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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	I got in a discussion recently with my boss about the role(s) of a 'web designer/developer'. I have no intention of starting any semantic wars about the name of some discipline or another. I simply want to discuss the hats we are often called upon to wear in our web professional lives. I also understand that everybody works in a different situation, and has different backgrounds, thus we all play different roles. That's good. I want that to be part of the discussion too. I am an 'interactive media specialist'. I'm a one-man shop, working within the context of a medium sized (about 550 employees) software development company. I occasionally employ the use of an outside contractor for particularly tight deadlines. I have a degree in Electronic and Photographic Communications. My normal work includes: -- developing and updating our company website and intranet -- creating online (HTML and Flash) training for our customers -- developing CD-ROM (Authorware, Flash and a little bit of Director) training for our customers -- creating CD-ROM and web (HTML, Flash, Director) marketing productions -- everything from extensive software demos to just fluff animation for trade shows and the like -- building web applications for internal HR/payroll use My typical roles include: [b]Writing Content[/b] Often I am given a rough outline of the desired message, and it is up to me to determine the actual words that will best communicate the message. Writing for the web is similar to writing for other mediums; it requires proper spelling, grammar and syntax, and a choice of vocabulary and rhythm appropriate to the audience and the message. Writing for the web is a separate skill from writing for other mediums; it encourages crisp language that is clear and concise. There is an emphasis on speed. [b]Marketing[/b] I must work well with the Marketing Director, being his voice the web. I must coordinate and work closely with the ad agency. Even in my training work, I must present a product our customers will choose to use. (All the content in the world will not save one support dollar if our customer will not read it!) [b]Programmer[/b] I write code -- XHTML, XML, CSS, PHP, Perl, Java, ECMAScript, ActionScript, Lingo, etc to make computers do what I want them to do. [b]Graphic Design[/b] I would define this as the placement, size, position and color of the elements on the screen to enhance the message. This often includes photography and occasionally includes video and animation (and all the related skills associated). Typography, though not my forte, is also in this category. [b]Usability[/b] I would separate this into a handful of sub-categories: --Information Architecture - defined (loosely) as the organization of data into easily understood categories. --Interaction Design - the simplifying and making intuitive of the interaction between human and application. --Perhaps others... (I understand this semantic battle is ongoing. I'm not interested in terms, but rather the roles one plays, the skills one possess and uses.) Certainly we all have different focuses. I come at my job with a focus on communications -- that is, spreading a desired message. Where others have chosen the newspaper, the television, the movie screen or the radio as their medium of choice, I have chosen the computer. That affects (strongly) the way I go about my job and the roles I play (and emphasize). I suppose I would like to see other people here expand upon this list, expand upon my simple definitions, provide some insight into the roles you play, the hats you wear, in your jobs. Thank you. [edit]After all these years you'd think I would understand ubb...[/edit] [This message has been edited by mobrul (edited 12-11-2003).] Loading...
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