¶ In my previous post on creating a professional body for web designers I suggested that one of its functions should be to help with the ‘continued professional development of its members’. Coming out of chemical engineering [note engineering not chemistry], which is a traditional vocation with well worn career paths and heirarchies, I always felt a little lost as a web designer in terms of where I was headed. Essentially as you gain more experience, there are three ways to go:
- Journeyman
- Manager
- Master
Christina Wodtke has been considering these options, why we can get stuck in them, and why we shouldn’t be afraid to branch out while still retaining our indentity as designers.
Comments
1
It’s a good post, but I find user experience to be significantly enhanced when authors run a spell check over their prose… ;o)
2
I don’t think I have an ‘indentity’ as a designer – my degree is in Cybernetics and Control Engineering ; any web development came from messing about with the Universiry provided webspace – borrowing heavily from Sizzling Jalfrezzi too!
Rarely do I do anything artistic – and my logical skills are not what they might be either … I flail about in php since the syntax is close to the C/C++ from the programming element of my aforementioned degree.
3
A webdesigner should know the medium better – a graphic designer is a visual artist but works intuitive at times but than learns to use cognitve principles as well, since websites are not only supposed to be pretty but usable as well. I admire webdesigners that can develop as well.
4
I see where she is coming from. As a web designer/developer myself, I have discovered many of the advantages and disadvantages of being a “jack of all trades”. Part of it boils down to where you percieve you can go in your profession. Especially, in the design world, it’s difficult to go further because you always want to leave your personal touch on your work, yet you can’t get stuck doing all the grunt work that the trade requires (especially if you run your own company). Even moving up through the ranks, it always pays to focus in on what you are ultimately passionate about. From what I have seen so far, that will lead the way.
5
Great post, i think it’s a choice / problem many of us are struggling with. My background is Communications, but most of the time I purely like to just work as a designer. But after a month or two I get bored and start focussing more on sales.
It would be nice to just walk a straight line and concentrate on one single point
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