Where did you learn to design?

[webspaceseeker]

I wonder how you learned to design webpages? Today, many webpages look crappy. What do you think about webdesign? Did you learn to design or do you just try and error?
Please post your comments.

[meow]

Originally posted by webspaceseeker
IToday, many webpages look crappy.
Haven't they always? :confused:

[webspaceseeker]

Ok. Always many pages looked crappy. Why? Do people think they can design their site in a few hours? Or do they use wysiwyg editors? Some people even dont realize that text has to be readable. There are often those background image nightmares. What the heck do these people smoke while designing their pages? :confused:

[Gayowulf]

I taught myself by doing.

[meow]

All people don't have an artistic sense. But I don't agree with you about readability. Personally I'm sick and tired of the "over designed" pages that are on the mode now. Designers want to control - everything. So, we get teeny weeny text size in pixels or, even worse, points that can't be resized in most browsers. Preferably both background and text in light, vague colors without an ounce of contrast. Those pages may look good (to some) but God help the one that tries to read them.

Big web design companies have graphical designers, html coders, programmers, lay out people, writers, you name it. The rest of us try to do all those things ourselves. No one is good at everything.

[webspaceseeker]

I think readability is very important. Do you know those pages with black text and tiling background images? Often you dont even notice that there is text. And some think that dark blue text on black backgrounds is cool. I dont know if its cool, but its hardly readable. Mostly, I dont even bother to read those "shocking" pages. I simply move on to the next site. What are your experiences with such designed pages?

[meow]

Yeah, that's horrible. But I stand them better than the ones I mentioned. They make me angry because they are often made by pros (or wannabie pros :p) that simply don't care if anyone can use the pages they produce. They just want to show off. I'm a lot more tolerant towards a trigger happy newbie. :)

Found this the other day in my quest for JavaScript tutorials - probably a good illustration of what you mean. :D
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Park/3091/main.htm

[LastActionHero]

I learnt it myself...by pratice. I'm not very good at layouts and being artistic but I try not to do layouts which are confusing to read or which have a bad colour combination.

[Bruce]

I spent 3 days teaching myself. I won't say my layouts are the greatest, but they aren't too shabby either.

[LeX]

Time and experience taught me. ;)

I peeked at other people's pages and then figured out how they all worked by trying to make my own pages and through trial and error.

While not an artistic person, I believe that my layouts are at least decent and readable and clean.

Some people just don't know how to play with colors and they end up with scary combinations like red and blue on white. :nervous:

[meow]

They could also be nationalistic Americans, Britts or Frenchmen. :rolleyes: God spare us from nationalistic Swedish web designers. :D

[LeX]

Originally posted by meow
They could also be nationalistic Americans, Britts or Frenchmen. :rolleyes:Those are different... the colors aren't as bright, and they aren't on a white background.

[crj]

i taught myself!! and i made my site in only 5 hours... 4 hours and 32 minutes of that i spent pleasing my shaft.... then the rest i spent on the computer..... and look at my site!!!! (http://darkenergy.vze.com) he he he....

[LeX]

Originally posted by crj
and look at my site!!!! (http://darkenergy.vze.com) he he he.... Those are scary color combos too. Not a site I would spend a lot of time on, personally.

[sp0radic]

Originally posted by Gayowulf
I taught myself by doing.

Me too.

[MaGiCSuN]

Originally posted by webspaceseeker
Ok. Always many pages looked crappy. Why? Do people think they can design their site in a few hours? Or do they use wysiwyg editors? Some people even dont realize that text has to be readable. There are often those background image nightmares. What the heck do these people smoke while designing their pages? :confused:

All that people have to start somewhere, g-sus
do you think all the people have a big brain and that they know everything in an hour? I've started at geocities.com with the pagebuilder ! I don't like that page either, but i don't say immediately that they are crappy and that they are using some kind of editors......

Everybody has his own ideas of building a webpage, like i have taken aaliyah for my new layout. Some people will say it looks crappy because there aren't some difficult javascripts in it (that's what most people like: difficult and plain. Well i hate it) but I like.

And if text is not good to read, people will learn of that too. Sometimes i have colors in my layout and people emailing me that they can't read it very well and then i change it, but they don't say it looks crappy because of the text ! It's just one mistake, and i will learn from that

Let people do what they want please

I'm sick of those people who think they have the best pages of the world and they think they have the best html and java knowledge there is, but there isn't because there's always something new

[webspaceseeker]

Originally posted by MaGiCSuN
Everybody has his own ideas of building a webpage...

Well, nothing new to me. :D

Originally posted by MaGiCSuN
And if text is not good to read, people will learn of that too. Sometimes i have colors in my layout and people emailing me that they can't read it very well and then i change it, but they don't say it looks crappy because of the text ! It's just one mistake, and i will learn from that.

At least you learn from your mistakes. Some do not. :devious2:

Originally posted by MaGiCSuN
Let people do what they want please.

Ill not arrest nor kill them. :D

Originally posted by MaGiCSuN
I'm sick of those people who think they have the best pages of the world and they think they have the best html and java knowledge there is, but there isn't because there's always something new.

I never said anything like that, did I? :(
Is new always better??? :confused:

[Blizzy]

taught coding myself. the degree program that im in is teaching me design.

[LeX]

Originally posted by webspaceseeker
Is new always better??? :confused: It's always better than being the same.

[webspaceseeker]

Originally posted by LeX
It's always better than being the same.
Dont think so. These new javascript overloaded pages are not always better than those HTML only pages.
Not because it is overloaded, but because it is often useless.

[Krajensky]

I was surfing one day when I thought, "I can do better," so I started looking at source code. I learned totally by reverse-engineering the code, until DHTML came along. That I had to read a tutorial.

I can code an HTML table faster by hand than 99% of the people using GUIs can! I just think the way HTML needs me to.

Krajensky

[LeX]

Originally posted by webspaceseeker
Dont think so. These new javascript overloaded pages are not always better than those HTML only pages.
Not because it is overloaded, but because it is often useless. I happen to disagree. The Internet would be a pretty boring place if every site looked like Google's basic-as-you-can-get design or if everybody was using the default phpNuke themes etc. We need new, original, exciting and good stuff.

[MaGiCSuN]

that's right but people that think like you mostly put everything that is flashy, cool and only viewable on the newest pc that is very fast

i just want to say that some designs i have seen are pretty good but they have allot of things on their webpage that my computer can't handle and he crash after that......

A site with only html can be very good too ! i mean you can make allot with PSP, and a good layout is also something to get visitors not only with cgi-scripts, and perl and stuff ! I always prefer normal html website's that are easy to load and have a good, original design that's is clear to me (navigation)

But if someone makes her/his first site and makes it at geocities with the advance thing and with notepad, and it looks a little plain you don't have to say "what crappy" or "how easy a template is even better !" because he have to learn..... maybe you guys are like 'i'm gonnna learn till i drop and know everything and then i make a site' but making a site you learn at best to try it

Now i hate those colorfull beginnerspages too with dolls on it and stuff, but then i think "that's how i started too" and you give those people a change to prove that they are willing to learn straight html to make their page better

[trenzterra]

I learnt from books. But now I start viewing some source or go to some sites to learn html...sometimes i try an error.

[ozefrog]

i taught myself HTML on a 2nd generation browser (on windows 3.1) when i was 12/13 years old with the help of a book called NCSA Mosiac which taught the basics.

i just peeked into other peoples pages and figured it out.

i would say im almost fluent in HTML but i still prefer WYSIWYG editors.

the only tutorials i have ever used was a PHP and MySQL tutorial that taught the basics.


ps, javascript is a pain in the ---!