Back to basics: the role of
graphic design in websites
When businesses started to realise that web sites
were an essential communication tool in the mid nineties, the technology used
to create and display them was, to say the least, basic. The role of graphic
design in web sites was to not only design the physical (and hopefully,
eye-catching and attractive) pages but we also had to write the code – use
the technology available – to make our designs work. Since then, the
technological advancements have been supersonic, making it impossible for a
graphic designer to keep up with skills which are now being taught as
single-subjects at degree level.
In those early years, what could be achieved in a
web browser meant severe limitations in terms of appearance. Think of it as
trying to design a corporate brochure using nothing but Microsoft® Word!
The tail would often wag the dog, in that the
design of a web site – including it's functionality – was limited to what
the result of the coding was. It wasn't too long ago where the only fonts
available for use within web sites were those limited to accessibility on a PC
(Arial, Courier, Times Roman and the like).
But now, there are – more or less – no restrictions
at all.
Since then, the advancements have been supersonic, making it impossible for a graphic designer to
not only provide the aesthetic solutions but also the coding and technical
skills which are now being taught as single-subjects at degree level. PHP, CMS,
Style sheets, Applets, Java, Flash and now the latest HTML5. Detailed knowledge
of these and a whole lot more is vital in delivering a finished website but it
has nothing to do with design or aesthetics. And for this reason, the role of
graphic designer remains exactly the same.
When we are designing web sites today, we only need
to consider what the site will look like and how it functions. And once we've
created this, we leave all the coding and ‘make-it-work-ability' to our techies
where they can employ whatever technology they deem fit for that specific,
individual job. It is their skill that turns our design into a working web
site.
Boeing makes the airline shell; they set out the
interiors and the ergonomics; they lay out the cockpit and the storage banks;
they develop the aerodynamics and weight ratios. But Rolls Royce makes the
engines. Boeing uses the skills of engine experts to power their aircraft in
the same way that graphic designers should use the skills of web site
developers.
As technology continues to develop in the future,
the user's experience and what they will be able to do on the site will of
course develop and advance along with the skills and expertise of the techies
and web architects. But our role as graphic designers will remain the same as
it always has: to display information in the clearest and most intuitive way,
to deliver what the user needs and make it all pleasing on the eye.
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