40 What Web Designers Think
In short, a professional web designer should be a wizard of the
technology, a craftsman of the theory, and a master of the process.
No problem!
If this doesn’t describe you yet, just relax. If there was a test of this
nature to pass before designing your first website, then none of us
would be in business today.
However, every single skill mentioned here undoubtedly makes you
a better and more successful designer. Call it the tripod of profes-
sional web design: technique, design theory, and practiced experi-
ence. Always be looking for ways to practice and improve. Quite
frankly, that’s the hallmark of a professional designer and the most
necessary attribute; one who’s always learning. Veerle Pieters of
Duoh! expands on the importance of improving as a designer:
“
You need to be willing to keep on learning all the time.
The world of web design evolves very quickly. There
is a lot of experimenting involved, as there are a lot of
different techniques to be learned on how to do things.
You need to find what’s best for your project. The
unexpected factor in this may be the pace of how fast
you need to learn new techniques. It almost feels as if
you’re constantly catching up on things.
”
So, let’s take a look on what it means to stay current and where
you should focus your efforts.
Staying Current
People like me who write about design love talking about trends,
because designers frequently like reading about them. Stagnating,
falling behind, or being judged for becoming dated is a common
fear. And it’s important to stay aware of what’s going on. But
despite our tendency to mimic, aesthetic trends are not the heart
of web design. Vitaly Friedman of Smashing Magazine has strong
words to debunk the concern of trends:
