what does it take to be a web designer

What Does a Web Designer Do (and How Do I Become One)

Written past Coursera • Updated on Dec 22, 2021

Every bit a web designer, you are responsible for big-picture decisions, similar the menus listed on the site, and smaller details, like which font, color, and graphics to use.

A web designer creates the layout and pattern of a website. In simple terms, a website designer makes a site expect good. They utilize design programs to create visual elements. Website designers usually accept expertise in UI, or user interface, which means they strategically blueprint a site that's intuitive and easy for visitors to navigate.

The aesthetics of a website directly impact a user's opinion of the site and the company. As a website designer, your work could directly impact a company's reputation. Inquiry shows it takes website visitors less than one 2nd to gauge a website, and that kickoff impression is often associated with the brand also. Seventy-five percent of consumers admit to judging a brand's credibility based on its website, co-ordinate to Kinesis [1].

Every bit a result, companies are putting more emphasis on website design, and information technology's reflected in the job market. Jobs in this field are growing thirteen-percent faster than the national average, according to the The states Bureau of Labor Statistics [ii].

For those exploring this job opportunity, at that place isn't simply growth in the field, but a good wage too. The median pay for a web designer is $58,517 annually, co-ordinate to Glassdoor [3].

If your interest is piqued, permit's dig into this career and run into what it takes to go a successful web designer.

Website developer vs. website designer

It's common for a website designer to be confused with a website developer. A developer uses coding languages to create the framework of a website. They build the structure so plough the site over to a designer to beautify it.

What does a website designer exercise on a daily basis?

Earlier talking nigh the skills or education needed, permit's uncover the daily tasks of a website designer so you tin come across if it'south something that suits your interests. Regularly, a website designer volition:

• Design and layout websites

• Think through the navigation of a site to provide the all-time user experience

• Design sample pages and create mockups

• Work in Adobe programs to create visuals, graphics, or animations

• Register web domains

• Organize files

• Interact on website updates or "refreshes"

• Coordinate with writers and designers to create a site

What kind of skills should y'all develop to become a website designer?

If you're interested in becoming a website designer, there are certain skills y'all can develop to first downwards this career path. Here's a wait at both workplace skills and technical skills that you can expand on:

Workplace skills

Advice

A designer needs the power to talk with a company about what they desire, ask questions about the intended audience, and convey their ideas for an effective site.

Beingness able to communicate is just the start, companies desire a responsive designer too. A responsive designer keeps a company informed, explains bug equally they arise, and discusses deadlines.

Fourth dimension management

As a web designer, you might make up one's mind to take a freelance approach where you work with a variety of different companies at once or you lot might piece of work for one company. Either way, you'll need the ability to manage your time finer to continue multiple projects moving.

Collaboration

In many cases, a website designer works with other people to create a site. In that location could be a copywriter, graphic designer, or even members of an IT department participating in website creation. If that's the case, yous'll need the power to listen, collaborate, and accept effective criticism.

Technical skills

Visual design

The core part of a website designer's job is to create visual elements for a site, so having a firm grasp of design principles is a must. Visual design incorporates a diversity of best pattern practices that hone in on things like proportions, symmetry, typography, and color systems.

UX

UX, or user experience, describes how a person feels nearly visiting a site. A designer'south purpose is to create a layout that'south easy to navigate and visually pleasing, which results in a positive customer experience.

To generate the right experience for the audience, a designer often researches the audience and studies actions taken on the site to build a website experience that fits a brand's target market place.

Knowledge of design programs

Website designers must have proficiency in design programs like Adobe Creative Deject, CorelDraw Graphics Suite, or Inkscape. These programs are often used to create visual elements, produce mock-ups, and manipulate images, all of which are needed in web design.

Some coding knowledge

A designer doesn't write the code to make a site function, but it doesn't injure to know a footling near HTML or CSS to brand modest tweaks to a site. With a bones understanding, you'll exist able to dispense templates, enhance fonts, or adjust placements of objects easier.

Practise you need a caste to state a task as a website designer?

Many website designers do have a bachelor's degree in website design or a related field, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics [ii]. Notwithstanding, a four-year degree isn't the only path to this creative career, obtaining certifications is another option. Allow's take a closer look at both degree programs and certifications.

Degree programs

There are four-year degree programs that can provide the necessary training to go a website designer. Here'due south a look at a few options:

• Bachelor'southward degree in computer science: A degree in computer scientific discipline provides a well-rounded education in computing skills, problem-solving, and design piece of work. Inside some programs, like BSc Computer Science from the University of London, you can pick an area of focus, like user experience (UX), to narrow your skill set.

• Bachelor's degree in website pattern: Some students decide to go a specific degree in website design, which has a more narrow focus on design skills and layout principles that are all taught in concert with the technical programs that website designers apply, like the Adobe programs mentioned earlier.

Web Blueprint Certificate Programs and Courses

Obtaining a bachelor's degree isn't the only choice, you lot can too explore certification programs or have courses to build your spider web design skills. To help y'all explore options, here's a look at a few courses available on Coursera:

• Google UX Design Professional Certificate: Learn from industry leaders at Google in this serial of courses that cover foundational UX concepts. Build job-ready skills like wireframing, prototyping, and user research as you lot complete projects for your blueprint portfolio.

• UI/UX Design Specialization: This serial of courses from the California Institute of the Arts offers practical, skill-based instruction to aid students sympathise the UI/UX development process, website architecture, site maps, wireframing, and all-time practices to create a delightful online experience for the terminate user.

• Responsive Website Development and Blueprint Specialization: With a growing number of people using mobile devices to search online, understanding how to make responsive, mobile-ready websites is a valuable skill. This specialization from the Academy of London has students develop and design responsive sites with congenital-in multi-user experiences. While this class might lean more towards web development, an agreement of these skills will bolster your web design knowledge.

Web designer portfolio

With the correct skills honed and the right educational groundwork, securing a website designer job includes building an impressive online portfolio. To aid, hither's a list of tips to curate the best examples possibles:

• Quality over quantity: A portfolio should contain your best work, simply it's important to be selective. It'due south amend to showcase fewer, higher-quality sites than many sites that don't showcase your best work.

• Highlight the kind of work y'all want to do: Is at that place a particular manufacture that you'd similar to serve? Exercise y'all want to focus on creating online stores as opposed to single-page sites for pocket-sized businesses? Your portfolio should include the kind of piece of work yous want to do and showcase examples that you're passionate near creating.

• Provide context: Your portfolio is a visual representation of your best work, just it is as well an opportunity to provide context virtually your impact and projects. Consider providing a quick three-to-four sentence description that explains the site'south purpose, its challenges, and why it'south in your portfolio.

• Update information technology regularly: It's a practiced idea to set aside scheduled time one time a quarter to update your portfolio. Even if you are not adding new work, you might take additional context to add, or edits to make, based on your ongoing learnings and goals. It'due south a lot easier to update when things are fresh in your mind versus months or years later.

Take the adjacent footstep

Are you ready to accept the next stride towards edifice a career as a website designer? If so, consider Website Design For Everybody, offered by Michigan Land Academy. During the course, you'll create a professional portfolio that you tin use in your chore search.

Related articles

• What Does a Web Developer Do (and How Do I Become Ane)?

• What Does a Software Engineer Exercise?

• What Can Y'all Do with a Informatics Degree?

• 10 Entry-Level Information technology Jobs and What Y'all Tin can Do to Get Hired

Article Sources

one. Kinesis. "Statistics on Why You Should Invest in Practiced Website Pattern for Your B2B Visitor, https://world wide web.kinesisinc.com/the-truth-about-web-design/". Accessed December 9, 2021.

2. United states Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. "Web Developers and Digital Designers, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-data-technology/web-developers.htm." Accessed December 13, 2021.

3. Glassdoor. "Salary: Web Designer, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/web-designer-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm." Accessed December 13, 2021.

Written past Coursera • Updated on Dec 22, 2021

This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional enquiry to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional person, and financial goals.

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Source: https://www.coursera.org/articles/web-designer

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