newbie

Hi to all. im new here and pretty new to the whole web design thing as well. I joined here hoping to get some advice from all you on what sort of schooling I should go to to be a designer. I live in a small town in WA state so I really dont have any options unless I mke the commute so i was wondering about online schools...but wsnt too sure if I could get a good job with just online training. IF you have any advice it would be great to hear from you.

In my experience being self-taught with a good portfolio is as good if not better than a formal education. But, if I were to recommend schooling for web design I think I'd say to study graphic design and not worry about the "web" part.

i hope you don't mind me jumping alongside this topic but Neebs has asked something similar to what i'd like to know.

i'm currently 36 years of age and have no background in website design other than a couple i've done for other people - but i do a lot of graphic design work.

(at my age) would it be realistic for me to pursue a career in web design providing i aquire the right knowledge and create a decent portofolio?

when i say the 'right knowledge' i'm wondering can i get away with not learning database type things. would i have to learn all the php and asp net or whatever these things are to provide a sufficient level of service or could i concentrate more on the visual layout and contract more capable people in to do the intricate coding?

i ask all this as i feel half way there with my current knowledge of the macromedia products and my knowledge of adobe's creative suite is to a higher level - but my experience of writing any kind of code is limited to what i did at school.

i can understand that webdesigning is a very competitive market - is it so that individuals cannot really survive alongside established companies?

i'm sure i sound terribly naive but i do live in hope - i would just like to know what your views are on the average (or minimum) kind of skill set required to be a successful website designer or have i missed the boat?

I agree with what Catalyst has said. I think learning how to design generally, is something you should do, but you can learn how to apply that to print, tv, web, etc, pretty easily. There should be formal design classes near to you and you can always get books that explain how to use colours, white space, etc. That sort of stuff is invaluable as it always applies to any medium.

In terms of learning for the web specifically, you can go on courses, get books, etc. They will teach you how to use applications fairly quickly. I am self-taught in Photoshop, Flash, HTML and general web design and although I can use those applications perfectly, I can't always design something that looks good as I don't have formal knowledge in design.

As for the minimum skills you need to have - I think it varies depending on what you want to do, the company you're going to work for (or not) and the level of quality you want to achieve.

If you're going it alone doing general web design then you clearly need a very good understanding of HTML, CSS, Photoshop (or similiar tool) and need to be proficient at creating web graphics.

If you're going into a team, or working freelance, then you need to have the skills to fit into that role. That could just mean that you know a huge amount about Flash, whether it be animation or actionscript. Maybe you're a usability and search engine optimisation specialist, in which case you'll have good knowledge of usability and SSO techniques and know HTML, CSS in great detail but probably can't design well to save your life.

Obviously, whatever role you take, it always helps to know more - that goes without saying.

The thing is, in today's world where the average Joe goesn't know HTML from Photoshop, there are a lot of people (kids mostly) who get a basic web page creation tool and Paint Shop Pro and believe that they can make professional websites. Some of them actually do quite well simply because of public ignorance...

thanks Sirkent, those are very encouraging words.

my knowledge regarding software sounds very similar to yours - i'm self taught too with a nice amount of design and computer application books on my shelves that i've collected over the years.

i shall have to see what courses are available in my area but i have to ask would it be a significant advantage to me if i became adobe and macromedia certified - what i mean is, would anyone be that interested or is it really more important to have a good portfolio?

it sounds like i would be best concentrating on the design aspect - i was mistakenly assuming that this would not be enough and that i would have to learn the more technical areas of constructing a website. maybe other designers would disagree?

anyway, thanks for the positve reply. i know what you mean about people (kids) getting away with a few paintshop and web software skills - but from what i've seen in my local area i could include a lot of printing and design houses. it appears customers are often happy with mediocre results.

I think certification is helpful for something like networking, but for building websites it's not going to prove much to anyone.

just wanted to say thank you for answering my question...I do have one more however. Are there any courses in specifc that you have taken that helped you out when you were learning or that you have heard of? thanks again

I've never taken any courses personally.

I've never found any particular book to be particularly helpful either. Google is your friend in most individual matters though. If that fails, then a forum such as this one is also helpful.

As for certification, I agree with Catalyst. When it comes to design, a good portfolio is much more helpful!