Classes and Portfolio Questions

what those guys said

design is design no matter what the medium. you can know all the ASP, PHP, and other cool abbreviated thingies in the world and not be able to create an attractive usable website. there's dozens and dozens of "designers" out there that i'd never hire because, as dek mentioned, they're simply software operators.

so again, learn design, even if you have to go outside your cirruculum to do it (as has been mentioned, most courses are more learning the software). read books, articles, magazines, post your work and learn to accept criticism. rinse and repeat

I agree about learning design and typography etc that I can. I had classes like that already but that was awhile ago. I want to go into the design aspect of web sites not the programming part. I am used to them being both one and the same as I have had to do both myself if I wanted to do a site.

I also agree that design is design but the way you go about it is diffrent for each media but the core rules are the same.

start compiling work for a portfolio right away. what i did was when first got into school, i wrote a list of my work samples. after first semester, i updated it with all the work i had done that semester. after the second, i updated my list again, then i sifted through it pickout out the best ones. there wasn't a set number i was using, some really just weren't showing now that i had stuff to replace them with.

after my second year, i've done it again, eliminating more of the stuff from the first year.

as for design... print design and web design can be very similar (and also very different). when it comes down to layout and design, a lot of the mentality is the same. it's the production environment that really sets them apart. that's where web developers come in. it's handy to have a solid understanding of html/xhtml at least if you're going to work in the design position. even if you're not the one to produce the code, knowing how the language works helps you optimizie your design to adapt to it without resorting to ugly hacks.

well if your going to school for multimedia design (web design) then ask if you can see the course book ahead of time.

HTML/CSS/PHP is a great way to start. before the clases start get as much info as you can about it. constantly read. and trust me you will do fine.

ALSO constantly surf the web for other portfolios and look for good design. bookmark it for future reference.

hth

-tim

ALSO constantly surf the web for other portfolios and look for good design

Here's a big piece of advice, dont just look. You need to analyze. Figure out WHY something is good design (not because you like it) or if it's good design at all. Think about what message the site is trying to communicate. Break down the site into the principles/elements and think about which they used and why they used it. Looking is fun, but if you dont learn from it it's useless.