively new discipline within the design field, is
concerned with designing Web pages and sites. While Web designers usually
need to possess general design skills, such as an understanding of drawing
and a knack for creating aesthetically pleasing combinations of color and
form, they also need to have an understanding of Web-specific design
factors—screen resolution, image compression, usability, accessibility, and
website architecture. Web designers are responsible for everything from
designing a website's "look and feel" to incorporating
features such as e-commerce, online community, search engine optimization,
animations, interactive applications, and advertising hosting into the
site—all while ensuring that the site's design is optimized for the
specific technologies supporting it.
These careers require a combination of skill in visual design and
proficiency with technology. Most Web designers are salaried employees
(sometimes at advertising, marketing, or design agencies, or at Web
consulting firms, which build and manage websites for client
organizations), but there's a sizeable army of freelance Web designers
out there.
While the boom-boom years of the dotcom era are a thing of the past, the
Internet is growing by leaps and bounds every year; indeed, the number of
folks online in 2005 was nearly triple the number online in 2000. This
translates to job growth for Web designers.
A final note for people considering this field: As the Internet evolves—as
new technologies come into play and the needs of Internet users
change—there will be a need for new skills among Web designers. So
you'd better be okay with learning new skills on a fairly ongoing basis
if you want to develop a career in Web design.
What You'll Do
The work that Web designers do determines whether people stay on a site or
leave, and whether they do what the site wants them to do while they're
there.
If the website's goal is to generate e-commerce, sales results
ultimately provide the measure of the success of the Web designer's
work.
If the website depends on advertising or subscriptions for its revenue,
then metrics like online ad click-throughs and new subscribers will provide
the measure of success.
If the website's primary goal is to increase brand value... well,
that's a little harder to measure, but the site's perceived success
in doing so will be the measure of the Web designer's work.
Web design is a specialized function within information technology, and a
key role in Web development. Web designers create the look, feel, and
navigation for websites using HTML programming, which is the basic computer
language for creating Web pages, as well as a number of computer graphics
programs.
Their work includes defining the user interface (UI—what people see and
interact with when they come to a site and the navigation by which they
move through the site), creating catchy graphics or animated images, and
choosing the style, fonts, and other visual elements to make a site
appealing and help a company advance its business goals.
Because Web surfers are increasingly accessing the Internet via wireless
devices, be they Wi-Fi- or Bluetooth-enabled computers, cell phones, or
personal digital assistants, Web designers are increasingly facing the need
to optimize the pages they design for wireless devices.
What It's Like
If you're a Web designer, you'll need to stay abreast of the
rapidly changing technology in the field. New technologies, techniques, and
design standards are constantly being developed in an effort to meet the
ever-increasing demand for more exciting Web designs and functionality.
If you're a prospective Web designer, you should realize that designing
pages is not just a creative role, it also supports a business end, whether
that's driving e-commerce or building your company's brand. A good
website can be many times more effective than a brochure, delivering the
exact type and amount of information that a user desires—and allowing
clients to order without filling out a form or dialing a phone number.
Along with orders, a site captures relevant user data: pages viewed, time
spent at the site, and other information that can allow for targeted
marketing, thereby improving a company's business.
As with design in general, a Web designer's job is to make a product
(the website) functional and pleasurable for the user. At the same time, a
corporate website should help sell or market whatever the business that
sponsors it is selling or marketing. A Web designer working on a corporate
intranet site, for instance, will want to ensure easy access to relevant
information. A Web designer working at an e-commerce site will want to make
sure users recognize what the company is selling and help make the process
of buying it as easy as possible.
Who Does Well
Whether you work as part of a Web development team for a consulting firm,
within a company, or as an independent contractor, you'll need good
people skills, imagination, and mastery of the design tools. You will
interact with clients or other departments; take other forms of
information, such as brochures, slide presentations, print advertisements,
or other documents, and turn them into multimedia experiences; and
incorporate user data to help define and shape a website that people enjoy
visiting, and which helps the sponsoring company achieve its goals.
The interactive and highly integrated nature of a website means that there
is a constant cycle of creating, troubleshooting, and publishing involved.
Other people may give you raw information or documents to publish, and you
may attend organizational or departmental meetings on a regular basis, but
the vast majority of your time is spent in front of your computer—creating
new graphics, experimenting with animation, writing new scripts,
implementing new navigational techniques, or hunting down broken or expired
hyperlinks.
Web design is a high-profile role. Your work and job performance are viewed
and judged by thousands of people every day. While that can be extremely
satisfying and even exhilarating, it is a two-edged sword: If you make a
mistake, the entire company can be affected. Still, if you're an artist
at heart, have a perfectionist streak, and thrill at the thought of having
your work viewed around the world, then you may love this profession.
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Many job descriptions for Web designers require a bachelor's degree in
graphic design, visual arts, fine arts, or similar fields. Increasingly,
however, universities are offering—and employers are demanding—specialized
degrees in such fields as user interface design and information design.
Moreover, many master's degree programs in computer science now offer
concentrations in site architecture and other specific Web design-related
fields.
However, the Web is evolving so quickly that traditional university
programs may still be too cumbersome for potential Web designers. If you
are looking to get into the field as quickly as possible, then consider
taking some specialized courses in the areas that are of interest to
you—either from a college, nonprofit, or private computer-training school.
At a minimum, Web designers need to be familiar with HTML and JavaScript,
and understand the way Web graphics such as JPEGs and GIFs work. You should
also be proficient with industry-standard graphic-design software such as
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and Web layout tools such as Microsoft
FrontPage and Adobe's (formerly Macromedia's) Dreamweaver.
The multimedia design field has many companies that are developing new and
better design tools all the time, but the industry is dominated by
applications from Adobe, including Director, Shockwave, and Flash.
Remember: A career in Web design means that you never stop preparing. New
products, new standards, and new conventions emerge every day, and the only
real requirement is that you be handy with the latest and coolest design
tools and concepts available.
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The Internet is here to stay. More businesses—and customers—are going
online every day. And advances in technology will make Web skills an
ongoing corporate need.
Two industries worth singling out for opportunities are Internet service
providers (ISPs) and Internet consulting firms. In addition, there are many
small Web-design shops, each specializing in a different industry.
Traditional advertising, marketing, and PR companies are also heavily
involved in Internet work. In addition, graphic design studios have
combined website design with their traditional creative services offerings.
Many large companies keep their website activities in-house. The advent of
intranets, or company-specific HTML-based networks, means that Web-savvy
individuals are needed in every department to create and maintain each
division's information site within the overall corporate 'Net. Most
relatively large companies, and certainly all companies involved in high
tech or the media, have full-blown teams to handle their websites.
Determining where you might fit into such a team will help focus your
career preparation and narrow your job search.
Finally, many Web designers work as independent contractors, serving
smaller companies that don't want to hire a full-time Web staff, but
still want to have ongoing control of their sites' content, and
sometimes providing consulting services to larger companies. Independent
Web designers generally telecommute from home, where all they need is a
computer, a scanner, and a good connection to the Internet.
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Many Web designers come to the position with some formal training in the
arts or design, and a degree in graphic design or visual arts is often
desired. Still, the underlying artistic nature of the job means that if you
have a portfolio of work and can demonstrate proficiency with the necessary
design software, then you will be viewed as a qualified candidate, even
without a diploma in design. The titles that people use to describe
positions in Web design are not standard by any means, and sometimes the
words "Web designer" and "Web developer" are used
interchangeably.
The ensuing job titles and brief descriptions outline the major careers
available in Web design, from entry level to senior management.
Web Graphic Designer
Web graphic designer is an entry-level position that requires as much
knowledge of design-tool software as it does creative energy. Web graphic
designers create graphic elements for websites, including banner ads,
buttons, and other navigational elements. You'll need to know Adobe
Photoshop and other design programs, and be able to create graphics that
can be sized and compressed to work well in a Web environment.
A bachelor's degree is not usually necessary, but an associate's is
certainly a plus. Of course, you must have a portfolio of work (digital
and/or traditional) to show what you can do.
Web Designer
The title "Web designer" can mean many different things, from a
straightforward graphic designer to one who is responsible for an entire
website. In most cases a Web designer is tasked with combining the graphic,
textual, and other elements of a site to create an appealing layout. This
work may also include using JavaScript and other scripting devices to
create dynamic effects. Generally, a BS in graphic arts or commensurate
experience is required.
Multimedia Web Designer
Multimedia Web designers are often found in large Web development team
environments. Multimedia designers are responsible for creating
sophisticated, content-rich presentations using applications such as
Shockwave, Director, or Flash. Traditional degrees are not usually
required, but demonstrated proficiency with the programs, and a good
portfolio, are necessary.
User Interface (UI) Designer
The UI designer is responsible for the overall experience that visitors to
a site will have, including layout, presentation, and navigation. Being a
UI designer involves a great deal of interaction with marketing and other
departments as you work to present the right corporate image and make sure
your site is "on message." UI designers also need skills and
knowledge in the areas of aesthetics and human factors such as usability
and accessibility—they make sure a site is clear, concise, and easy to use.
A BS or MS in some sort of design field is usually required.
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As with many positions, salaries for Web designers vary according to
geography and the type of employer. Following are some typical salary
ranges:
-
Web designer: $25,000 to $60,000
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Senior Web designer: $45,000 to $75,000
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Art director: $50,000 to $80,000
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Creative director: $65,000 to $100,000
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Interface designer: $65,000 to $85,000
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Interface design director: $120,000 to $140,000