Blogging Tips

I am a graphic designer, and a fresh one at that! I have recently begun working at a great design company called HeadSpace, who work primarily on web design. Our focus includes interface, optimization, front and back end coding, and much more. While I did learn a lot in school, there simply was not enough time to cover every aspect of web design.

Thus, I find I am playing catch up with my headspace counterparts. This morning, as I was sipping coffee and trying to wrap my brain around all that is web, I realized that there are probably others out there like myself.

So I am here to lend a bit of advice for those of you who are overwhelmed by the internet. These are a few things I have learned from those around me.

1. Find great resources

I am lucky; I have had the fortune of being surrounded by a group of experts who have been more than generous with sharing their wealth of information. Finding people who are dealing with the web on a regular basis and who are willing to give you guidance is invaluable. You will be surprised the mistakes you will avoid. I have been taught in the ways of everything from optimizing a site to cross browser compatibility. If you find yourself in an abyss with no nerds around to offer assistance, I recommend reading Designing With Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman.

2. Make life easier

As a designer, I knew that some day I would work on the web in all its splendor. I dreamed of the day I would stand on top of the world and declare myself among the most capable and talented web designers that the planet has ever known. Perhaps that’s that’s a bit far but I did have hopes.

I have realized that being a web designer is a lot easier if you fully understand what you are designing for. Understanding how sites are built will push your designs to be better and more efficient, thus more appreciated by the user and the programmer who has to cut it up. So learn your code. I am not saying geek out, but do some research. Don’t be one of those designers who likes to make pretty things but doesn’t want to get too involved.

3.great addons

I have come across some really helpful tools that have progressed my work and they were not hard to find. One being firebug. This little gem for Firefox allows you to edit your css and a number of other things inside the browser. Gone are the days of going back and forth when you can see the results of your labor right in front of your eyes.

Another great one is xhtml validator, which tells you exactly what you are doing wrong and how to correct it. These are just a few of some brilliant tools that will help you understand what the web demands of you when writing the markup for your site. Check out firefox and what they have to offer or just start looking for addons and software that you think would help you, likely it is out there waiting for you.

4.research

The web is an ever-changing entity, and there are an endless amount of programmers and developers out there doing their best to keep it that way. Your task, try and keep up. Doing research about new addons, new software, and new techniques will be a major asset to your tool belt. Finding great sites to help you with this will make this process easier. Smashing magazine is a great place to start, and they will lead you on to other links as well. Dont’ be discouraged to take it one task at a time.

5.submit your work

Its hard I know, I am trying to adjust to it myself, but passing your work on to be scrutinized is unavoidable if you want to improve. When I was in school we had to sit around and allow the complaints pour in, and whilst I didn’t always agree with them, it certainly did help me understand that I am not designing for myself. This is more true on the web as you are not going to be able to know all of the things out there at your first crack at it.

Pass it on to friends and co-workers (even your mom!). Anyone who might land on the site who could give you some positive feedback. Working with people who know the web and how to design for it has helped me a lot along the way, so if you find yourself in the position to nag some web designers to look at your work take advantage of that.

The best piece of advice that I can give it be persistent and not to get discouraged. It may all seem overwhelming at first but the dividends will be rewarding.

This post was not written from a bloggers perspective however I thought you would all be interested in reading it as it was written by someone who has just entered the industry. Plus, it’s always good to hear a viewpoint from the other side (I’m that used to being the customer!) – Kevin