Have you heard of that brochure by a Dutch studio, The Stone Twins which entire print run was taken to Dutch Army and soldiers fired bullets through each of copies printed? Amazing idea isn’t it?
I love such stories behind print artworks. They are retold, they inspire and very often they live longer than the piece itself. And they are fun to listen, at least to designers anyway.
But what do you hear when it comes to the web though? There aren’t many stories about websites. Not as exciting anyway. On one end there’s the technology, the boring bit. On the other, there are numbers, statistics. Metrics that prove whether the layout you designed was successful or not and whether the site brought any more business to your client. Or was it just another website on the net that simply was just there?
And the only stories you commonly hear are those about websites that failed. Sites that costed huge amounts of money but never really brought any business to their owners.
I guess as a designer you don’t want any of your websites to appear in one of those stories, right?
The good news is that it’s not difficult to do so. Just like with print design there is a set of skills and knowledge you need to master and you’re on a straight path to designing beautiful and successful sites. Of course it’s hard work but hey, it’s just like with anything in life, isn’t it?
So cutting to the chase, what knowledge you should master to call yourself a professional web designer?
1. You have to understand how the web works and realize one important thing, users do not visit your sites for their design. They come there for information and that is the only thing that matters to them. The only people interested solely in your designs are your fellow designers. And you generally do not design for them.
2. Realize that usability, the way you make it easy for your visitor to use the site is the most crucial thing in web design. In other words, if your users can’t browse through the site easily they won’t stay and won’t come back. Imagine also what sort of image of the company such website gives.
3. Learn the technology behind the web. How information is passed between server and a browser.
Just like with print design where you have to learn the basics of print processes, on the web you need to know how the technology running the show works.
In addition you should learn as much as you can, mainly through experience I am afraid, of how various browsers interpret the code and what are their limitations. This comes usually handy when you design a site that uses modern technologies but you still want it to work on older browsers.
4. Discover how to organize content on the website. It simply works much differently than with print.
Learn how users read on the web, what helps them to scan your copy and find information most relevant to what they are looking for. Also you should know what makes great copy on the web and how to write a content that focuses on fulfilling your users needs.
5. In addition to that learn how to structure the entire site. Just so that your user not only will enjoy reading the copy but also will have no problems finding all the information they need. Master how to make the whole experience of moving from one information to the other seamless and enjoyable.
6. Understand how the code works. If you design the site you should have at least a basic understanding of it. That knowledge will show you what you can do and what might cause you problems. But by all means you don’t have to know how to code.
7. It is also good to investigate actual limitations of the design material you can use. Fonts, colors and images all work differently than with print. Once you know the difference the whole process of design will become much easier for you. Otherwise there may be some not so nice surprises waiting for you at the end of the road.
7+. And most importantly, view and analyze other sites. Especially those really successful ones. Just like when you were learning your graphic design by viewing works by design masters. But pay more attention to structure, navigation and usability not to design elements on those sites. This is what your visitors will be paying attention on your sites too.
Mastering this knowledge will have another major effect on your web design skills apart from making your sites work for your client. It will also build a great confidence in your skills. And there is nothing worse that be working on a project and feeling that you may not be good enough to actually be doing it.
So, over the next couple of weeks I will be posting here roundups of links to great articles and tutorials on each of the skills mentioned in the article. These should give you a good foundation to start mastering what you need to know to call yourself a professional web designer.
But for now, if you have any interesting stories behind websites please share them with us in comments here.
Jimmy from Short Stay Apartments in Amsterdam