[thelist] Interview Questions

[Jamie Bakum]

>As an observation, the majority of people that I've heard make the
>above statement were back-end programmers who got frustrated with
>HTML and JavaScript (because it isn't 'real' programming) and
>therefore gave up on learning front-end design techniques (except
>maybe to format result sets in a table).

Ahh, but there's a huge difference between knowing "front-end design
techniques" and being a graphic designer; i.e. someone trained
(whether classroom or self-taught) in things like color theory,
typography, composition, user-interfaces, etc. There are obviously
people who are talented in both realms, but they are a distinct
minority.

I think this ties into the earlier thread that bemoaned the fact that
too many clients' nieces and nephews armed with FrontPage and a clip
art collection have given the world at large the opinion that this
stuff is "easy". Mastering the ins and outs of, say Photoshop won't
make someone a designer. But that doesn't mean creative folks and
technical folks shouldn't make an effort to know what happens on the
"other" side, leading to an overdue tip:

<tip>
If you are a graphic designer, do your best to learn as much as
possible (given your job duties and schedule constraints) about the
technical aspects of website creation. Having a fundemental
understanding of the back-end side of things will facilitate better
communication between yourself and the people charged with turning
your ideas into working sites, and allow your ideas to become reality
with much less modification and compromise.
</tip>
--


Jamie