» Personal Web Design Degree :: Positive Space Blog

Update: The Personal Web Design Degree has launched, check it out.

Ever since I began writing about education and design on Positive Space a steady stream of emails asking me for advice on learning about web design have found their way into my inbox. The responses I have written to these emails, have inspired a number of blog posts here such as:

Every time I have responded to this seemingly simple question with a relatively similar version of my opinion:

Web design is first and foremost about the fundamentals and theories of design, obtain a general graphic design education and then educate yourself on web design.

Why I Feel This Way

Over time I have developed this opinion due to a number of reasons, one of which is my personal experience attempting a specialized web design education. My attempt can only be considered a failure, and is what ultimately lead to my embrace of a graphic design focus. I realized that the education I was receiving was (1) too technically focused, (2) out of date, and (3) below what I already knew or already knew to be an improper approach. I could blab on for pages about my experience, but the gist is that I realized my experience was true of the vast majority of web programs and instead decided to change my focus to graphic design in order to learn some actual design theory that could be applied to any medium. It is also worth noting that it appears a large portion of web designers feel this way as well.

The Problem With My Advice

The main problem I have realized from my advice is that it is only applicable to a small audience, future or current students. What about the working print designers who want to pursue web design, or the large amount of the people working as web designers who have no formal education at all and are seeking some?

Secondly, while an extremely large amount of information may be online, finding it and knowing which information is accurate or trustworthy can be an even larger task then actually doing the learning.

Have No Fear I Have Devised a Solution

Taking a page from the Personal MBA I will be developing the Personal Design Degree. This “degree” will consist of program planner that breaks down a reading list by a series of subjects and includes a set of skill building projects/tutorials. Upon completing this program, the designer will have acquired a functional working knowledge of web design. Obviously this large of an endeavor will need to grow and change over time, however It is my goal to get the initial version up by early April. It is important to note that this program as I envision it will be about Design, and only cover development to the point of which is necessary to understand the issues faced by developers and work with them. It is possible that with time development could be covered in a “supplemental studies” section.

Your Feedback Please

As far as I know this is the first proposed plan of its kind to compile a dedicated list of resources specifically for the goal of compiling a working knowledge of web design. Thinking for a Living covers design more generally, the WaSP Curriculum Framework seems very development focused, and anything else I have seen has been far less organized than what I am proposing.

This is where you come in. In order to achieve a well-represented sample of books that cover web design specifically outside of my own, I hope to receive recommendations from the community. Currently I have identified the following books (in no particular order) as potential candidates for inclusion:

If there is a book you have read that has changed the way you design for the web or a skill you feel is absolutely necessary to become a web designer please share it in the comments below. I look forward to all of your responses.

03/12

ADD A COMMENT

28 Comments

Share This Page: Tweet this // Stumble It! // Del.icio.us // Float It! // Digg It! // Reddit

28 Responses to “Personal Web Design Degree”

Matt Hanson
March 12th, 2009 at 8:40 pm

Good writing. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed my Google News Reader..

Matt Hanson
Ross Johnson
March 13th, 2009 at 7:22 am

I wonder if your advice misses a very important aspect of web design, that of user experience?

You can get a graphic design degree and learn the principals of design (layout, typography, balance, rhythm, etc…) and it doesn’t teach you anything about making a site easy to interact with.
Zinni
March 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am

@Ross,

That is why I would think you would learn this when you learn web design. I believe user experience to be a huge part of any interactive focus of study.

In your opinion is there a book that does a particularly good job of explaining user experience, that should be considered for the reading list?
Sean
March 13th, 2009 at 8:50 am

I would say “Don’t Make Me Think,” which you already have listed, is a great first read on the user experience subject.

After that, I have found real world experience is the best way to learn. I am wondering if there would be a way to start a site for this degree program, that has assignments that users should complete during and after reading some of the books. They submit the completed works back to the site, where “experienced” designers can give constructive feedback.
Zinni
March 13th, 2009 at 9:31 am

Sean,

I am already one step ahead on that one: Personal Web Design Degree.

I agree with you that real world experience , as it has worked for me as well. This “degree” if successful would help designers prepare for that real world experience. Hopefully this would educate them and reduce the learning curve a little.

Also thanks for the great idea on the feedback section, I could definitely see that working.
Ryan
March 13th, 2009 at 12:39 pm

I’m in your target demographic: a designer working almost exclusively in print design who wants to get into web design.

I think your idea is massively radical, or at least it seems so given my experience. You’re proposing that people don’t need to attend or enroll in a traditional educational institution. Most people don’t think this way. I know my first thought when I decided that I should learn more web design was to enroll in a couple classes at a community college. But that’d be hundreds if not thousands of dollars in tuition, fees, and transportation costs.

(Perhaps that was all painfully obvious, but it got me excited.)

I added your feed to my Reader; I look forward to hearing more about this.
Zinni
March 13th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

Ryan,

I would also like to point out that in all likeliness be so broad that as an experienced print design you wouldn’t get much out of it. I think there are a large population of designers just like you who need/want to learn how to to design websites but just don’t know where to get started because of the sheer amount of information out there, and rapid pace at which it changes.

I am glad you find this interesting, and thank you for subscribing!
Wade
March 13th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

Just wanted to add a book to your list which is a great primer on fundamentals - The Web Style Guide 3rd Edition. Great content on usability, typography, the works. Worth a look and also available online. I look forward to following the conversation.
Troy
March 13th, 2009 at 2:46 pm

Some books that I found helpful were the Zen Garden and Bulletproof Web Design Books. Also Robin Williams’ (not the actor) Non Designer’s Design Book
Fred Yates
March 13th, 2009 at 3:24 pm

What a great idea and a fantastic approach. I’ve had a similar experience with my schooling and decision to leave so it’s great to see someone take a step like this for those who want to do things our way.

One book I’ve read that is really informative and eye opening about solid design fundamentals and also gives a lot of strong ideas that help when dealing with the “make my logo bigger” type of clients is:

Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0137142447/ref=s9_sdps_c2_s1_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1H5ZW8SVES7H9G6WKB5S&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
Zinni
March 13th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Fred,

I agree, Do You Matter? is an amazing book. For a while I thought about supplying every new customer with a copy and Purple Cow by Seth Godin. I think it would be lost on most of them though…
matt
March 14th, 2009 at 4:50 am

I’m a budding web designer with no formal education on it and I am really looking forward to this, It could be an amazing resource.
Ben
March 14th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

Tony, is an incredibly exciting idea!

this is exactly what we need; an open source web design education.

however, i am not sure that such a heavy emphasis on physical books is the appropriate approach. Sure it would be good to have a recommended reading list, but i don’t think it would be a good idea to make any book a ‘required read’ for your course.

i would suggest that your origional sources come directly from the web: there is an abundance of wonderful articles about all sorts of web design related issues scattered across the internet (on sites like a list apart for instance). As you say, it is tedious to find both high quality and relevant recourse amidst the profusion of information. but if someone else has already done a good job covering an issue, why go through the trouble yourself?

it seems to me that you cannot be the only instructor in this university, as it would take a single person years to develop a solid curriculum. so, announce the site to the web design community, and ask for other contributing instructors to build with it you. Of course, you will need to preside as head master/ janitor, and filter out the crap.

But, whatever shape it takes, i can’t wait to use it.
Zinni
March 14th, 2009 at 9:41 pm

Ben,

Rest assured there will be plenty of web links to accompany the books.

However, the reason I have and will start with books as the foundation of the “degree” is because of their formal nature. They tend to do a better job at covering broad subjects in a much more linear fashion. I think that if the program consisted solely of web links that the learning curve would still be too high, and the number of places the information would be found in would compound the confusion.

I am in the process of researching community/collaboration tools so that the project does get community interaction. I would love this to grow far outside of what I am proposing, as you are right this is a huge project for one person.

I will be posting a followup with the structure of the program as I have been brainstorming it. Sometime far more visual so that I can get some feedback with everyone on the same page. I think it will make more sense then.

Thanks for the comment!
Heather
March 16th, 2009 at 11:47 am

“Web Standards Creativity” is great book for those who have the basics down and want to start expanding their web design knowledge. Plus, the variety of authors keeps things interesting.
Heather
March 16th, 2009 at 11:50 am

I agree with Ben, there are so many great resources out on the web, but also there are many outdated and incorrect ones. It’d be great to have a collection of online standards-based resources for beginners.
Will C.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

Art as Experience by John Dewey is a must for any budding graphic designer including web and print. Also, you can never go wrong with anything by Paul Rand.
fauzan
March 18th, 2009 at 9:18 am

i like ur blog. give me ur tips and trics. i from indonesia
Scott Cagle
March 18th, 2009 at 11:53 am

This is a great idea, everything I know about web design, development, etc is self-taught and I don’t have time to go back to school to ‘learn’. ’

I will be interested to see what follows.

Thanks.
Joanne P.
April 2nd, 2009 at 10:48 am

I think this is a fantastic idea. Everything I know about web design is self taught. I’ve had an easy enough time learning to code, but learning design without going to school is a little harder to manage. I look forward to seeing your curriculum!
Gene M.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:54 am

Very cool idea! I know how to design a web site. People ask me to design a site for them. I could probably get out of this rat race and make a modest living doing something I actually enjoy except for one thing: any site I build is uninspiring because I don’t know how to fold in graphic design.

I have a degree in information systems. I went back to school last year to get a certificate in web design. I only took one course and decided, “I am NOT going to spend thousands of dollars to have them not teach me anything.”

So I’m following this effort. I think the earlier suggestion about a way for students to submit work and get feedback is good and necesary for this to succeed. I am not oblivious that this would require some people to donate time, a precious commodity. Even if that took a while to get off the ground, I’m still interested.
Zinni
April 17th, 2009 at 8:21 am

Gene,

I would think the design submission/feedback system could be achieved in the forums if a community were to develop, which I really hope does…