Hey guys,

 

Question is rather simple. Are you a generalist (jack of all trades) or a specialist (master(or trying to master))one specific subject within the field?

 

Also what do you think is the best route to take?

 

 

 

I decided to try getting into web design/development because I have many ideas for websites that I'd like to pursue. Many of these ideas would be more on the design side rather than the development side. However, the idea of not being able to code my own sites and just being the person who slices up the images sounds ridiculous to me (no offence intended to any specialist designers)so I'm trying to learn both (focused moreso on the coding side right now).

 

 

What do you think the future web designer/developer will look like? Are people going to specializing more and more or is the "jack of all trades" route going to be more popular?

Well you are either a designer or a coder.

 

There is so much stuff to study that you can't really combine both things.

Even after a year of study PHP/MySQL I need to study a lot more and there is still the full use of Javascript to study or Java or any other kind of webprogramming languages.

 

Webdesign is all about to go with the latest trends and try to design your own trends which people on the internet would like.

 

I find coding more fun then design perhaps it's because I don't care mcuh of webdesign itself.

Anything visual that isnt going to be printed — i can do it. Mostly web-sites but still.

Probably a specialist since i wont touch anything code-related.

I think Kensha nailed it, it is almost impossible to be a master of both... granted there are some who can do bits in both departments, but it is very rare to find someone who can truly do both perfectly.

 

It's somewhat of a Left/Right brain argument, personally pick which you enjoy more and focus in that area... throw in a bit of html/css learning such that any coder that works with you won't think your clue less and you should be set to go.

 

Personally I'd have to say I'm a generalist (and master in both ) but I rarly design anything more than UI's these days.

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by CSN-UK

So how does one make a living as a freelancer when you can only do half the job required?

So how does one make a living as a freelancer when you can only do half the job required?

 

You would get a partner; it is very much a two man/woman operation... I know of many successful teams and one that has just recently started up and got a new office... certainly helps to keep one person available for acquiring jobs, support, phone calls... etc while their part of a job is complete/ awaiting the work from the other person

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by CSN-UK

So how does one make a living as a freelancer when you can only do half the job required?

 

 

It's not half the job.

 

I'm specialising towards design now, and I can do web design, leaflets, logos, business cards, greetings cards etc etc.

 

I'm starting to do a lot of work for web design and development agencies around here. They send me a brief, I quote them and make the design in photoshop and ship it off.

 

I find I earn more from doing just designers for people then actually making the website. I let the big agencies do all the hard work of getting their clients in, and I just do their work for them.

 

I can charge around £200 for a design which takes a day, where as before I was charging 400/600 for a basic website which took me 3/4 days

 

Or get cosey with a developer and when you get work come in, you do the design and he does the developing. Split the costs 50 50 but in theory should like YOU half the time.

 

If anything, this is better because you concentrate on the design, he on the development and you both do an incredible job. Where as if you do both, then both aspects could suffer.

 

Why do you think agencies advertise jobs for separate designers AND separate developers?

 

I can code to a standard and it's mainly CSS/XHTML.

Yeah I see where you're all coming from. I'ts hard to decide which route to go down.

Yeah I see where you're all coming from. I'ts hard to decide which route to go down.

 

 

Generally, developers are logical people and don't have creative flair or the eye for detail and visa-versa.

 

Which are you? Can you create amazing design and appreciate good design? or do you "wow" at good code?

 

Do you have any examples of the designs you've done?

I think a small team of specialists is the most efficient because you are getting the best possible work out of multiple people, instead of average work out of one or two. I do know some people who are good at both, but I think it's rare to see a phenomenal designer who is also a phenomenal developer.

 

I like to think that I'm a specialist in UI/UX design. I can also hold my own in visual design and front-end markup, but it's really not my strong suit.

Bit of both. I can design a good looking website (in my opinion of coarse).

 

But im not afraid to get my hands dirty with the coding (HTML/CSS/Javascript (still trying to master..) and a bit of PHP where needed).

 

I guess the term 'front-end developer' suites most people like me best.

 

The term 'web designer' is very broad nowadays.

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by keva161

But im not afraid to get my hands dirty with the coding (HTML/CSS/Javascript (still trying to master..) and a bit of PHP where needed).

I think for most of us — "specialists" it all comes down to the fact that you simply do some job faster (and eventually better) then another.

Thus it brings a question — why do i need to spend 30 hours on design when my friend can do it better in 10 hours? and visa versa — why should i code for 20 hours when someone can do it in 5 hours and it will also work better.

 

I know a person who done so many coding in his life that he has enough own "template solutions" for any custom task thus he can do it super fast. Even if he will charge me 100p / hour the job will be done 10 times faster and cheaper then if i would do it myself.. (even though i can code)

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by Lieto

@t Jason Dexter

 

True, I treid some webdesigning even logo's but all of the repleis I recieved was;

Your layout sucks, this sucks, that sucks.

 

I'm more fond to coding because of it's fun difficult and there is soooo much to learn and I can read up before going to sleep.

Generally, developers are logical people and don't have creative flair or the eye for detail and visa-versa.

 

Which are you? Can you create amazing design and appreciate good design? or do you "wow" at good code?

 

Do you have any examples of the designs you've done?

 

I'm only 2 months into learning so I don't really have any examples of anything Ive done (not thats worth showing anyway).

 

I started out learning HTML + CSS and have learned some basic design principles in the meantime. To be quite honest I'm not sure which I'd rather do. I enjoy both aspects of it so far. However, a course locally has popped up for PHP and mySQL which I have signed on for (I get paid 270/week to do the course as I'm unemployed so it was hard to turn down). I'ts 4 months long full time/5 days a week and the tutor has been a developer for 15 years or something so it seemed like a good opportunity.

 

 

I know quite a lot of people and have family members in all sectors of society so I'm quite certain once I have the skills there will be work around for me but the trouble is deciding where my focus should be. I'm torn.

Another question

 

 

If someone decides to go into a freelance career as a developer how do they go about making a portfolio if they don't have any design skills?

 

Surely this makes it much harder to get work as a freelance developer?

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by Sean33

I think Kensha nailed it, it is almost impossible to be a master of both...

 

Is there any need to be a "master" of anything? The kind of proficiency required by most sites I wouldn't say falls into the "master" category", neither graphically or programatically, when you compare them to the kind of skill level required to be a software engineer or a master graphic artist.

 

If you can hit a 7 or 8 out of ten on both, then you will be producing good websites IMHO.

Is there any need to be a "master" of anything? The kind of proficiency required by most sites I wouldn't say falls into the "master" category", neither graphically or programatically, when you compare them to the kind of skill level required to be a software engineer or a master graphic artist.

 

If you can hit a 7 or 8 out of ten on both, then you will be producing good websites IMHO.

 

Interesting point for sure.

If someone decides to go into a freelance career as a developer how do they go about making a portfolio if they don't have any design skills?

 

Surely this makes it much harder to get work as a freelance developer?

 

Well its harder to evaluate your skill as a developer (for a client) but it doesnt mean there are less development jobs then design jobs — every design need development and there are a lot of template designs that needs development as well. Its just you will need to go towards long term relationships with clients rather then advertise yourself as someone who enjoy fast and small projects over long and big ones.

 

Just like in any profession eventually you will be known enough and will have enough work, thats if you are nice and good ofc.

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by Lieto

Is there any need to be a "master" of anything? The kind of proficiency required by most sites I wouldn't say falls into the "master" category", neither graphically or programatically, when you compare them to the kind of skill level required to be a software engineer or a master graphic artist.

 

If you can hit a 7 or 8 out of ten on both, then you will be producing good websites IMHO.

 

Just to cover myself before anyone jumps on my back - website construction carries with it a bit of the "black arts" that we have to get our heads round, which may not be so applicable in the purer trades. It all kind of evens out in the end.

Is there any need to be a "master" of anything? The kind of proficiency required by most sites I wouldn't say falls into the "master" category", neither graphically or programatically, when you compare them to the kind of skill level required to be a software engineer or a master graphic artist.

 

If you can hit a 7 or 8 out of ten on both, then you will be producing good websites IMHO.

 

Indeed gibson for most cases I would agree however it isn't so much mastery as efficiency... if you work with a language or product (designers: photoshop etc) continually you will know shortcuts and or have libraries of past work that will greatly aid the speed and accuracy at which you can work, as well as keep current with changes and standards.

 

In a business environment the age old time is money certainly applies and as such for a business the accuracy and efficiency is a key factor, if for example you where comparing two individuals who produce similar qualities of work, the time and accuracy of their work could be a discerning factor as to which you would employ.

Edited October 28, 201114 yr by CSN-UK

I'd say I'm a reluctant generalist! I took a decision a few years back to go it alone. I'd be lying if I said that hasn't had all sorts of benefits, but it's also been at the expense of several things, one of which is specialisation and mastery. And when I say generalist, that means still being a novice at a lot of stuff because there's isn't the time to use skills after I've learned them in order for them to stick (*cough*PHP*cough*) so I tend to rely on third party solutions a lot (and even mastering them takes time).

 

I can remember back in the day (in addition to 'when all this were fields') there was just one job title for someone who built websites, and that was Web Designer. When you just needed to be a designer who could use Dreamweaver and maybe Flash, and Actionscript was still simple enough for a non-coder to use, and you could very easily build a site from start to finish and feel satisfied that you were doing mostly designery things.

 

That has, for obvious reasons, completely and utterly changed. If you're a sole trader and you don't rely on anyone else, then you can't fail to be a generalist - having to deal with everything from shopping carts to AdWords campaigns, from Wordpress hacks to server configurations. There are days that I long to go back to spending 70% of my time gorging in Photoshop and Illustrator goodness!

I still think it's a bit blurry, the lines. Where do you draw the line between being a specialist and a generalist? Say someone wants a WP/Opencart type thing for their small busines. Who do we get for that? Plenty of individual people I can think of on this forum could handle that perfectly well. Graphics, installation, customisation, plug ins, whatever. Job done.

 

Would you need two specialists, a designer and developer for this job?

 

I would say that whether you choose to become a generalist or specialist kind of depends on the kind of work you want to do, and who you want to work for. Do you want to do small businesses? Large cooporations? etc.

I still think it's a bit blurry, the lines. Where do you draw the line between being a specialist and a generalist? Say someone wants a WP/Opencart type thing for their small busines. Who do we get for that? Plenty of individual people I can think of on this forum could handle that perfectly well. Graphics, installation, customisation, plug ins, whatever. Job done.

 

Would you need two specialists, a designer and developer for this job?

 

I would say that whether you choose to become a generalist or specialist kind of depends on the kind of work you want to do, and who you want to work for. Do you want to do small businesses? Large cooporations? etc.

 

I don't think there need to be hard lines between generalist and specialist. I refer to myself as a specialist because I prefer working on projects that are more UX/UI or visual design focused. I really have no desire to spend my days coding (though if I go without for long periods of time I have withdrawals). However, I'm completely proficient with front-end stuff and Wordpress and have a solid grasp of back end languages. One could call me a generalist because I do know stuff from a generally wide knowledge base and I think they'd be accurate.

 

I still don't think its possible for most people to be great at everything, but there is no harm in having a solid skill level in a wide variety of things.

Jack of all trades. Master of one or two of them.