Define Web Design

Hi all, in response:

Question: 
So what would be a more constructive angle to this thread is;
>> what makes a good designer? How do you know if you've got what it takes to
>> take your skills to the next level and try your hand at doing it
>> professionally? How many of you started out as rank amateurs and have

Martin's answer:

>Good question. I would divide the skills up into two broad categories:
>technical and creative.

That's a good start, and while starting a thread about what makes a good
desinger is a great question, let's start by looking at what web design is.

Becoming technically proficient in graphics or HTML is a good thing. And
knowing how to get to the next level is another.  But even in this list,
Web design is what we do  -- not visual design per se.  They overlap, to be
sure, but therein lies the point.

Unfortuately, many of us discuss too often  how things *look* (it's
natural) and all the cool stuff instead of how well graphics work for a web
site (that's what we really must do).   And many of us on here may not be
graphic artists, but we are also not necessarily rank amateurs in WEB
design, either.  Knowing web design does not presuppose being a great
graphic artist.   I've seen great graphic artists with lousy web sites.  

To me what makes a web designer great as opposed to simply average is the
ability to use great graphics that SUPPORT the user.    Perhaps you say
well, "dah" --  but how many peope have actually sat down and tried to
verbalize or give value this aspect of usability?  THIS is where we need to
start analyzing, not how well one can make a flash animation, for instance.

We need to start thinking less about snazz and more about user interface.
Great graphics they may be, but without function, purpose and user
guidance, they mean nothing to a business owner or a user who has come to
read, look, do business, or whatever the intent is.  

If we start to attach value to how our graphics support the user, we will
do ourselves a great service.

I LOVE cool graphics.  I need to make sure graphics work for the site,
because if I call myself a web designer, I must prioritize the fact that
the WEB is FIRST in web design, and graphics support that rather than the
other way around... 

At 06:12 PM 6/7/99 -0700, you wrote:
>
>> one of them! So what would be a more constructive angle to this thread is;
>> what makes a good designer? How do you know if you've got what it takes to
>> take your skills to the next level and try your hand at doing it
>> professionally? How many of you started out as rank amateurs and have
>
>Good question. I would divide the skills up into two broad categories:
>technical and creative.
>
>Technically, you should be proficient enough to at least copy a snazzy
>site from the ground up. You should have access to enough fonts and image
>programs to remain flexible. If you come across very many sites and you
>ask yourself "howddey do that?" each time - probably you need to brush up
>on your technical skills.
>
>Creatively, it's another matter. You can come up against many sites that
>are technically straight-forward, but creatively they are a cut above.
>Then, you're saying to yourself: "whyddina I think of that?" Presuming,
>here, that you know how to do it technically. To develop this skill,
>browse, browse and browse and play and play and play with your image
>programs. I goof around Photoshop regularly and sometimes discover neat-o
>things and add them to my arsenal of design tricks.
>
>In the end, your proficiency will be measured by the efficacy of your
>final product. 
>
>mk
>
>
>-------------------------------------------
> Oh, sad are winter nights, and slow;
> And sad's a song that's dumb;
> And sad it is to lie and know
> Another dawn will come.
>          Dorothy Parker (The Small Hours)
>------------------------------- 1254/1423 -
>
>Martin Krzywinski
>System Administrator
>Center for Integrated Genomics
>BC Cancer Agency
>600 West 10th Avenue
>Vancouver, BC V5Z 4E6
>(604)877-6086
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>
>
>
>
Chris Hawkins
Author & Web Architect
Home Office: 520-795-9979
 	
	*	*	*	*	*	*     *
The idea is not [only] to make art, but to be in that wonderful state which
makes art inevitable.  

				-- Robert Henri and [CHRIS HAWKINS]

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