What do I need to do to become a web designer?

k0nstantine

leemoss wrote: »

Funny enough, I know of 2 people who are coming back to Windows as they seriously dislike the new version of Final Cut Pro.
I know quite a few music producers who use Ableton on Windows machines. I myself worked in 3D design for years and had no issues with Windows.
I really couldn't see why a Mac would be better for webdesign than a Windows machine, you're likely to be using the same software regardless of OS.
There's a hell of a lot of benchmarks out there showing Macs aren't always the fastest at design type tasks.
expertreviews.co.uk/general/1283776/ubuntu-10-10-vs-windows-7-vs-mac-os-x-10-6-snow-leopard

If you read my post properly you will see that I didn't mention anything about operating systems, so don't really see the relevance of your link, or how running 3 different operating systems on a imac, proves that pc's are better than macs?

I said that mac's are better than pc's for design work, and in my experience they are. Pc's seem to freeze up a lot more than macs when running software that's heavy on the processor.
I've created a 6ft by 3ft banner in Photoshop on a PC and then lost the file when the pc couldn't handle it and crashed! I've used Premiere to wdit a video, which packed up converting after an hour on a PC. If i run photoshop to photo edit, it's laggy, yet runs perfectly fine on a Mac.

Ok, you don't need a Mac if you're just using basic html/css etc, but if you're using flash, or high quality graphics then the software is more stable to run on a Mac than a PC.

leemoss wrote: »

So learn basic HTML/PHP first, i'd say CMS systems are a little above total beginner anyway. Loading a template in etc is easy enough, but actually modifying them does require a fair bit of coding knowledge.

Why do you think i mentioned dreamweaver?

[Deleted User]

Artistic flair?

leemoss

k0nstantine wrote: »

I said that mac's are better than pc's for design work, and in my experience they are. Pc's seem to freeze up a lot more than macs when running software that's heavy on the processor.
I've created a 6ft by 3ft banner in Photoshop on a PC and then lost the file when the pc couldn't handle it and crashed! I've used Premiere to wdit a video, which packed up converting after an hour on a PC. If i run photoshop to photo edit, it's laggy, yet runs perfectly fine on a Mac.
Ok, you don't need a Mac if you're just using basic html/css etc, but if you're using flash, or high quality graphics then the software is more stable to run on a Mac than a PC.

It'll be a pointless debate, as we wont agree on this, in my experience Macs are generally no better than Windows at the majority of design tasks. Your original statement was...

k0nstantine wrote: »

Macs are better than pc's for any sort of design ...

I just personally think that's a ridiculous and hugely sweeping statement.
The whole 'Windows isn't stable' thing is no longer valid really, I support a Command & Control system (for the fire service) which completely runs on Windows (server 2008/win 7). If it was so unstable under heavy load would they allow such a mission critical system to use Windows?

I also support a publicity/graphics department, who regularly produce images in excess of 6ft. Also very large images containing mapping data. All on Windows machines. We also have video editors who produce 90min HD videos every few weeks for training/presentation purposes using Premiere on Windows. If Windows was so bad/unreliable at these tasks would we really be running it?

I myself used to work in 3D design in Marine Simulation, working with 3D models and graphics which covered vast simulated areas on a £3million ship simulator. Even back when the PCs were running Windows 2000 and NT4 they were stable enough and Windows 7 is far far more stable again.

paddyrg

leemoss wrote: »

We also have video editors who produce 90min HD videos every few weeks for training/presentation purposes using Premiere on Windows.

Just to cap-pigeon the debate, Avid runs identically on both platforms (and is the daddy of video NLE) - as the hardware is essentially the same, and many of the same programmes are available on either platform, and the OSes do the same job, the whole of the difference appears to be whether people want Apple lock-in or not.

[Deleted User]

Personally, when I looked into working in web design about 8 years ago, I realised that the skills required (coding, working with customers, databases, design) could be applied elsewhere in IT for a lot more money.

Anyhoo.. technology wise, you should probably learn some of the following:
A database tech (SQL, mySQL ect)
A server-side language (ASP .Net, PHP, Perl ect)
A client-side language (JavaScript, Flash ActionScript)
HTML & CSS

There's a lot to be learning really. The alternative is to get really good at designing website UIs graphically, and let some other poor !!!!!! worry about turning them into something functional.

Also, it's good to learn:
Accessibility
Usability

More advanced stuff to learn:
XML (XSLT, XSD, DTD)

There's lots to learn!!

leemoss

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I realised that the skills required (coding, working with customers, databases, design) could be applied elsewhere in IT for a lot more money.

This is something I would agree with, unless your passionate about wanting to do web design, i'd look at other areas in IT.
Many application/mobile app developers aren't required to know as many languages/technologies etc as web designers and will often make more money.

k0nstantine

leemoss wrote: »

It'll be a pointless debate, as we wont agree on this, in my experience Macs are generally no better than Windows at the majority of design tasks. Your original statement was...

I just personally think that's a ridiculous and hugely sweeping statement.
The whole 'Windows isn't stable' thing is no longer valid really, I support a Command & Control system (for the fire service) which completely runs on Windows (server 2008/win 7). If it was so unstable under heavy load would they allow such a mission critical system to use Windows?

I also support a publicity/graphics department, who regularly produce images in excess of 6ft. Also very large images containing mapping data. All on Windows machines. We also have video editors who produce 90min HD videos every few weeks for training/presentation purposes using Premiere on Windows. If Windows was so bad/unreliable at these tasks would we really be running it?

I myself used to work in 3D design in Marine Simulation, working with 3D models and graphics which covered vast simulated areas on a £3million ship simulator. Even back when the PCs were running Windows 2000 and NT4 they were stable enough and Windows 7 is far far more stable again.

It is still valid. Windows is still prone to crashing, error messages and viruses. If you leave a windows system running for days at a time, it becomes laggy and slow, yet a mac will work fine.

As for your question about that publicity/graphic department, maybe they can't afford to buy Macs so have to settle for Windows Pcs.
I know when i attended Uni for both Computing and Multimedia Design, Macs were used entirely for Music Production, Film, Graphic Design, and any other aspect of multimedia design, including web and still are today! If pc's are so great for design work, then why would a university spend thousands buying macs, when they could get pcs for cheaper?

[Deleted User]

Haha, get a Mac to be creative? I thought that stuff only existed in memes..

fredkw

merryblue wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking for a change in career and quite like the idea of becoming a web designer. Can anyone recommend any courses I can take - either classroom or web based? Also what computer should I be looking to buy? PC or Mac? As you can tell I am a complete beginner - but I have a good work ethic and hope I can learn it fast!
Thanks for any replies.

I have to agree with all the posters who advise against. Producing good web sites is not easy and as well as all the technical/visual appearance issues there are legal requirements and copyright matters that have to be considered.

If you can find a good company that is prepared to take you on and train you then you stand a chance of making a career. Self taught or going to classes will not prove very fruitful.

[Deleted User]

k0nstantine wrote: »

It is still valid. Windows is still prone to crashing, error messages and viruses. If you leave a windows system running for days at a time, it becomes laggy and slow, yet a mac will work fine.

As for your question about that publicity/graphic department, maybe they can't afford to buy Macs so have to settle for Windows Pcs.
I know when i attended Uni for both Computing and Multimedia Design, Macs were used entirely for Music Production, Film, Graphic Design, and any other aspect of multimedia design, including web and still are today! If pc's are so great for design work, then why would a university spend thousands buying macs, when they could get pcs for cheaper?

I use to work in a university research department. We did genetic and genomic research, with lots of high throughput analysis. Our department was stocked with lots of Macs.

Why? Because the professor who secured the funding liked Macs. So that's what the money was splurged on. Web design is hardly computationally intensive, really the best investment you can make is a bloody big monitor. These days, as Windows PC will happily chug away for weeks on end (when I got the ability to order hardware, I bought a windows machine to run as a server - it very rarely ever got rebooted.)

Mac owners are often zealots. Artists are often zealots. See where this is going?