Tweet The Ten Commandments for a Web Designer

There’s a lot we can do as Web Designers to maximise our potential and maintain a healthy, fulfilling working life. So here’s a list of some “thou shalts” that I believe most creative people can follow to achieve just that.

1. Seek inspiration

Hoard everything you think could be a source of inspiration. As designers we should be cataloging and recording information all the time. Observe life, collect magazines/flyers and search the web – Flickr, website showcases etc. Be careful though… inspiration can easily lead to plagiarism so know where those limits are.

2. Be creative

This is the main reason we do this, right? Getting those creative juices flowing. Seek inspiration, brainstorm, experiment and tweak. The creative process is essential in all art forms and it is no different in web design. It can take minutes or days to unlock the one design that works so patience is always rewarded.

3. Read

There’s so many great books on the subject that there’s no point in me listing them here, but they do give you a great foundation on which to build expertise. Online material will always be the greatest source of knowledge in this industry and it seems to be taking over from printed material. Reading at every possible opportunity will vastly increase personal growth – on the commute, in bed, before work etc.

4. Stay up to the Minute with Technology

Reading online blogs and articles are simply the best way to stay in tune with the web world. So much happens in such a short space of time that a daily digest of various writings is pretty much essential. Utilising this knowledge in your work will ensure your web projects reach their full potential within the constraints of current technology.

5. Network/Share Ideas

In the era of web 2.0, there’s so many online tools to share just about anything and network with people from all around the globe. Web designers have a strong presence in the social web and feeling part of a community like this is one of the perks of being in the industry.

6. Stand Your Ground

There are a lot of clients who will try and force you into doing crazy things such as shoving all content above “the fold” , use clip art, build the whole site in Flash etc.. This is frustrating as not only do you lose control of your carefully crafted masterpiece, it devalues your profession as a designer. It is, therefore, important to educate the client of the reasons why x is a bad idea and recommend a better solution whilst backing up your argument.

7. Sell Yourself

Attracting work can be tough at times, and just being able to sell yourself properly can make this process a lot easier. Learn how to speak confidently and passionately about your work. The more knowledge and experience you gather, the better you will get.

8. Sharpen Your Tools

As a good Joiner will always ensure he has the best tools to do the job and work efficiently. It’s the same with Web Designers. Firstly, which sounds obvious, upgrade your computer to the highest spec you can. I’ve seen too many times people struggling away with the computing equivalent of a Robin Reliant. In fact, just buy a Mac !

Secondly, there’s lots of choice when it comes to software, from Dreamweaver to Aptana and Coda . Find the best one to suit you and master it. Don’t automatically pick the “industry standard”. There’s also plenty of indispensable free software that everyone should be using – Firebug , Web Developer , Colorzilla to name but three.

9. Be Yourself

Your work should be an expression of you. Don’t try and rip off Apple’s site for the umpteenth time! It’s a great feeling to complete a project that has been built around your thoughts and imagination and that passion and hard work will shine through in the final product.

10. Enjoy Your Work

This goes without saying. Following the previous 9 points should go a long way to achieving this but just simply enjoying you work not only makes a huge difference to your life in general but will cause you to work harder and produce higher quality work.

So some of these points might be obvious to most but I think this is a useful and achievable reference for any Web Designer out there. Anything to add? Please leave your comments.