I really want to be a Web Designer and would like to ask profesional people what you recomend. [Where should I start? What is a good school in London?]
My Thoughts
I believe that the best way to learn the basics of Web design are through doing it. You should start by learning HTML and CSS. Then once you've mastered the basics, you can move on to more specialized aspects of Web development such as:
I can't recommend any specific school for getting a degree in Web design because most schools have only been offering degrees for a few years, and I didn't get a degree in Web design or development. I'm not convinced that having a degree in Web design or development is going to make you more salable in the market than someone who knows good design or programming techniques and applies them to the Web. I'd be curious to know what other people think.
If I were going to go back to school today to get into the Web field, I'd focus on something more general than Web design. For example, if I knew I love to program, I'd get a computer science degree. Or if I loved the design aspects, I'd get a graphic design degree. The concern I have with getting a Web design degree specifically is that what's hot today won't be hot in 2 or 4 years when you graduate. But knowing how to program or having classical design skills will always be transferrable.
What do you think?
Do you have or are you getting a degree in Web design or Web development? Is it worth the work? Why did you decide to get that degree? Or do you think that getting a degree or going to school is the best way to learn Web design?
Help out Ewelina74 and others trying to find a great way to learn Web design. Post your comments to the forum.
I agree with you Jennifer. Learning web design is something that is readily available online and in books. It is the art of “doing” that will produce great results. I don’t feel a degree in web design would be valuable or make one more marketable, as it is the PORTFOLIO and your style that will get the design job. Graphic design and programing would be the way to go for the degree.
I learned HTML back in 1996 when I got my first computer. Back then it was fairly easy to figure out HTML. Now aday though it is more complex. With the strict rules of XHTML, CSS, JavaScripting, PHP and all the other fun little languages that they have made for us it takes a bit more.
I suggest starting out with a quickstart book or even with the HTML Bible (big black and yellow book) and just going through everything as you need it. Expect for the website to not work for a good long time and then when it does work, run it through the XHTML checker and fix all of your errors. This will teach you a great deal about building a site of any style.
I had done this for a few years until 2003 when I went to Collins Collage in Arizona for Graphic Design. I have my BA now and I have been using it in my webpage design. The school worked out great and I now also have a very strong background in print design. I did not intend to learn this, but it came with some of the required classes and I took a very strong interest in it. This added skill increased my value substantialy because now I can do a lot more for my clients.
Contrary to the others, I believe you should start with the DESIGN. If you do not know how to design for the web, then you are pushing uphill from the start. Then learn how to translate that design into HTML/CSS. Of course, there is always a bit of to and fro between learning what is possible and what is not as far as the design/code relationship is concerned.
Though I agree in principle that web design and development can be learned without returning to college, in my case it was valuable (and time-saving) to learn from experienced college instructors who were well versed in ALL aspects of web design and development, including design, hand coding, programming, search engine optimization, accessibilty, W3C standards, and the implementation and integration of all of the above.
I am appalled by the number of self-proclaimed “designers” who obviously slap together a website using a WSYWIG editor (just check the source code) with little though or understanding of what they are doing. Their incompetence often brings me business after the fact, when the site doesn’t meet client requirements, however, IMO poor quality work reflects poorly on the industry and diminishes public opinion of web designers/developers as true professionals. JMO!
Yes, it is possbible to learn your trade well without formal education, however, I believe it important to have a gestalt understanding of the entire industry aspects even if you choose to specialize in only one aspect. And even with formal education, the bulk of learning comes with real life applications and experience.
I agree with Marilyn regarding education. The key is to find the college that provides a quality education. As with any career, once you know what you want to do, you can search for a school that has the best program for that degree. No school can do it all well.
Before attending college, I was self-taught. I have always had a good visual eye for layout and design. But what I learned in college was invaluable, because had I not gone, I probably would not have known what to focus on and learn.
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Web Design/Multimedia. My degree includes all the the classes required to obtain an Associates in Graphic Design. I attended a technical college that provided learning from professionals who had industry experience. There is nothing more valuable than learning from those who have been there!
Honestly, I have gained a lot from my education. Of course you have to have the know how and portfolio, but education will give you an edge over a competitor with the same skills and talents. That’s a given in any field.
Although I have eight web sites that I’ve put up for myself and friends, I don’t consider myself a “designer,” as such. I really don’t think a “degree” matters much at all, because of the rapid advances being made… and with two engineering degrees, a PhD in Sociology, and having programmed in various self-taught languages, I can say that with all confidence.
What DOES matter, is a course or so from knowledgeable, hands-on instructors that can point the way toward various possibilities. It really isn’t the degree that counts, but what you can do.
My intro to web programming was taking an on-line course that was labeled as “web design,” but turned out to be a low-level HTML class. The result of that experience was a 200+ page site written w/o any authoring tools and relying only on very basic HTML.
So, I’d suggest simply “going and doing!” With helpful “hints along the way” such as Jennifer produces, personally I see no real reason for having to get a degree in such a rapidly changing field. It’s more a matter of staying current and applying a bit of common sense.
There are thousands of templates available. I would recommend to just learn how to customize templates.
Yo can build websites in a fraction of time than designing from scratch.
I have a print design degree from years ago and have been battling the web ever since. I have a design in my head, but I can’t get the code to work. I want to take some code classes, but am not interested in getting a web design degree. Any suggestions on how to go about doing that? Unfortunately, the colleges look at you like you have 3 heads when you tell them you don’t need the degree. I am a business owner who simply wishes to create the site myself. Any suggestions!?
A employer in the technology industry will almost always prefer a self-taught candidate over a classically trained candidate, all other things being equal. Self-teaching is highly valued in an industry this fast-paced. If you have trouble learning HTML on your own, then expanding that into something like AJAX will even harder. And then Adobe will release CS6 and you’ll have to know RIA dev with FLEX – If you can’t learn it quickly and on your own you will be left behind.
One of my biggest pet peeves is the middle-ager going back to school who really doesn’t belong in the CS/graphic design program. Please explore/DO something on your own to see if you enjoy it BEFORE you pay for schooling. If everybody enjoyed cooking there wouldn’t be nearly as many restaurants – everybody has the potential to become a great chef but very few enjoy it enough to put in the required time.
Beyond that, I would like to further rationalize ageism in tech. While a lot of the big names in tech are over 50 at this point (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc) they had the same advantage that nearly every child born today has – access to technology from an early age. Think of the first computer you ever saw or interacted with. How old were you? How old were you when you gained 24/7 access to a computer? To the ‘net? As a child born in the mid 80’s I don’t know life without technology. I have always had a computer, and my parents first signed up for blazing 14.4kbps dialup in 1992. The first personal computer sold in ‘77, but it took three decades for computers to become even half as ubiquitous as they are now. Practice makes perfect, and today’s youth have practiced technology every single day of their waking life.
tl;dr start small, teach yourself, and if you don’t have fun then pay somebody else to do it
All these people claiming their education was “invaluable” and such and such, I’d like to see their actual website designs … I have a feeling most would leave a lot to be desired. There’s not many true artists out there these days.
I myself personally do not do web-design, but if I did, it would be much better then what’s out there.