graphic designer who wants to learn html & css

graflicks

New Member
Hello,

I am a graphic designer who is interested in learning (X)HTML + CSS to expand my knowledge in the web design development industry.
Has anyone else started to learn it, or is already at an advance level?

Would this be an advantage to do this?

It seems to me that could be a great opportunity to blend in the skills of (development and graphics) into 1.

Taking on board this is a good objective, would I be able to learn lots from using Lynda 1.HTML + 2. CSS tutorials.

I would like to hear some feedback from people who have learned coding, what litterature/tutorial sources did you use for your learning curve, how long did it take you (I know; how long is a piece of string. lol) to at least get a very good grasp of coding in general or simply how long did it take you to master it.

Any help, guidance would be really appreciated.

Thanks,

:icon_smile:
 
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I think it will help you, though only so far - HTML is really very easy to pick up, just follow some online tutorials and you'll get the hang of it in no time, this site is probably your best place.

CSS is also pretty easy to get the hang of and once you've gone through the different stages it will come to you very quickly with practice, it isn't complicated. From there you'll be able to put together some very nice websites.

That said, in order to get to the good stuff you'll then need to start looking into PHP and databases etc which is where it can get a bit more tricky, but HTML and CSS is simple enough and a good foundation!
 
I bought myself a book HeadFirst HTML & CSS and worked through it. It's not very difficult to learn to do simple websites and then progress from there.

I didn't think I would like coding being artist/graphic designer but strangely I did. To watch a site look how you want it just because you add a colon or something in the coding/css is a great feeling! And it didn't take me very long to learn HTML or CSS. That said I haven't had much of a chance to use it much and I should really practise more. . .go for it!
 
Isn't (and I might be wrong here) tricky to be very good at both ie: coding and design?
Aren't you either one or the other?
 
Isn't (and I might be wrong here) tricky to be very good at both ie: coding and design?
Aren't you either one or the other?

I don't think that is necessarily true - someone could be naturally creative and enjoy the design yet still be more than capable of learning how to code.
 
But doesn't the world of coding change quite rapidly as does design?
To keep a handle on both and produce high quality work in both areas is tricky no?
 
Personally if I need a designer I hire a designer, if I need a coder I hire a coder, my experience so far in business has been that I have not found anybody that is good at both....unless it has been an agency with staff.
 
I personally dont think a designer should be a coder, lets face it, you'll only end up designing websites that meet your HTML/CSS knowledge set rather than creating somethingcutting edge and letting a coder/developer find a way of making it work.

Having said that, Ive looked at the jobs market recently I can understand why you'd want to be able to read and write code. Almost every advert says "HTML & CSS advantageous".

The phrase Jack of all but master of none comes to mind.
 
I agree that it would be quite challenging to master both design and coding at the same time, perhaps the best idea is to learn the basic and have a very good understanding of how coding works as opposed to want to master it. Learning and understanding basic coding in this day in age for a web/graphic designer seems to me like the way forward.
 
Yeah but surely knowing some of the new aspects of CSS3 for example would be advantageous as a designer?

If you look at most big agencies they require very good HTML & CSS knowledge. Clearleft (I think it was them) who are a pretty big agency were advertising a few weeks ago for a designer, even though they wouldn't touch a single piece of code they had to have very good and competent knowledge of HTML and CSS.

Personally I class myself as a designer & developer simply because I've created web applications for clients and have a good knowledge of languages such as Ruby, PHP etc. As well as designing for the web and print etc.

I don't think of HTML and CSS being a development process.

Also a lot of my design process is based around designing in the browser as I know are a lot of other designers.

I personally dont think a designer should be a coder, lets face it, you'll only end up designing websites that meet your HTML/CSS knowledge set rather than creating somethingcutting edge and letting a coder/developer find a way of making it work.

I completely disagree. If there was something I wanted to do in a design but didn't know how that'd make me want to go and find how to do it. Rather than just being lazy and thinking oh well I won't bother.

The phrase Jack of all but master of none comes to mind.

Ethan Marcotte. Shaun Inman.

Finally, HTML and CSS are easy to learn, but you shouldn't just rely on Photoshop and Illustrator to tell you what the site looks like because when it's in the browser it looks different (text rendering etc), plus you'll have greater control over your site.
 
I understand what youre saying but if I was given £500k worth of printing press and an online instruction manual, I could probably print you a full colour leaflet but I couldnt produce a genuine masterpiece because I dont have the experience that someone who has dedicated themself to the printing process can offer. The same goes for a designer who learns code. Yeah, you can produce a website, yeah you can think outside the coding box but you aren't the best because youre not dedicated to that dicipline and its every advancement. If your not the best at what you do, youre selling your client short. far better to work with a coder than try and be the coder!


On a side note, I dont want to split hairs but how can you label yourself as a designer / developer when by your own admission you dont see HTML and CSS as a development process?
 
I understand what youre saying but if I was given £500k worth of printing press and an online instruction manual, I could probably print you a full colour leaflet but I couldnt produce a genuine masterpiece because I dont have the experience that someone who has dedicated themself to the printing process can offer. The same goes for a designer who learns code. Yeah, you can produce a website, yeah you can think outside the coding box but you aren't the best because youre not dedicated to that dicipline and its every advancement. If your not the best at what you do, youre selling your client short. far better to work with a coder than try and be the coder!


On a side note, I dont want to split hairs but how can you label yourself as a designer / developer when by your own admission you dont see HTML and CSS as a development process?

No for me I see the HTML/CSS Dev side of things as a design process because I like to get in the browser as quickly as possible.

Development to me in backend dev or ruby coding, like developing a web app. Many of my clients who want development or other developers outsourcing work want Ruby development, PHP, Phython, not HTML, to me that falls under the design category.

far better to work with a coder than try and be the coder!

Yeah for more advanced languages but not for things like HTML and CSS because they're easy to pickup and learning them will keep you far more in control of your designs.
 
I am a freelance Graphic Design who eventually wants a full time job as a Graphic Designer. I have been advised that you are more employable if you have a range of skills within a design role rather than one. This does make sense to me because you can help your team out in other areas rather than the one you are specialised in. And most job ads these days say at the bottom if you know HTML it is an advantage. i.e. you have a better chance of being considered. This also aplies to other work industries. Someone who is multi skilled can be a valuable asset to any company.
 
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I think it is a dereliction of duty for any graphic designer to not educate themselves in web or at least some form of multimedia design. Print is a dying media. HTML and CSS are just more tools with which to express your design. Who said a graphic designer must work exclusively in print?

I know that a specialist web designer/developer will be able to produce more technically advanced websites than me and will be able to do it quicker and probably less buggy in the first build. That doesn't mean that I can't offer nice, well-designed, intuitive, standards-compliant web design with a decent degree of sophistication and I recognise that in my own business. If a client wants graphic design, simple web design or iPhone-optimised web design then I can offer it. If not, I outsource it to another company.
 
Print is a dying media.

Absolute nonsense. I hear this trotted out all the time. The web is just another tool. It's taken business from print, but print is far from dead. You just use the right tool for the right target.

Who said a graphic designer must work exclusively in print?

Nobody. I do agree that designers should acquaint themselves with every tool available to them, and then choose the best one. But I don't think it's necessary to become an expert in everything. As an Art Director, if you need an illustrator, a photographer, a printmaker, etc, - someone who does something that you can't, or does it better than you - you hire one. It's the same with web design.
 
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