Web design wasn’t something I initially considered for a career when I was young. I actually wanted to be a vet, then a fashion designer–no, I wanted to be a graphic designer, wait–an animator–actually no, a concept artist, WAIT maybe web developer–hmm maybe I should consider genetics–NO, hang on, wait, web designer! Definitely web designer… Needless to say, I stuck with wanting to be a designer of some sort during my time at university.
Why web design? It kind of clicked with me during my second year of uni when I was learning jQuery. While going through the tutorial exercise my code was the only one working while my friends weren’t having any luck. Why? Well, they were copy/pasting from Blackboard and didn’t know what was causing the error. Meanwhile I was typing the code manually and unknowingly added in the missing semicolon that was giving everyone else so much grief. Something then sparked that interest that maybe this could be something I could do for a career… provided Perth would be kind enough to present that opportunity.
But why web design? Why not illustration or animation? Well besides the job prospects in Perth looking bleak for these industries, it came down to personal preference. I found that while I liked drawing, I preferred drawing for myself rather than for assignments or commissions. As for animation, the market just wasn’t looking too great outside the eastern states. For me, a career in web just made sense. Plus it’s a great creative outlet for when I don’t get to do some sketching.
But I think what interests me most about web design is that it’s a lot like a puzzle. First you have to find a way to balance your content in an aesthetically appealing way (which can sometimes be a challenge) and then you have to code it to look as identical as possible while looking great across different browsers, devices and operating systems (an arguably bigger challenge). I like puzzles. The web design puzzle is one of my favourite things to decipher… and I like to think I’m good at it.