Any Web Designers out there?
05 May 2001, 12:34 AM
#1
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Does anyone design websites for a living here on Scoobynet? 
I have been dabbling for over 2 years now, and currently have 3 new sites on the go in my sparetime. I think I am good at it and want to do it for a living. However all jobs ask for commercial experience.
I am an Intranet manager at the mo so do code HTML through the day. However I dont like the job anymore and want to move into design.
Any web designers have any tips for getting into the industry?
I have been dabbling for over 2 years now, and currently have 3 new sites on the go in my sparetime. I think I am good at it and want to do it for a living. However all jobs ask for commercial experience.
I am an Intranet manager at the mo so do code HTML through the day. However I dont like the job anymore and want to move into design.
Any web designers have any tips for getting into the industry?
06 May 2001, 12:20 AM
#4
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Lee:
<B>Sorry to put a huge downer on it but webdesign is such an easily available resource nowdays its difficult to make it alone.
Best off joining a design house as a junior - if your work is good you'll soon move up the ranks.[/quote]
Cheers Lee, that is the plan for now. I want to join a design house but they ask for commercial experience which I dont have yet. I will look into the junior thing though. May mean a pay cut in the short term but hey
Avi - I have just ordered some new hosting so will have my sites back up soon.
DW
<B>Sorry to put a huge downer on it but webdesign is such an easily available resource nowdays its difficult to make it alone.
Best off joining a design house as a junior - if your work is good you'll soon move up the ranks.[/quote]
Cheers Lee, that is the plan for now. I want to join a design house but they ask for commercial experience which I dont have yet. I will look into the junior thing though. May mean a pay cut in the short term but hey
Avi - I have just ordered some new hosting so will have my sites back up soon.
DW
06 May 2001, 10:23 AM
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Sorry to put a huge downer on it but webdesign is such an easily available resource nowdays its difficult to make it alone.
Best off joining a design house as a junior - if your work is good you'll soon move up the ranks.
Best off joining a design house as a junior - if your work is good you'll soon move up the ranks.
07 May 2001, 12:55 AM
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Make sure you've got a top notch portfolio...
Go into customers and SHOW THEM first hand - pull up the websites you've done.
Unfortunately website designers are in abundance - everyone thinks they can do it - but only a few are good at it.
For every job you quote for you'll find some ammateur who'll charge £200 and simply fill in a wizard on Frontpage to create it!
You need to offer more than just design - you need to be able to integrate databases, asp, etc, to stand out from the crowd.
-DV
Go into customers and SHOW THEM first hand - pull up the websites you've done.
Unfortunately website designers are in abundance - everyone thinks they can do it - but only a few are good at it.
For every job you quote for you'll find some ammateur who'll charge £200 and simply fill in a wizard on Frontpage to create it!
You need to offer more than just design - you need to be able to integrate databases, asp, etc, to stand out from the crowd.
-DV
07 May 2001, 01:26 PM
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Daz, you are right, the non-design aspects of the web are whats happening big time.
These days we find more and more customers wanting odbc or mysql databases. Gone are the days when it was enough to just whack up a static site, no matter how impressive.
These days we find more and more customers wanting odbc or mysql databases. Gone are the days when it was enough to just whack up a static site, no matter how impressive.
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07 May 2001, 03:55 PM
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Lee - nice site mate.
How do you find performace of database driven site, compared to its html traditional equivalent ?
Haven't tried MySQL yet - how highly do you rate it ? So far I've only done Access, SQL Server and Centura, but I might consider MySQL for 'budget limited' customers.
PS: The TVR Tuscan pic ain't coming up (car ID=41)
[This message has been edited by DazV (edited 07 May 2001).]
How do you find performace of database driven site, compared to its html traditional equivalent ?
Haven't tried MySQL yet - how highly do you rate it ? So far I've only done Access, SQL Server and Centura, but I might consider MySQL for 'budget limited' customers.
PS: The TVR Tuscan pic ain't coming up (car ID=41)
[This message has been edited by DazV (edited 07 May 2001).]
07 May 2001, 08:38 PM
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Allo. 2 pictures are missing deliberately as we sort out some copyright issues :-)
mySQL - fanbloodytastic. I'm an oracle man by trade so have been spoilt somewhat. SQLServer - no thanks I can't believe how anti-ansi those join clauses are
Access is good but doesn't scale well.
mySQL is small, fast, free and supports full client/server including remote admin. Just what you expect from the open source teams
Performance - depends on how you write it I guess. I wrote platinumhire in coldfusion which supports query-caching so you are hardly hitting the actual database at all. And when you do - mySQL has cached it anyway. So for a site like that it will run just as quick as straight html.
The rest of it is IT basics - 95% application/database design, 5% down to hardware/tuning. I run my own hardware which is crazily overspecced so never see any performance problems.
mySQL - fanbloodytastic. I'm an oracle man by trade so have been spoilt somewhat. SQLServer - no thanks I can't believe how anti-ansi those join clauses are
Access is good but doesn't scale well.mySQL is small, fast, free and supports full client/server including remote admin. Just what you expect from the open source teams
Performance - depends on how you write it I guess. I wrote platinumhire in coldfusion which supports query-caching so you are hardly hitting the actual database at all. And when you do - mySQL has cached it anyway. So for a site like that it will run just as quick as straight html.
The rest of it is IT basics - 95% application/database design, 5% down to hardware/tuning. I run my own hardware which is crazily overspecced so never see any performance problems.
08 May 2001, 01:09 PM
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I don't agree that there isn't any need for designers anymore, that just simply isn't true. What is important, however, is your ability to stand out from the crowd by being either very good at what you do, or by being able to provide some household names into your portfolio.
Check my post in your wanted section.
Cem
Check my post in your wanted section.
Cem
08 May 2001, 07:03 PM
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No-one said that there wasn't any need for designers any more - myself/Daz just said that the market is so saturated that it is difficult to go it alone.
These days I think you need a team. A graphic designer will make a bloated website, and a programmer will make a fast but rubbishy looking one. Hence the nice blend which you get at a design house with a team
These days I think you need a team. A graphic designer will make a bloated website, and a programmer will make a fast but rubbishy looking one. Hence the nice blend which you get at a design house with a team
08 May 2001, 07:18 PM
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Blowdog ... I agree with you.
I think that you can survive as a freelance designer.. Not just as part of a design team. When you are part of a design house then your tendancy is to carry the extra bloat which comes with those projects. Let the design warehouse's tend the whims of the large corporates.
Let the freelance designers like Dreamweaver tend to the small business's and inviduals. There are a lot of poor frontpage templates out there that need fixing.
Design houses will nont bother with these.
I think that you can survive as a freelance designer.. Not just as part of a design team. When you are part of a design house then your tendancy is to carry the extra bloat which comes with those projects. Let the design warehouse's tend the whims of the large corporates.
Let the freelance designers like Dreamweaver tend to the small business's and inviduals. There are a lot of poor frontpage templates out there that need fixing.
Design houses will nont bother with these.
08 May 2001, 08:47 PM
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Hello,
It depend what you mean by designer.... its open to interpretation.
IMHO a true "designer" has a very strong graphics and design background and knows about user interface design, layout, how colours work, etc a good art or design qualification is important as is a top notch portfolio (not necissarily websites)
Where I work design concept is handeled by "arty" people and then is worked in with the technical stuff.
I am a ecommerce project manager which is more client/business focussed. My site shows that anyone can create a website, but good design is much harder. What I mean is that my design skills are pants becuase I have not one artistic bone in my body.
However it is easy to add in content like news, polls, puzzels and games etc with minimum knowledge.
Unless you dont want to re-train to top up you "art" quailifications you could try to get a job with your existing HTML skills in a company where you can make input into the design area?
good luck
visit
It depend what you mean by designer.... its open to interpretation.
IMHO a true "designer" has a very strong graphics and design background and knows about user interface design, layout, how colours work, etc a good art or design qualification is important as is a top notch portfolio (not necissarily websites)
Where I work design concept is handeled by "arty" people and then is worked in with the technical stuff.
I am a ecommerce project manager which is more client/business focussed. My site shows that anyone can create a website, but good design is much harder. What I mean is that my design skills are pants becuase I have not one artistic bone in my body.
However it is easy to add in content like news, polls, puzzels and games etc with minimum knowledge.
Unless you dont want to re-train to top up you "art" quailifications you could try to get a job with your existing HTML skills in a company where you can make input into the design area?
good luck
visit
10 May 2001, 10:20 PM
#18
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Its a shame I cant sort my hosting out at the mo - domain names need transferring etc etc. I am pleased with my first website.
I will get it sorted soon as well as my other sites so you can all comment.
DW
I will get it sorted soon as well as my other sites so you can all comment.
DW
13 May 2001, 08:34 PM
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I have some mates who used to work as web designers but the pay was pretty lousy (even for experiened ones) so theyre now doing other things. If you can make it on your own it may pay better.
I've got my own website using Dreamweaver 3 -
I've got my own website using Dreamweaver 3 -
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