[Conway]

Hi there my name is Conway and I am new to this website design forum, hello all!

Can anyone tell me where I can download some fictional website design briefs to beef up my own portfolio?

Also I have another dilemma in that while I consider myself a good UI look and feel website designer I have no idea how to code my design ideas. But because I wish to build an online portfolio I feel a bit stuck in how to promote myself online for new work when I don't have the knowledge on how to code my own portfolio website so that I can eventually produce working designs for real world clients?

Does any1 have any suggestions about this dilemma?

[Boss Hog]

Hi Conway

A warm welcome to the graphic design forums | website design forums

I presume you are after fictional briefs so that you can design them and then add these designs to your portfolio? If this is the case then maybe you would be better to offer your design services FREE of charge to start up businesses or similar that actually need a website.

That way you are offering something that they need, they will spread the word about your services and hopefully give you a testimonial for your website, you will have credit for the design via a link to your website in the footer of their homepage and your portfolio will be linking to active websites instead of ones that don't exist.

With regards to coding, you need to find a coder that you can work with, somebody that is good at what they do and competitively priced. They promote your website design services and you promote them for the coding. You either pass the customer to the coder once the design is complete or charge a small mark-up and let the client think that you are providing a total solution in-house (maybe best), loads of companies outsource coding, seo etc.

If you want real clients to build up your portfolio then I am happy to find a few for you, just let me know.

P.S: Do you have a website at all at the moment?

Hope that helps.

Damon

[Conway]

Thanks Damon

That's great advice you have provided me very much appreciated!! Na I don't have any online presence at the moment in terms of showcasing my work. Which is something I am very keen to change. The thought of having an online portfolio one day really excites me and something that I am keen to work towards.

Without boring you with my life story, I am currently out of work at the moment and have been off for 4months which has been difficult to say the least since I was made redundant. I previously worked for a web design company which has been my first and only web design job but because I was working as graphic artist designing the look and feel for all the websites we produced even though I worked alongside developers and coders I never really got the chance to learn about the building process of the website once I handed over my designs hence the reason why that part of my knowledge is lacking.

However I am a graphic designer not a coder but it got me thinking are web designers expected to know how to code or not??

anyway enough of my pondering ramble, but to answer your 1st question if you could put me touch with some real world clients yes that would be great!

Yea because I'm going through a complete revamp of my portfolio at the mo, I need real world briefs to work on and then once ive built up a project list of about 5 or 6 clients this will then give me enough content to wrap those projects up in an online personal portfolio. To start applying for web design jobs again.

Sorry for the long essay response!! ha ha

any more suggestions or advice based on what i've said?

Thanks

Conway

[Xenonsoft]

Hi Conway.

Apologies for not reading the whole thread but I think the gist is that you're looking for solutions for coding your designs.

As someone who was just like you around 3-4 months ago coding wise I advise that you learn HTML & CSS. I would also advise purchasing a version of Dreamweaver, I've not used other programs but it's a fantastic bit of kit.

Learning HTML & CSS is very easy with dreamweaver or any other program that has drop down options. Using w3schools to get the foundation you need when you need it is also extremely useful. I learnt through trial and error, and would recommend the same to you. The CSS code is very self-explanatory with code such as 'margin-top:0px;' and follows in a simple format.

I started by taking a simple design I had made, working out where to cut it up and saving the seperate images. Then put them in gradually, with the header first then say navbar next, and tampering with the CSS to get it to position correctly in the browser. As I say, I've not been doing it long but I coded a large slice of my business' website shown in my sig and have learnt a lot in a short space of time.

Not only is it much cheaper to do then hiring someone to do it for you, it offers you flexibility and I certainly enjoy doing it myself, having the knowledge, and that's forgetting that's it's another tool to add to your CV!

As you said, web designers do need to know coding, as otherwise you cut down the possible jobs massively, and most probably your salary too.

Good luck, feel free to ask questions on here although the response may not be immediate. Enjoy!

[Helen]

A great site for learning HTML/CSS is HTML and CSS Tutorials, References, and Articles | HTML Dog

[MarkS]

Thanks Helen for that link, I was just about to trawl the net for some info regarding CSS, then I found your post.

happy days!!

ta,
Mark