It's come to my attention that my portfolio is in some serious need of an update, and it's something I should certainly do before I send it off to any design companies... I want my first impression to be impressive, not boring, and I don't want to need a second chance from them. I want to wow them on the first!
So with that in mind, and looking at some of the companies I'd like to apply to, I could certainly stand to gain from building my portfolio in a few crucial areas, web design is one of the main ones.
With most graphic design companies offering all around design solutions, including web design, being able to design and code and create websites is an increasingly important part of the job. If I want to stand a chance of being relevant in the future and even current job market it's something that I really have to look into.
I have absolutely no experience with web design and honestly I have no idea where to even start on my own. So the best course of action is probably to do a class. I had intended to take a web design elective while at university but never got around to it... Online courses are all over the place now, the open university even offers a proper qualification in it, though it is quite costly...
A quick google search for web design lessons reveals:
http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/course/t183.htm
The open university has a great introductory web design class, and several more advanced ones, this is somewhere I'd certainly like to start. It's designed for total novices with design and the internet, which I don't think I am, as I have done a little coding and more than a little design... But it certainly can't hurt to make sure I know the basics, at least if it's not an expensive course, I can't see the course fees because I'm not an OU student... But I think within the next few months I just might be... Unless I can find a better alternative.
Also:
http://www.distance-learning-centre.co.uk/productlist/1/web_design_courses.htm
The distance learning centre offers quite a few courses in various aspects of web design, but as it's a site I've never heard of I'd rather stick to the more reputable Open University.
Other than the above options (although I know there are many many more), another option, which is much cheaper is to simply try to get a website up and running, and try to learn as I go... It's a difficult process, because as I said I don't really know where to start. But using a web site building program like wordpress will help get me started, and help to start getting the web design aspect of my portfolio ready to go.
Web design is going to be something I'll definitely concentrate on over the summer, and get it into my portfolio ready as soon as possible!
No comments:
Post a Comment