Sandstorm Student Center: FAQs from Students

Life as a Designer | Design Skills | Finding a Design Job | Design Careers | Education

DESIGN SKILLS

1. What traits should a graphic designer have to succeed?
2. Is it going to become pretty mandatory for graphic designers to have web skills?
3. I am currently a print designer. How do I get into web design? Can I transfer my skills from print to web?

1. What traits should a graphic designer have to succeed?

Attention to detail, deadline-oriented, design within budget, sense of humor, inner desire to constantly become a better designer, ability to learn new software as fast as the software changes, professional and positive attitude, ability to take direction and criticism, and natural creative talent...to name a few.

2. Is it going to become pretty mandatory for graphic designers to have web skills?

Web design and print design have a different set of rules, so I hope it never becomes mandatory for print designers to do web design. BUT here's the bottom line. There is fierce competition for design jobs, so employers can pick and choose. The more skills you have under your belt, the more jobs you'll qualify for.

When you add web design skills to your resume, you become more marketable, and a more versatile designer... but notice I didn't say "better" designer. Not all print designers make good web designers, and vise versa. I definitely believe that you can teach yourself the basics to web design, but web design is much more than photoshop. You must understand how html works, how usability effects navigation, the limits in color and type, etc. Start with this book, "The Non-Designer's Web Book," by Robin Williams. It even has a section on the difference between print and web.

Here's my last thought. If you want to specialize in print, go for it, and understand that you may pass up some jobs now, but will end up with a job that truly interests you that you will excel in.

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3. I am currently a print designer. What advice would you give a print designer on how to start learning web design?

I was a print designer many years ago with the same question. I can't tell you how everyone else does it, but this is how I did.

First, I bought a book on basic html and read it maybe 10 times. As I worked full-time, I practiced in the evenings, sometimes until 2 or 3 am. (I got addicted to it). My first animation was this hamburger eating a pickle. I was so thrilled with my baby step, that I became even more motivated to learn more.

I then started buying more books with examples of award winning web sites and studied what common design elements did each site have. The biggest hurdle was learning what my new restrictions were. They are very different than the rules of print. There are good books on basic web design for this.

I know it seems like I just told you to read, but that is what I did, and still do to this day. Just today I bought 2 books, on color. I love to learn and love to read.

It's intimidating at first, but just take it in steps. Don't think you need to learn how to build shopping carts, databases, and secure sites in one week. Once you get comfortable with the basics, take on new challenges. < back to top