Web Design, Time For Reflection
I find it hard to call myself a web designer sometimes, I feel like one of those self-proclaimed artist. But that is my job title, for the time being at least. I don’t pretend to know everything about the web or design; nevertheless, I have learned a lot over the last year or so and feel comfortable doing what I do. So, what makes a web designer? Rather, what is web design?
The Misconceptions
In issue no. 249 of A List Apart, Jeffrey Zeldman, wrote an article about the profession titled Understanding Web Design. If you haven’t read it, you should. In any case, one of his key points was the difference between web design and other forms of design. He writes, “Web design is not book design, it is not poster design, it is not illustration, and the highest achievements of those disciplines are not what web design aims for.” and concludes that it is a fallacy to judge web design under any design principle other than web design.
Unfortunately, may people involved in other forms of design and in the fine arts hold this great misconception. The mistaken idea that web design is a transferable skill. In other words, they believe that the skills they posses will transfer into a web medium. This believe could not be further from the true, sadly there are many people who think this way.
The Future
Web design has come a long way since the the introduction of the world wide web to the world. Nevertheless, recognition for the field or those who practice has not seen a similar growth. However, with more and more companies and individuals (myself included) becoming aware of its importance in our every day living, the lack of recogniton towards web designers is soon to change.
No need to be flashy
These days, an increasing number of web design galleries are recognizing web sites for their flashiness. It almost seems as though they want websites to look like a rock band’s concert poster. I am by no means saying that these sites do nothing for web design, they do plenty. In fact, many of the showcased sites are indeed great designs, accessible, and a pleasure to navigate. But again, many are not, many are imitations of other forms of designs, not necessarily suitable for the web.
My Final Thoughts
I am not Jeffrey Zeldman. I am a college student who loves what he does and writes from experience. Obviously experience does a lot for a person, specially a designer. I can only hope this post sparks your desire to learn more about web design.
