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What is a "Web Designer" in 2018?


TylerW

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Hey Web Designers,

What does the label "web designer" even mean to you as we head into 2018?

Would you consider yourself primarly as:

  • a visual designer focused on presentation & how things look?
  • or maybe a UX designer?
  • overall web strategy designer?
  • online marketer?
  • business consultant?
  • general creator and builder of all things "web"?

The further I progress in my own journey, the more all-encompassing I consider this term to be. Some declare "Web Design Is Dead", but I'm excited about this field and the future it holds.

The Key, IMO, is to expand our definition of what it means to be a "Web Designer".

Because web design is nolonger just web design.

It's now Designing for the Web in the fullest sense. It's seeing the web as a comprehensive environment/reality, and being aware of every ingredient that goes into it, from A to Z, and how each piece can fit together to achieve a specific purpose or goal.

When designing and building a site for a client, are you simply putting that final layer on top of ALL THE OTHER STUFF that sits underneath?

Or are you going deeper and working directly with the content, sales copy, marketing strategy, higher level business strategy etc?

How important are you to the growth & success of your client's business?

I believe that if we want to survive and thrive in the coming years, we must see ourselves as serious Web Professionals (as Stef has mentioned), and position ourselves to be on equal footing with our clients as trusted business advisors  / consultants.

How do you see yourself as a web designer right at this moment? Are you planning to expand your scope of work and your definition of what it means to be a "Web Designer"?

I'm really curious to see how others view themselves, their role in projects, and their ultimate value to the client.

Cheers All.

Tyler.

 

 

 

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Web Designer is rather just the default standardized accepted term. Personally I always preferred "Web Developer". Web Designer was traditionally a matter of "Look & Feel" and structure.

Put these days, and back 10 years, it began including some programming, now more programming, Content Management systems, multi-platform, sometimes Logos and branding, administration, even data base work in some cases. Lastly, my two soapbox areas, web accessibility and cyber security. We owe it to our customers to ensure all their customers and their own data etc. is both safe from attack and accessible to those with any number of disabilities.

Web design was back when a designer designed a web site and passed it to a coder to "Make it so Number One". But for freelancers and now most big organizations that is not the case, the name just hung around like Internet Explorer. Web Developer is a better term I think, we are developing it from scratch.

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