The purpose of this project is for me to explore careers I would like to pursue in the future after I finish college.
I went into classes at Clark knowing that I wanted to do something with computers and technology. Websites have always interested me; what they look like and the interactions you can make with them. So when I saw the Web Design and Development program here at Clark, I immediately began taking the classes I needed for it.
But as I began taking classes in design and classes in programming, I found that while I like both, I was drawn more to the graphic design aspect outside of class. Whether I am any good at graphic design is another story. But I began to wonder which of the two would lead me to a career that I'd be passionate about for years to come. Then I started to wonder what the difference between Graphic Design and Web Design and Development was.
This project is an exploration into Graphic Design and Web Design and Development. I hope by the end of it to have explored all the different aspects of each and reach a conclusion about which I should pursue. Do I continue with specific design and development of web sites, or do I switch to being a more general graphic designer, bypassing the back end coding of things?
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
What's the Difference?
My first big question: what's the difference between Web Design and Graphic Design?
Okay, so specifically what I'm doing now is "Web Design and Development". The "Design" stuff is using things like Photoshop, Flash and whatever skills you have to make something look good. The "Development" stuff is all the things you don't see behind the design. It's the HTML and CSS coding on a web page or the Unix shells that run your computer. So, graphic design is the design part of "Web Design". They're the same thing. Right?
Web Design Differences
Unlike print design (which is probably the larger part of graphic design), there are different things you need to take into consideration when designing a web page. Some of the basics are things like:
Resolution- the quality of an image. Images are measured in resolution by pixels per inch (ppi). The web standard for images is about 72ppi. Any more than that, and the image may load slow. Does the page you are designing need a lot of pictures? Then you need to consider the resolution of those pictures before your web page takes 10 minutes to load, and your viewers decide to go somewhere else.
Font- what the text on the page looks like. Sure, font is important in print design as well, but when you use a font on a web page, you can run the risk of someone not being able to see it. Some fonts are special and don't come on every computer or are compatible with every web browser.
Image formats- the format in which your image is saved that effects its file size and quality in a different way than resolution. There are several different image formats like jpeg, gif, and png. Some have different capabilities that might be useful when designing a web page.
Purpose- When you are designing a web page, you are designing something specific. Sure, you can be creative, but some things about web pages don't change that often between the two. With graphic design, the field is far more general. You may have job making a logo for a company, design a new poster for the next battle of the bands, or even creating those awkward brochures your doctor gives you that you're afraid to show anyone else.
You're not Alone- One final thing a web designer has to worry about is that you are not working on a web page alone. In print, you might have one person in charge of the text and one doing the design work. With designing a web page, you might have one person in charge of the text, one person in charge of the design and one person who is coding the page and bringing everything together. If all you are doing with a web page is designing how it looks by creating the images, you will probably need to work pretty close with the coder to make sure everything looks like you or your client envisioned.
Okay, so those are the kinds of things a web designer would have to consider that a normal graphic designer might not. They are different, sure, but they both still seem pretty appealing. What do I need to look at next?
Interested? Here are some links I used:
Web Design Enterprise: Difference Between Web Design and Graphic Design Web Design Enterprise is a company based in Florida who designs web pages for clients. While they are a company, and their website serves foremost to advocate their "high end web solutions", they do have a few interesting pages about web design and development. If you are interested in looking at the kinds of designs their clients have asked for, you can check out their portfolio. In this link, they talk about the things like font and images concerned with designing specifically for the web. They look a little more at the more technical side of the differences.
Okay, so specifically what I'm doing now is "Web Design and Development". The "Design" stuff is using things like Photoshop, Flash and whatever skills you have to make something look good. The "Development" stuff is all the things you don't see behind the design. It's the HTML and CSS coding on a web page or the Unix shells that run your computer. So, graphic design is the design part of "Web Design". They're the same thing. Right?
Web Design Differences
Unlike print design (which is probably the larger part of graphic design), there are different things you need to take into consideration when designing a web page. Some of the basics are things like:
Resolution- the quality of an image. Images are measured in resolution by pixels per inch (ppi). The web standard for images is about 72ppi. Any more than that, and the image may load slow. Does the page you are designing need a lot of pictures? Then you need to consider the resolution of those pictures before your web page takes 10 minutes to load, and your viewers decide to go somewhere else.
Font- what the text on the page looks like. Sure, font is important in print design as well, but when you use a font on a web page, you can run the risk of someone not being able to see it. Some fonts are special and don't come on every computer or are compatible with every web browser.
Image formats- the format in which your image is saved that effects its file size and quality in a different way than resolution. There are several different image formats like jpeg, gif, and png. Some have different capabilities that might be useful when designing a web page.
- Jpegs are probably the most common for general pictures (like that summer vacation photo you uploaded to your blog), but it can compress the picture making it look a little blurry sometimes. It's great for photos because of the amount of colors it has on its pallet.
- Gifs are pretty cool. It's a format that nearly every web browser recognizes and it's great for something with a few different colors and isn't too detailed. It also has the ability to be made into something that will play a sequence of images. You ever see those pictures online where an image of a cat plays a piano? No, not a video, but an image that plays kind of like a video. One downside: some mac users have some problems playing gifs if you saved the image.
- Png as a format sort of similar to Gif. It allows transparency (so do gifs) so those web sites where you see an image of a tree placed seamlessly on a background, but the tree goes beyond where the background stops without showing anything more than the tree? That's because the tree is a separate image with a transparent background. Unlike gifs, png does not support that animation feature, but png as a format was designed to replace gifs. Png also isn't supported by every browser, so using it you run the risk of your viewer not being able to even see your image.
Purpose- When you are designing a web page, you are designing something specific. Sure, you can be creative, but some things about web pages don't change that often between the two. With graphic design, the field is far more general. You may have job making a logo for a company, design a new poster for the next battle of the bands, or even creating those awkward brochures your doctor gives you that you're afraid to show anyone else.
You're not Alone- One final thing a web designer has to worry about is that you are not working on a web page alone. In print, you might have one person in charge of the text and one doing the design work. With designing a web page, you might have one person in charge of the text, one person in charge of the design and one person who is coding the page and bringing everything together. If all you are doing with a web page is designing how it looks by creating the images, you will probably need to work pretty close with the coder to make sure everything looks like you or your client envisioned.
Okay, so those are the kinds of things a web designer would have to consider that a normal graphic designer might not. They are different, sure, but they both still seem pretty appealing. What do I need to look at next?
Interested? Here are some links I used:
Web Design Enterprise: Difference Between Web Design and Graphic Design Web Design Enterprise is a company based in Florida who designs web pages for clients. While they are a company, and their website serves foremost to advocate their "high end web solutions", they do have a few interesting pages about web design and development. If you are interested in looking at the kinds of designs their clients have asked for, you can check out their portfolio. In this link, they talk about the things like font and images concerned with designing specifically for the web. They look a little more at the more technical side of the differences.
Graphic Design vs. Web Design: Separate and Not Equal
Here's this guys blog, Nick Haas. He's a web designer who used to work as a more general graphic designer. He points out a more designer side to the differences between designing for the web vs. print. Things like thinking about how usable your web page is and accepting the differences between the two.
Difference Between a Web and Graphic Designer
This article is like the others, it talks about what the title says, but it points out that you will use different tools and mediums for web design than you might for graphic design. A program like Photoshop you might use for both, but Dreamweaver you'll probably only use for web design. It also has a small section about what kinds of things you would do in graphic design that you wouldn't do in web design (like designing a poster or CD cover).
Here's some more information on the different image file formats. Sure, there are a few more including some that are specific to programs like photoshop files, but these are the big three.
Understanding the PPI, DPI and Resolution Dilemma
Want to know more about PPI and the resolution of images? Want to know about the dilemma? This is a good place to look.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Closer Look: Web Designer and Developer Career
So maybe it is time to take a closer look at the careers themselves. First, let's look at everything Web Design and Development orientated. How much school do I need? What are people saying the job entails? How much would I get paid?
Overview
One thing about web design and development careers is that depending on the employer, your duties may differ. If you are just a web designer, you might just be concerned with what the web site is going to look like. If you are just a web developer, you might just have to worry about coding the web page. The strange part is sometimes the job title is just web designer but you would also be in charge of coding, and the same could be true if you are a web developer expected to also design the look of the site. That can get kind of confusing, but it seems that both titles of web designer and web developer more often than not require you to at least know how to do both jobs (assuming you don't know exactly who you are working for, or what they require of you specifically). So, for the sake of simplicity, any statistics I found that are for specific design or development will either be noted, or averaged with it's counterpart. Also, unless specifically mentioned as separate things, both web designer and web developers will be considered as one. If I say a web designer, unless I also talk about the developer, I mean both. It just becomes a mouthful to say.
Things You'll Need to Do
So, with web design, you create all the pretty boxes, background and color coordinate. The development part is making sure there is the proper coding there so when you hit a button it takes you to the proper place. That's about it right? Not necessarily.
With this particular field, there are a couple career routes you can go, and some of them mean having different duties.
A freelance web designer is someone who works on their own. Say a new small business opened up and they want a web site for their new business. One option they have is by contacting a freelance designer, either by having someone recommended to them, a website that offers services to connect clients and freelancers together, or by placing ads online (like Craigslist). A freelancer probably won't work for a client permanently. They'll design the website for the client, then move on. Sometimes, there can be several freelancers working on one project, one for design and one for development for example. Some do all the work on their own. Someone working freelance doesn't just have to worry about doing the work. They have to balance their personal life with this job. Since they work on their own, they have no bosses or time schedules, just deadlines given to them by their clients. They also have to be careful about money. They make have prices for their work, but if they don't get enough clients to pay the bills, they could get in trouble fast. They need to worry about how to keep clients coming to them fairly steadily.
Another route you can go is working for a business who provides web design and development services. A company like this might have some people who are in charge of the design aspect, and some who are in charge of development/coding. In addition, the company might have employees who are in charge solely of finances or communicating with the client.
Yet another route you can take is to work for a company who keeps you on their staff for the purpose of being a web designer. Think about it, Wal Mart has a web site. Who maintains that, an independent business who offers design services? Probably not. They probably have their own team of web designers and developers who work to keep the web site running smoothly.
There are a few different ways you can get into web design as a career, and while each employer or client may need different specific skills, it's probably a good idea to learn both sides (the design and development aspects) when going into this particular career.
Education?
Just like with any career these days, you need a good education, right? The answer is yes. Depending on how exactly you go about everything, someone is most likely going to want you to at least have an Associates degree of some kind. Some companies won't look to hire you unless you have a Bachelors, and some employers won't hire you unless you have a good portfolio (a collection of your work showcasing your skills), even if you have the education down.
Now what employers want as far as what degrees you have varies. Some might find a general graphic design degree acceptable, some might prefer one that is more specialized (something which colleges and universities are beginning to offer more of), or if you freelance you might need nothing more than a high school diploma (and maybe a portfolio to persuade your client he want's to deal with you).
How Much Can I Make?
Even though you might be passionate about a job, everyone still wants something that is going to pay well. We need to pay the bills, and everyone loves some extra spending money. So how much do web designers make?
This is a really hard to answer question. It depends on a few things. Statistics from sources around the web say that a web designer can make around $25,000- $60,000 a year. But this number can very depending on where you are (some states may have different wages, or cities with a higher standard of living may pay more), how much experience you have, and what exactly you do. If you do both the design and development aspects, you might get paid more than if you just did the development side. You also have to take into consideration that if you work for a company, do you get benefits? Vacation? And what about freelance? You will probably get paid differently than if you worked as part of a large company on a team.
There is a general idea of web design as a career. Despite seeming to be a specialized field, there is quite a bit of things you need to take into consideration. If you are interested in exploring more about this career, you can check out the links below.
Links About This Career
WetFeet: Web Design Career
This site contains the basics of what the career is. It has some very general information that due to the career itself, is somewhat vague. The vagueness is understandable due to the nature of Web Design. The salary for example may be different depending on if you freelance, work for a small business, or a large company, and if you just do the actual graphics, the entire website (including its back end programming), or even if you are just designing the web site and not continuing with the employer on maintaining it.
Web Designers 123
Web Designers 123 is a website where freelance web designers can go and register. "Webmasters", people looking to hire freelance designers, can register and post their needs and the freelancers can respond. The purpose is to create an easy way of connecting clients to web designers who after reading the clients post can determine if they would be suited for the job. The potential client would still be able to pick who they wanted to work for them, but it saves both parties valuable time.
Dustin Brewer: What is a Freelance Web Designer?
Here, a freelance web designer talks about what it's like being a freelance web designer. He covers all kinds of details about what it takes to be freelance, how to find work, and how you interact with clients.
Other helpful sites that you can look at if you have access to them (like most colleges have it set up where you can get access to these sites) are places like:
Oregon Career Information System (OCIS)
Washington Occupational Information Service (WOIS)
Or any other web site similar (most states probably have something similar).
Here is a fun little graph for you.
Overview
One thing about web design and development careers is that depending on the employer, your duties may differ. If you are just a web designer, you might just be concerned with what the web site is going to look like. If you are just a web developer, you might just have to worry about coding the web page. The strange part is sometimes the job title is just web designer but you would also be in charge of coding, and the same could be true if you are a web developer expected to also design the look of the site. That can get kind of confusing, but it seems that both titles of web designer and web developer more often than not require you to at least know how to do both jobs (assuming you don't know exactly who you are working for, or what they require of you specifically). So, for the sake of simplicity, any statistics I found that are for specific design or development will either be noted, or averaged with it's counterpart. Also, unless specifically mentioned as separate things, both web designer and web developers will be considered as one. If I say a web designer, unless I also talk about the developer, I mean both. It just becomes a mouthful to say.
Things You'll Need to Do
So, with web design, you create all the pretty boxes, background and color coordinate. The development part is making sure there is the proper coding there so when you hit a button it takes you to the proper place. That's about it right? Not necessarily.
With this particular field, there are a couple career routes you can go, and some of them mean having different duties.
A freelance web designer is someone who works on their own. Say a new small business opened up and they want a web site for their new business. One option they have is by contacting a freelance designer, either by having someone recommended to them, a website that offers services to connect clients and freelancers together, or by placing ads online (like Craigslist). A freelancer probably won't work for a client permanently. They'll design the website for the client, then move on. Sometimes, there can be several freelancers working on one project, one for design and one for development for example. Some do all the work on their own. Someone working freelance doesn't just have to worry about doing the work. They have to balance their personal life with this job. Since they work on their own, they have no bosses or time schedules, just deadlines given to them by their clients. They also have to be careful about money. They make have prices for their work, but if they don't get enough clients to pay the bills, they could get in trouble fast. They need to worry about how to keep clients coming to them fairly steadily.
Another route you can go is working for a business who provides web design and development services. A company like this might have some people who are in charge of the design aspect, and some who are in charge of development/coding. In addition, the company might have employees who are in charge solely of finances or communicating with the client.
Yet another route you can take is to work for a company who keeps you on their staff for the purpose of being a web designer. Think about it, Wal Mart has a web site. Who maintains that, an independent business who offers design services? Probably not. They probably have their own team of web designers and developers who work to keep the web site running smoothly.
There are a few different ways you can get into web design as a career, and while each employer or client may need different specific skills, it's probably a good idea to learn both sides (the design and development aspects) when going into this particular career.
Education?
Just like with any career these days, you need a good education, right? The answer is yes. Depending on how exactly you go about everything, someone is most likely going to want you to at least have an Associates degree of some kind. Some companies won't look to hire you unless you have a Bachelors, and some employers won't hire you unless you have a good portfolio (a collection of your work showcasing your skills), even if you have the education down.
Now what employers want as far as what degrees you have varies. Some might find a general graphic design degree acceptable, some might prefer one that is more specialized (something which colleges and universities are beginning to offer more of), or if you freelance you might need nothing more than a high school diploma (and maybe a portfolio to persuade your client he want's to deal with you).
How Much Can I Make?
Even though you might be passionate about a job, everyone still wants something that is going to pay well. We need to pay the bills, and everyone loves some extra spending money. So how much do web designers make?
This is a really hard to answer question. It depends on a few things. Statistics from sources around the web say that a web designer can make around $25,000- $60,000 a year. But this number can very depending on where you are (some states may have different wages, or cities with a higher standard of living may pay more), how much experience you have, and what exactly you do. If you do both the design and development aspects, you might get paid more than if you just did the development side. You also have to take into consideration that if you work for a company, do you get benefits? Vacation? And what about freelance? You will probably get paid differently than if you worked as part of a large company on a team.
There is a general idea of web design as a career. Despite seeming to be a specialized field, there is quite a bit of things you need to take into consideration. If you are interested in exploring more about this career, you can check out the links below.
Links About This Career
WetFeet: Web Design Career
This site contains the basics of what the career is. It has some very general information that due to the career itself, is somewhat vague. The vagueness is understandable due to the nature of Web Design. The salary for example may be different depending on if you freelance, work for a small business, or a large company, and if you just do the actual graphics, the entire website (including its back end programming), or even if you are just designing the web site and not continuing with the employer on maintaining it.
Web Designers 123
Web Designers 123 is a website where freelance web designers can go and register. "Webmasters", people looking to hire freelance designers, can register and post their needs and the freelancers can respond. The purpose is to create an easy way of connecting clients to web designers who after reading the clients post can determine if they would be suited for the job. The potential client would still be able to pick who they wanted to work for them, but it saves both parties valuable time.
Dustin Brewer: What is a Freelance Web Designer?
Here, a freelance web designer talks about what it's like being a freelance web designer. He covers all kinds of details about what it takes to be freelance, how to find work, and how you interact with clients.
Other helpful sites that you can look at if you have access to them (like most colleges have it set up where you can get access to these sites) are places like:
Oregon Career Information System (OCIS)
Washington Occupational Information Service (WOIS)
Or any other web site similar (most states probably have something similar).
Here is a fun little graph for you.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Closer Look: Graphic Designer Career
So we looked at Web Design and Development as an overall career. Now it's time to look at the other side: Graphic Designer.
Overview
Graphic Design is a broad field. You can even say that one specialty of graphic design is web design. Graphic design has all kinds of sub-specialties and there are all kinds of different jobs you can work with it. Like with web design and web development, any statistics I use are generalized to graphic design and averaged out.
Things You'll Need to Do
The kinds of things you do as a graphic designer vary. Sure, the gist of it is that you'll be working with images of some kind to make something visually appealing. But what exactly you'll be working with depends. A graphic designer could be working in advertising, creating logos for businesses or events, posters for an event, CD inserts and covers, page layouts in print, catalogs, brochures, and pamphlets.
Most graphic designers will use computer programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to get what they need done.
Like there are freelance web designers, there are also freelance graphic designers. The worries for freelancers concerning money and clients are the same. They have to manage their projects and personal life carefully, keep enough income to pay their bills, and get word out about their services.
There are businesses that specialize in creating things like banners, logos, fliers and brochures for clients who hire teams of graphic designers. There are also places like advertising firms who have their own group of designers to create the picture of the friendly tiger the advertising team envisions.
Education?
Just like with web design, most employers want someone with training and a solid portfolio (a collection of your best work). Generally, a bachelors in art or design. Most designers who do get a job will most likely train under a more experienced designer for a while as well. Some employers might want to see education in a more specific discipline. For example, a web designer might want to hire you to be a designer for their design business, but they want you to have some developer skills as well.
How Much Can I Make?
Graphic design is such a broad field that it can be hard to say what an average salary is. The number will depend on where in the country you are, some places with a higher standard of living may pay more for example. If you work for a company that provides benefits, that will pay differently than if you were working freelance. Working for an advertising company will probably pay differently than a business who makes banners, posters, and brochures.
General statistics found across the web show that a graphic designer makes between $39,000 to $58,000 a year.
Graphic design as a career is hard to talk about without getting into lots of sub-fields, and the career title is vague enough that if you decide to go into it, there will be a lot of options open as far as what you can do.
Links About This Career
WetFeet: Design Career
Here is a general basics of what the career is. It gives information "design" in general, but has specific sections about graphic design.
AIGA: What is Graphic Design?
This is the website AIGA (a professional association for design) has describing what graphic design as a career entails. It goes a little deeper into the different types of design (type-based and image-based) and reminds people that graphic design is as much art that requires a good eye and some talent as anything else.
Jessica Greenwalt: A Freelance Graphic Designer
Here is the website of Jessica Greenwalt. She's a good example of a freelance graphic designer who has someplace for potential clients to check her out before contacting her to see the rest of her portfolio.
Design Firms Directory
Here is an example of a website that offers to let businesses in graphic design advertise and connect to clients by listing the business and contact info.
How is this for graphic design?
Overview
Graphic Design is a broad field. You can even say that one specialty of graphic design is web design. Graphic design has all kinds of sub-specialties and there are all kinds of different jobs you can work with it. Like with web design and web development, any statistics I use are generalized to graphic design and averaged out.
Things You'll Need to Do
The kinds of things you do as a graphic designer vary. Sure, the gist of it is that you'll be working with images of some kind to make something visually appealing. But what exactly you'll be working with depends. A graphic designer could be working in advertising, creating logos for businesses or events, posters for an event, CD inserts and covers, page layouts in print, catalogs, brochures, and pamphlets.
Most graphic designers will use computer programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to get what they need done.
Like there are freelance web designers, there are also freelance graphic designers. The worries for freelancers concerning money and clients are the same. They have to manage their projects and personal life carefully, keep enough income to pay their bills, and get word out about their services.
There are businesses that specialize in creating things like banners, logos, fliers and brochures for clients who hire teams of graphic designers. There are also places like advertising firms who have their own group of designers to create the picture of the friendly tiger the advertising team envisions.
Education?
Just like with web design, most employers want someone with training and a solid portfolio (a collection of your best work). Generally, a bachelors in art or design. Most designers who do get a job will most likely train under a more experienced designer for a while as well. Some employers might want to see education in a more specific discipline. For example, a web designer might want to hire you to be a designer for their design business, but they want you to have some developer skills as well.
How Much Can I Make?
Graphic design is such a broad field that it can be hard to say what an average salary is. The number will depend on where in the country you are, some places with a higher standard of living may pay more for example. If you work for a company that provides benefits, that will pay differently than if you were working freelance. Working for an advertising company will probably pay differently than a business who makes banners, posters, and brochures.
General statistics found across the web show that a graphic designer makes between $39,000 to $58,000 a year.
Graphic design as a career is hard to talk about without getting into lots of sub-fields, and the career title is vague enough that if you decide to go into it, there will be a lot of options open as far as what you can do.
Links About This Career
WetFeet: Design Career
Here is a general basics of what the career is. It gives information "design" in general, but has specific sections about graphic design.
AIGA: What is Graphic Design?
This is the website AIGA (a professional association for design) has describing what graphic design as a career entails. It goes a little deeper into the different types of design (type-based and image-based) and reminds people that graphic design is as much art that requires a good eye and some talent as anything else.
Jessica Greenwalt: A Freelance Graphic Designer
Here is the website of Jessica Greenwalt. She's a good example of a freelance graphic designer who has someplace for potential clients to check her out before contacting her to see the rest of her portfolio.
Design Firms Directory
Here is an example of a website that offers to let businesses in graphic design advertise and connect to clients by listing the business and contact info.
How is this for graphic design?
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Have We Reached a Conclusion?
Well have we? We've talked about the differences between Web Design and Development and Graphic Design. We've talked about each career, what they comprise of and some other general things about them.
Could we go more in depth? Yes. Over two weeks of research into both careers shows that there are many more things you could consider; little details, some of which might depend on personal preferences. But we got the gist of it here. This blog and project is my journey into researching and discovering which of the two careers I would like to gear my academic studies to. I'm working toward a degree in Web Design and Development now, so you might say that switching to Graphic Design is a sort of step back, but Graphic Design as a title contains a broader spectrum of opportunities.
Although my journey was much longer than what I posted here, I think I have reached a personal conclusion. I am about halfway through the Web Design program at my college, so I will continue until I finish, but I would after that like to study Design. I like the specified field of web design, but jobs like working for an advertising firm or a company that creates designs for clients interests me just as much. I would like to have the basic skills I need for any of those fields.
So, my conclusion loud and clear is: I will finish the track of web design I am on, then study graphic design. Now is the time for education while I can get the loans and am at a stable point in my life, so I am going to go for it and see where my future takes me.
Remember, a web designer and graphic designer are similar. Their mediums and the programs they use are different, but the creativity is still there.
Could we go more in depth? Yes. Over two weeks of research into both careers shows that there are many more things you could consider; little details, some of which might depend on personal preferences. But we got the gist of it here. This blog and project is my journey into researching and discovering which of the two careers I would like to gear my academic studies to. I'm working toward a degree in Web Design and Development now, so you might say that switching to Graphic Design is a sort of step back, but Graphic Design as a title contains a broader spectrum of opportunities.
Although my journey was much longer than what I posted here, I think I have reached a personal conclusion. I am about halfway through the Web Design program at my college, so I will continue until I finish, but I would after that like to study Design. I like the specified field of web design, but jobs like working for an advertising firm or a company that creates designs for clients interests me just as much. I would like to have the basic skills I need for any of those fields.
So, my conclusion loud and clear is: I will finish the track of web design I am on, then study graphic design. Now is the time for education while I can get the loans and am at a stable point in my life, so I am going to go for it and see where my future takes me.
Remember, a web designer and graphic designer are similar. Their mediums and the programs they use are different, but the creativity is still there.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Want More Links?
If you have read this far, you are probably interested in finding out some more stuff. Over my research I have found a few interesting web sites I would like to share.
AIGA: The Professional Association for Design
The AIGA website is a great resource for designers of all types. Founded in 1914, their goal is to help empower designers and provide resources people can access to advance their skills.
AIGA Design Leaders Confidence Index
This part of the AIGA website talks about what the job outlook for designers looks like over the years from the perspective of the leaders in design.
Oregon Career Information System (OCIS)
This particular resource is not linked because it requires you to have certain passwords. Most schools and colleges have accounts that you can access with the information they give you if you are a student. The resource itself is great if you have access to it. It talks mostly about Oregon, but you can look at National statistics for many of the careers. It can provide you with related information to a career, and even interviews with people in specific careers giving you a more personal inside look.
Washington Occupational Information Service (WOIS)
Much like OCIS (above) this resource is not liked because it requires passwords. A Google search or a look at your schools library site will most likely give you links and passwords. Like OCIS, WOIS provides information about specific careers, giving statistics for them mostly in Washington, although they do give some nationwide statistics.
Smashing Magazine
Smashing magazine is an interesting online magazine that has all kinds of articles about graphic design. Tips, pictures, links to other resources, guides, and general inspiration.
Graphic Design vs. Web Design (Video)
Stefan Mischook talks in a video about what the differences between graphic design and web design are. He also answers questions like "Which should I choose?".
One thing I thought about considering web design, is how much competition is there with all the "do it yourself" web site programs? Here are some links I found regarding that:
Web Page Design Programs: Important Considerations to Choose the Right One
This article is mostly for people who are looking to create their own website, but don’t necessarily want to hire someone to build it. It talks about the things you have to consider when choosing one of the do-it-yourself programs.
Do it Yourself VS. Hiring a Professional Web Designer
It talks about the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a professional to design a web site vs. you buying a program or teaching yourself some basic coding to create your own website saving money. The biggest disadvantage it says to hiring a professional is that it is expensive, but if you were to try and do it yourself, you would probably spend a lot of time.
Advantages of a Professional Web Design VS. Do-it-Yourself
A short article pointing out the advantages of hiring a professional to design a website. It doesn’t present the other side of the article, but brings up good points of having a person designing your website allows it to be original in look and feel as well as having a professional who knows how best to attract traffic to the site.
Do-it-Yourself Website Development VS. Custom Web Site Development
Another site discussing the pros and cons of hiring a professional or designing a website yourself. It outlines the pros and cons more clearly than the above links. Some parts of the article boast their premium membership for tutorials, but the list of pros and cons is the best so far.
AIGA: The Professional Association for Design
The AIGA website is a great resource for designers of all types. Founded in 1914, their goal is to help empower designers and provide resources people can access to advance their skills.
AIGA Design Leaders Confidence Index
This part of the AIGA website talks about what the job outlook for designers looks like over the years from the perspective of the leaders in design.
Oregon Career Information System (OCIS)
This particular resource is not linked because it requires you to have certain passwords. Most schools and colleges have accounts that you can access with the information they give you if you are a student. The resource itself is great if you have access to it. It talks mostly about Oregon, but you can look at National statistics for many of the careers. It can provide you with related information to a career, and even interviews with people in specific careers giving you a more personal inside look.
Washington Occupational Information Service (WOIS)
Much like OCIS (above) this resource is not liked because it requires passwords. A Google search or a look at your schools library site will most likely give you links and passwords. Like OCIS, WOIS provides information about specific careers, giving statistics for them mostly in Washington, although they do give some nationwide statistics.
Smashing Magazine
Smashing magazine is an interesting online magazine that has all kinds of articles about graphic design. Tips, pictures, links to other resources, guides, and general inspiration.
Graphic Design vs. Web Design (Video)
Stefan Mischook talks in a video about what the differences between graphic design and web design are. He also answers questions like "Which should I choose?".
One thing I thought about considering web design, is how much competition is there with all the "do it yourself" web site programs? Here are some links I found regarding that:
Web Page Design Programs: Important Considerations to Choose the Right One
This article is mostly for people who are looking to create their own website, but don’t necessarily want to hire someone to build it. It talks about the things you have to consider when choosing one of the do-it-yourself programs.
Do it Yourself VS. Hiring a Professional Web Designer
It talks about the advantages and disadvantages of hiring a professional to design a web site vs. you buying a program or teaching yourself some basic coding to create your own website saving money. The biggest disadvantage it says to hiring a professional is that it is expensive, but if you were to try and do it yourself, you would probably spend a lot of time.
Advantages of a Professional Web Design VS. Do-it-Yourself
A short article pointing out the advantages of hiring a professional to design a website. It doesn’t present the other side of the article, but brings up good points of having a person designing your website allows it to be original in look and feel as well as having a professional who knows how best to attract traffic to the site.
Do-it-Yourself Website Development VS. Custom Web Site Development
Another site discussing the pros and cons of hiring a professional or designing a website yourself. It outlines the pros and cons more clearly than the above links. Some parts of the article boast their premium membership for tutorials, but the list of pros and cons is the best so far.
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