The Web Designer
A web designer is an experienced person who is hired by a client to communicate a message, brand, company, or identity to the public. The duties of a web designer include forming a layout with the client that meets the needs of the client; creating an interesting appearance for the web page through the use of colors, typography and graphics; making sure that the web page or site has flowing and intuitive navigation. It isn't uncommon for the duties of the web designer to be similar to that of an Multimedia Programmer or a Web Architect.
If you are looking to become a web designer it is important to know of the education, knowledge, experience and personal skills required. Useful personal skill are such as enjoying computers and browsing web pages, flexibility, the ability to work under pressure and strong verbal communication skills. Most web designers tend to have a background in graphic design, fine arts, publishing or computer science. The educational requirements for this kind of career vary seeing how what is most important is your past work experience and hands on training. Some web designers have a four year college degree, some have two, some took only a few specialized classes and others have no advanced schooling at all. It is necessary for a web designer to have experience or knowledge in using design software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Flash. Usually other members of a web developing team will cover other areas of web development, but a good web designer would be practiced in knowing details about different web browsers, operating systems and programming languages.
The outlook on this career is very positive. The demand for this skill is plentiful and the skills of a web designer are most marketable. The challenge is learning all you need to get started and keeping up to date from then on.
Citations:
StateUniversity.com, Copyright © 2010 http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/142/Web-Designer.html, 9/30/10.
Web Developer by Prospects.com, http://ww2.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/web_developer_job_description.jsp, 9/30/10.
Tricia Ellis-Christensen, What does a web designer do?, copyright © 2003 - 2010, http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-a-web-designer-do.htm, 9/30/10.
Jeffrey Zeldman, What is a web designer, anyway?, © 2010, http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=24379, 9/30/10.
Jennifer Kyrnin, Should I become a web designer?, ©2010, http://webdesign.about.com/od/jobs/p/should_I_become_a_web_designer.htm, 9/30/10.
Job Search
Job Title: Design Intern
Company: Fandango.com and Movies.com
Location: US - Lost Angeles, California
Job Description: Need to be self motivated, passionate about design and be willing to work with staff.
Responsibilities: Design usable interfaces, design demos for testing, revise with feedback, help develop site maps and page flows, and be able to provide design solutions.
Skills Required: Strong visual design skills, thoughtfulness, creativeness, skilled with typography as well as color and layouts, must be experienced with photshop and illustrator, knowledgeable in HTML, CSS, Javascript, and know a bit in Flash animation.
Education: Must be at student of a four year program or just graduated.
Salary: 3 month internship at $12-14/hour with a 30-40 hour work week.
Citation:
Coroflot.com, © 2010, http://www.coroflot.com/public/job_details.asp?job_id=27384&job_category_id_18=18, 9/30/10.
