assassins of ideas. we make things that go.

Learning Outcomes: From Print to Web

The deadlines came quickly and I had a lot to learn but the environment was so supportive and creative that I enjoyed every second of it. My skills improved quickly and I began to get accustomed to the faced-paced environment.

I felt like I was earning my keep by pumping out print marketing, however I noticed the incredible web development my programmer co-workers were creating. I wanted to expand my knowledge and apply my graphic sensibility to websites but I didn’t know any HTML or CSS. To my surprise, I was encouraged to explore web development and my programmer co-workers patiently helped my to learn the basics of coding. Right away I was given a web design project where I was able to learn on the job. I have since designed and coded 2 websites from scratch and I feel confident in my skills. Through my transition from print into web I learned a few things that might be useful to others:

1. Take the time to learn it right from the start.
As a firm believer in learn-by-doing, I can honestly say I rarely read instruction manuals but HTML is different. I strongly recommend working through tutorials when first starting out. HTML Dog was my most valuable resource. I work through their HTML and CSS basic through advanced tutorials in a day or two. I know it’s a pain in the ass to sit through the boring stuff but it’s so important to feeling comfortable while you are coding. You will probably need to refer back to HTML Dog pretty often as you start out, but it will begin to feel natural after a while. Soon you’ll be writing code in your sleep.

2. Keep your code clean.
I was told this when I first started but I didn’t really know what this meant. I shrugged my shoulders and started pumping out lines of code, never stopping to indent, often creating redundant or useless tags. I began looking at other people’s source code and noticed how nicely indented it was and how much cleaner it was. I still didn’t really change the way I worked and I paid for it when it was time time to validate. It took forever to sift through the errors and I ended up wasting a lot of time.

3. Ask questions.
There’s something to be said for figuring stuff out yourself but you might be able to save an hour with a quick answer from someone who knows more than you do. Forums are also a great way to get help. I often google a question and chances are someone has asked the same thing on a forum somewhere out there

4. The user is always right.
It is often hard for people who come from a visual background to understand that their graphics will now function second to the usability of a site. A lot more goes into a site than I had previously thought. I had to think about how long the page would take to load, how search-able it is, and the over all functionality of the design.

5. Communicate with the programmer.
In my case I was responsible for the basic design but the programmer often ends up having to do the heavy lifting. Making their job as easy as possible is a good idea. Talk with them before about what the site has to do and let them look over your code to make sure they understand everything. I learned a lot from shortcuts they told me about and cleaner ways of coding stuff.

I was given an incredible opportunity through EMU Marketing. Not many novice web designers are able to learn on the job from such an incredible staff. Because of what I learned at EMU Marketing, I have been approached by clients to develop web pages and manage their blogs.

Tags: css, Design, html, Learning Outcomes, Programming, web design, Web Development