Web Designer Career Description

Web Designer Career Description

The internet has become a highly competitive world for online commerce with webpages taking the place of traditional brick and mortar stores. The main Home page is now the equivalent of a store’s window display and it is the task of the web designer to make the site  as appealing and engaging to entice more than 2 billion people with internet access to shop on these websites.   A competent web designer does any or a combination of the following:

• Ensure that client objectives are clearly outlined and artistic standards defined such as font types, color schemes and thematic motif (formal, playful, animated, simple, etc.).
• Ensure that all materials (photos, video, and text) are copyrighted.
• Understand the target markets or audience to ensure the right fit.
• Develop web pages looks on Photoshop prior to prototyping
• Marshal web developers for HTML coding, Flash animation, shopping cart and payment integration to develop prototype for approval
• Document development work and resources used for proper billing

Education

The web designer often evolves from being an industrial graphics designer but using the web as the media instead of the traditional print. A course in advertising, graphics design, mass communication, industrial arts or any related course helps but experience and a portfolio of successful web design works is more important. Excellent writing and multimedia skills are an asset since most web designs is an implementation of Flash animation, graphics, text, video and edited images as well as audio.

Employment

Freelance web designers have grown as the career can easily be done at home with the usual web development tools on the PC.  But a more stable web design career can be found in creative and advertising agencies which have a dedicated section of web development along with tradition creative media.  The median salary as of 2008 stands at around $43,000 annually.