Web Design
In our everyday lives we see color and illustrations everywhere. They are a form of art and creativity that is used by designers to get our attention. Whether we realize it or not, design has a huge impact on us. We are constantly surfing the net and visiting many websites. these sites were developed by designers and they made the websites we use such as Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, etc. The fame of these websites have a lot to do with the good design used in them. This interested me and it is why I chose to major in Graphic designing. I am currently a freshman at City Tech and I want to pursue a career as a web developer. This career will allow me to use my artistic and creativity skills along with learning to use different software. This career is best for me because I like to up-date myself with new technology, I’m a team player and because designers are on demand and get paid well. In this essay, I will talk about what Graphic Design is, why it is the best career for me as well as how City Tech is preparing me to ensure my success as a designer.
The 2014-2-15 college catalog tells us that Graphic designing careers are” Advertising agencies, graphic design firms, corporate communications departments, publishing companies, television studios and other design-related operations offer many challenging and rewarding careers as advertising art directors, graphic designers, computer graphics and website designers, illustrators, comic book artists and packaging designers” (Pg.213). This program will teach me what I will have to be able to do in order to obtain a career as a web designer,” They will be able be able to solve creative problems while applying design and studio skills in a professional environment” (Pg.213). The catalog also includes some recommendations such as, ” A core of advanced design courses will prepare students to meet the challenges of the profession: senior project, portfolio, the design team and an internship”. (Pg. 215). According to Career Directions: Web Designer, ” They are web designers, and they merge creativity and marketing, merchandising, technology. and business” (Pg. 24, techdirection). This explains what a wed designer’s job is. A web designer creates their clients websites and to do this ” This involves developing a graphic design that effectively communicates the ideas being promoted by the site. A web designer may take part in the initial planning of a website, meeting with the client to discuss ideas for the layout and organization of the site, the colors and images to use, and other matters concerning overall graphic design” ( Pg. 24. techdirections). This example explains that being able to tell what layout and colors will work well for the website is something that a designer should be great at In order to get a job a job,” The ticket to entering the field is to build a website. Countless numbers of web designers have gotten noticed by building websites for nonprofits or community groups, or by creating a personal website” (Pg.25, techdirections).
Transparency Project for Graphic Principles Class.
Now that I’ve given you some background information about my job and career, I’d like to explain why this is right for me. First of all, I will be able to earn good money. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, ” The median annual wage for web developers was $62,500 in May 2012″. Not only is the salary great but, ” employment of web developers is projected to grow 20% from 2012 to 2022. Faster than the average for all occupations demand will be driven by the growing popularity of mobile devices and e-commerce”. This is good because with a pay of $62,500, it is enough to live comfortably. I can be pleased with my salary and have enough to support family. I will also be able to go on vacations and have a house and a car. These things matter a lot to me. With an increase in a demand for web designers, I will not have to worry about my chances of getting a job. I have to do well in school and show employers that I am the one that should get the job.
As a web developer, it is essential that I know how to use mainly a computer but its also very crucial to know that technological advancement occurs about six moths to a year. I want to be on the leading edge of technological change, because I want to use that knowledge to further my advancement. To exemplify how technological advancements will effect me as a designer, I chose the article “Web Accessibility Guidelines: A lesson from the evolving Web” by Simon Harper & Alex Q. Chen. As stated in the article, ” While the heterogeneity of the web is one of its major strengths in that it is adaptable and flexible, it also one of its major failings in that there is no control of the predicted outcome”. This proves that as the web advances, it is easy to adapt to but with this we cant really be sure of how our work may turn out or how well it will do unless we test it out and bare some losses. Another example is “In these ways, we see that by understanding the way that the web has evolved we can predict the way that the web will evolve”. This shows that we can learn a lot from the evolution of the web. We can learn particularly what it is that’s being changed to interest people and how we can use that when we are designing. By learning the reasons and techniques, we can use them to our advantage to create modern, pleasing and work that trends in society. Knowing what society will dislike or think is cool is very important since it is what determines if our ideas are good enough or not. The whole idea is the use technology to its best and the faster we catch on why it evolves in the way it does, we can predict what we would have to do to please clients so that their websites run. I am always reading what every update is about and trying to learn more about new features so I know that I will always be on top of technological evolutions.
Learned to use Photoshop CS6.
Combining Illustrator and Photoshop to make a collage.
To be a good designer, I need to be a good team player. I know that I will be working with many others at my work place who will have different ideas and will work differently. To support this statement I chose the article, “Sharing designer and user perspectives of website evaluation: a cross – campus collaborative learning experience” by Penny Collings and Jon Pearce. As the author wrote, “Some usability evaluation processes involve heuristic evaluation in which several usability experts evaluate the interface and judge its compliance with usability heuristics; some involve users, who provide feedback by undertaking typical tasks which the system has been designed to support”. This says that different people will have different views than you. It is mostly about how you learn to use others and your views into the work and learn to work together. The article also said, “It was a good idea that we were encouraged to test the site individually and then prepare a combined report at the group level… this allows a greater understanding of the concepts, procedures and usefulness of usability testing.” This proves that even though one may be creative enough to create great work, working in a group will always be better since there are more ideas and thoughts put into the work (Pg. 276, Sharing perspectives of web site evaluation). Another supporting detail from the article is ” Students gained insights into the usability evaluation process, the value of independent usability tests of their web site designs and the process of also providing such feedback to others. They also extended their understanding of how to use computer-mediated communication to engage in collaborative work and learning” ( Pg. 277, Sharing perspectives of web site evaluation). This goes to prove that researchers have tested and found how much more effective a work is when there is feedback and collaboration from others involved.
City Tech is one of the few CUNY’s that have Graphic Designing. So far I have gotten good advisement from Advisors and Professors as to what I should be doing to make sure I am doing well and what is right for me. I reached out to one of my Professor’s who I believe is a very good designer and is very intelligent. I emailed her with three questions about what I can do to prepare myself physically and personality wise.
1) What qualities do you consider necessary for a good designer? Qualities I consider necessary for a good designer.1. someone who is a good listener.2. someone who is interested in understanding the needs of the client and is willing to clarify these with the client.3. someone who can work by themselves or in a team as needed.4. someone who is willing to do a good deal of research appropriate to the problem/brand/project being solved.5. someone who knows business practices for the nature of the task you are hired for: i.e. once a business plan is written, can state clearly how many rounds of corrections are to take place and what the cost of additional ones are 6. someone who does not whine, and always has a good professional attitude.7. someone who can present their ideas in a professional manner 8. someone who is always prepared.9. someone who knows how hard creativity must be worked at and likes the process.10. someone who is proud of their work but not vain about it.11. someone who works within deadlines. (Par 1, Rosenblatt)
2) Can you tell me about a time you were under pressure and how you dealt with it? Or any advice on how someone else should deal with pressure? I was designer and art director for an educational publication on Math that was part of a series for 2nd graders. The head of the firm had hired the child who would model in the shoot, (unfortunately she had now worked with the math tools yet. She was too young.) I made the props for the cover shoot, (there were 2 boxes I build with stenciled question marks on them). the day of the shoot, had not slept for 48 hours and still had to work with the kid, the photographer and a rather immature young woman who was supposed to assist me, but instead kept messing up the layout I had brought to guide the sequence of the shoot. I handled it by indicating when I was ready, and worked well with the kid, who liked to do things herself so I had her write big numbers on a white board which we shot in several of the pages. I got through it by staying focused on what had to get done, remembering who I had to work with, and not getting angry at the assistant. It was a great effort, but worth it. There are many more stories, but they all had to do with remaining focused on what had to get done in as professional a manner as possible.(Par 2, Rosenblatt)
3) What are some things I can do to better prepare myself for a job as a designer? The things you can do to better prepare yourself as a designer. I think first: respect what you have to learn in school. Do it with an open heart. Learn the principles you use to command visual strength. Find multiple ways of getting to solutions. Learn to do visual research – a lot of it. Learn typography like your life depended upon it. (It does!) Become accustomed to doing things more than once if asked to. Be mindful of preparation work on any project. Learn the value of constructive and even challenging criticism. Do not flinch from ideas stronger than your own or different from your own. Be curious about the world and just about everything in it. Learn to look things up if you do not know something (in more reliable and respectable places than Wikipedia) and learn to enjoy these tasks.(Par 3, Rosenblatt)
Designers play a big role in our everyday lives. Web design is a job where you can let all your creativity run. You get to use many different tools, new software and you get to work on something new everyday rather than working on something for weeks like in other jobs. I believe becoming a web designer is the right choice and that its best for me. Once I get a job as a designer, it will be a very big thing and it will make me very happy. I hope to gain as much as I can from City Tech and not only to work for the Degree but also to learn valuable lessons that will help me become successful as a designer. Lastly, I would advice that, do what makes you happy. No matter how uncool of a job it is, if its what you love, all that matters is that you’re happy at the end. You can learn more about web design through YouTube videos, websites, and u can even start by creating your own website! Try out different layouts, learn to use Photoshop or illustrator and I guarantee that you will enjoy it.
Work Cited
New York City College Of Technology. College Catalog 2014-2015. 14 Nov, 2014. Pdf.
Techdirections. “Career Directions: Web Designer”. January 2013: 24 – 25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Nov, 2014.
United States. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dept. of Labor. Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.
Harper, Simon and Chen, Alex. “Web Accessibility Guidelines: A lesson from the evolving Web”. Vol. 15 Issue 1 (2012): p61-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov, 2014.
Collings, Penny and Pearce, Jon. “Sharing designer and user perspectives of website evaluation: a cross – campus collaborative learning experience”. Vol. 33 Issue 3 (2002): p267. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Nov, 2014.
Rosenblatt, Phyllis. Email to the author. 30 Nov, 2014. Email.
Rahman, Farzana. “Transparency Project for Graphic Principles Class..” Flickr. 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
Rahman, Farzana. “Learned to use Photoshop CS6.” Flickr. 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
Rahman, Farzana. “Combining Illustrator and Photoshop to make a collage.” Flickr. 5 Dec. 2014. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
