On Web Designers, or How to Build A Barn With Just Paint
By Craig Burgess,
The word "design" has many
meanings. Many people think the phrase "web
design" mostly means strictly
graphic design. Well, if contractors could build a new house or barn with just paint, I guess
so. But as funny as that sounds, some people have the same idea
about web design. Graphic designers are very important. They give any visual product, whether it's shampoo
or a movie poster or a web site, that amazing visual "wow" factor. But
web designers are different.
Web designers use lots of different tools and techniques to accomplish their tasks, including graphic design tools, coding programs and resources from the web itself, to name a few. If you take your truck to your mechanic and as he pulls out is his crescent wrench to rebuild your engine, he says, "Yup, all I use is this", he's either joking or you'd better hightail it out of there.
The skills of web designer and the breadth of understanding that is required goes far beyond visual design. It actually has it's underpinnings in how content gets to your screen. Here's why. When you click on a hyperlink on a web page, this is what happens:
Your browser sends a request to the web server that holds the files for that site.
The web server says, "Yes, we have that page available for viewing, here you go" and sends the page back to your browser in various pieces called "packets".
These packets are then reassembled in your browser window, and, Voila! the page appears before your eyes.
How fast this all happens depends on several things. First, how fast is your internet connection? Dialup, DSL or T3? Second is the web server mentioned above. How powerful is it? How well has it been setup? Can the server handle the load of thousands or millions of page requests at the same time? Third is how the web page itself has been constructed. Does the browser have to work extra hard to figure out what the designer intended the page to look and act like? These questions are all part of the "design" of a web site and are basic questions to ask when designing a new site or redesigning an established one.
Other considerations are database structures, graphics usage, animations, audio-video components and how it all looks and works on different OS platforms. That's why thinking web designers are the same as graphic designers is like calling house painters "home builders." Sure, it makes it look nice, but it isn't really the whole story. So be sure to get all the facts when you begin your design process. And always, always, always base it on your business goals first. You won't be disappointed with the results.
Effective people find themselves asking other people in the organization, their superiors, their subordinates, but above all, their colleagues in other areas, "What contribution from me do you require to make your contribution to the organization? When do you need this, how do you need it, and in what form?" – Peter F. Drucker
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