What Makes You a Better Web Designer?

The latest version of Photoshop? More coffee? They might, but here are some other factors you should take into account.

Knowledge

No matter how talented you are you have to know the rules of the game to play. Experience is also a kind of knowledge that you will gain meanwhile. The latter gets important over time because technology evolves constantly plus you collect many useful information (design patterns, user behaviors, your own code snippets, etc).

Hunger

Curiosity is your friend. You have to keep up with latest technology updates, trends and virtually anything that comes around. Personally I was against social media but because of my work I had to get to know it. I'm still not a big fan but started using some (LinkedIn for example).

Sweat

Do not think that designing for the web is like sunbathing in Hawaii. You will have to work hard to survive and even harder to be amongst the best. What makes it really complex is its subjective nature. It is not very uplifting seeing your latest design not appealing to the customer and going back to start over. This is where the fun begins!

Sense of Beauty

I know designers who fall behind in technical knowledge but have excellent aesthetic taste and that alone keeps them going. Being able to recognize beauty is crucial if you want to design pleasing websites (or anything else). This is something you will not learn at school but can be improved through the years.

Competitive Spirit

To achieve your goals you have to make big efforts, just like a sportsman. There will be many high's and low's but the need for being better will move you forward. Also keep in mind that fair play is more than victory. This involves respecting others' opinions, keeping copyrights, giving credits, etc. After all, web design is a team sport.

Combination Skills (aka Creativity)

You will probably not invent anything that hasn't been invented already. What you can do is to combine information from different areas to create smart and amazing solutions. The bigger the distance the more original your design will be.

Guts

Working on details vs deadlines, art direction vs functionality, modern or conservative design - you have to make important decisions each day. In most cases the best is the golden mean unless you have a good reason to break the rules. If you can achieve this and everyone's happy then you're on a right way to become a good designer.

Luck

Being in the right place at the right time is a good thing but that doesn't mean you have to sit and wait for your turn.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Darrell Royal

Keep yourself prepared and don't let opportunities pass you by.

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