The Independent Web Designer in 2008 | 5 Make It or Break It Characteristics
December 3rd, 2007 in Web Design Culture
by: Matthew Griffin
2007 is almost over. Time to start thinking about the future. If you've been designing web sites for more than five years or so, the tools and processes your are using today are completely different than the the ones you used when you started. Gone are the days of
and tags, CSS and Javascript finally started working, and my nose goes up extra high when I hear the words "Front Page".
Not only has the nature of our work changed, but our role in the business world has changed as well. We are expected to do more and know more about all kinds design and computer related issues. So what do all these changes mean for the quintessential web designer in 2008? Here's a list of the five most distinctive attributes I see clinging to the successful web designer in the next year.
1. Marketing Savvy – When you design a successful web site, it's only natural for a client to push you a step further and start asking for marketing solutions outside the web. This is the characteristic that will separate the big guys from the little guys in 2008.
2. Versatile – I know it's quite a cliché but if you want to make it as a web designer (especially an independent web designer), you're going to have to know a little bit about everything that can be done on the web.
3. Print Savvy – "Print is dead" as Egon said in Ghost Busters. But honestly, do you think businesses will stop printing business cards and brochures in 2008? No way!
4. Design Literate – Sorry, no more getting by on your HTML skills alone. Everyone is taking notice of design these days and if you can't find a way to wrap your beautiful code in a beautiful design, you're out.
5. Video Literate – You need to be able to take advantage of the full power of the modern web for your clients. Video is the thing right now and it's here to stay.
2008 will be the year of the emergence of the mini ad agency. That's exactly what the independent web designer is evolving into. As the web design community grows and matures, we will eventually be the ones hiring the old media guys to do the stuff we never learned instead of them hiring us to do "that computer stuff".
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Posted By: John Doe on 12/04/07
... And skewed, drop-shadowed, serif typeface headlines are here to stay!
Posted By: Wesley C. Griffin on 12/04/07
And sarcastic John Does are definitely here to stay!
Posted By: Danny Outlaw on 12/04/07
Im looking into trying out the video blogging. I think its the next big thing for blogs.
Posted By: angelamaiers on 12/18/07
Mitch, I love this post! You have made a great point that Web2.0 success is not a technology thing-it is a literacy thing!
Posted By: angelamaiers on 12/18/07
Mitch, great post. You have made the case that Web2.0 is not just a technology thing-it is a literacy thing!
Posted By: Alan Rimm-Kaufman on 12/21/07
Nice list! May I propose a sixth? 6. TESTING SAVVY. The Big Redesign isn't extinct, but 2008 will see it inching towards the endangered species list. Look for more incrementalism in site redesigns, agile web improvements (driven by testing tools like Google's new website optimizer) backed by hard numbers indicating improvement. Cheers Alan
Posted By: Rachel Goldstein on 01/02/08
I loved your article and I added it to Digg for you ... it is on the hot list on the sidebar right now. Here is the Digg link if your readers want to Digg it too. Thanks. Rachel http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/
Posted By: on 01/02/08
Thanks, Rachel.
Posted By: Digital Revolutions on 01/03/08
Agreed, versatility and marketing being the biggest. (IMHO)