38 What Web Designers Think
“
I see no reason for a web designer not to have HTML +
CSS in their skillset. Understanding how a page is built
will only improve a designer’s understanding of the
layout. Plus (thanks to responsive web design), we’re
entering a period where wireframing and designing
directly in the browser are perfectly valid methods of
completing a design brief.
”
A sound majority of the web design survey respondents agree.
Responses didn’t dramatically change, whether full-time, part-time,
young, or old; most designers surveyed felt professionals should
have a firm grasp on HTML & CSS as well as Photoshop.
What skills do you feel it’s important for a web designer to
know well?
It’s important to note, however, that the next top responses were
not technical markup skills, programming languages, or software;
they were areas of web design theory. The following top-cited skills
were web typography (at 66.5%) and user interface or UX design
(at 64.6%). Kriesi, a top WordPress theme designer on ThemeFor-
est, considers a defining skill to be the way a professional uses her
design knowledge to handle basic elements.
HTML & CSS
Photoshop and
graphic design
Web typography
UI or UX design
JavaScript
& JQuery
HTML5
CMS skinning
(WordPress, etc.)
Mobile design
PHP
Flash or other
rich media
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
14.4%
39.5%
41.5%
51.7%
58.1%
64.1%
64.6%
66.5%
86.3%
92.6%
