Web Designers Suck

Web Design. Used to actually carry some respect when it was said. Then the dot com bomb hit and now we laugh. The "become a bartender" commercial was replaced with "become a web designer." So here is a few reasons why I hate to call myself a web designer.

Face it. HTML is pretty damn easy. Kids are pumping out HTML in 2nd period. Even javascript has been packaged into GUI's to such an extent that you don’t even need to know the code in order to do the things it is mostly used for. Cascading style sheets are becoming part of this intuitive interface. Server side scripting is even easy enough to lose all bragging rights amongst coding geeks. So when someone tells me they are a web designer I am usually not impressed. They are pumping "Web Designers" out in 6 months at the local Web Development Tech school. "But a site needs to look cool as well," I hear some Mac user whispering…
Ok I will grant that a site needs to have presence. But get over your little creative artsy fartsy pride. Color composition and Typography are no secret kung fu. Accept it, any reasonably creative person with nominal computer skills can build you a website. Website design is passe'

Here is what sets me apart. I know the industry. I punched BASIC in elementary school. A decade ago I was implementing industrial strength software into a manufacturing environment. I have taught children how to make computer animations. I can stand in a server room and point out what pieces do what and why. I get the geek "ooh" at an LED light that is unusually colored. I have spent hours with the public setting their system up to the Internet through various types of connections. I have an understanding of UNIX, Linux, NT, and 2000 with a particular focus on how they serve the web. That’s just a base of knowledge.

I was surfing the Internet long before it had pictures and I know where it has been, where it is at and all the places they talk about it going to. I study the usability research and the current web statistics. I understand the architecture of information and how a user interfaces with it. While the recent Tech School grad was getting picked on in the playground I was helping to set the standards that he now takes for granted. That’s why I think "Web Designers" suck.