Web designers or web architects?

Vincent Woods of Benchmark Communications, organisers of Design North East finds out what makes a web designer click.

There is an emergence of new web design companies, some great and others not so great. The great ones seem not only to have skills in graphic design but importantly in spatial design, interface design and systems. I talked to one of these emerging companies, Presence Multimedia, based in the centre of Newcastle and set up only last year. Founded by Nick Devitt, Will Jackson and Sean McVeigh, the company works nationally with strong client bases in the creative and manufacturing industries. The founder’s roots are in product design, as past industrial design graduates from The University of Northumbria. This multidisciplined training helped them to quickly get to grips with web design.

"We have an appreciation of a wide spectrum of technologies which allows us to relate closely to our clients, their needs, customers and products, and to the technologies and systems we use in building web sites".

The Presence team constantly talk about working in two dimensional design for layout and graphics, three dimensional design for structure and systems and four dimensional design for animations and interfaces. They describe themselves not as web designers but as "web architects" with technical as well as artistic skills. Architects of a new age.

The team do not define web design/architecture as the tools available to the web designer, but instead as the client’s needs in terms of web site content and function. That is, everything from start to finish - from identifying what the client wants to achieve, how that can be achieved, setting that up, what the site looks like, how it works, what it does, navigation systems, and going through the review cycle to the finished product.

"The site must be built upon a strong foundation according to its purpose whilst balancing the budget, technical possibilities, and often personal preferences" adds Sean.

Will Jackson comments "There is no formula, no common denominator. It is a fluid process and every site has its own requirements. Constant communication with the client is key throughout".

Basic sites of static text and unwieldy graphics have become slick, animated, artistic, interactive experiences, tailored to, and responding to, the needs of the user. Design must evolve to accommodate this user-defined multi-level function so where is web design going?

"The constant stream of new tools mean today’s web designer is constantly re-training to keep up to date" says Will.

"Emerging technologies such as ADSL provides increased bandwith but will not necessarily lead to better quality web solutions".

The web designer of the future needs a deeper understanding of branding fashion and trends, yet more strings to their bow.

For more information on Presence Multimedia call 0191 233 0769, e-mail or visit www.presence-multimedia.co.uk

A brief history of the future

The Web and web sites, the "World Wide Web", as opposed to the Internet, was created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. The Web is the software that sits on the computers, which linked by cable, form the Internet. The Internet and the Web continue to expand and evolve at huge rates. Small companies and millions of individuals mainly contribute to expanding the size of the Web, while large companies extend the reach of the Internet. Locally, facilities such as the "Big Netty" in Silicon Alley in Newcastle offer a high speed network and Internet access, enabling companies working there to access and transmit large amounts of data. Soon this will be standard for businesses and home users.

  Educational spotlight

Web site designers of the future.

"Artistic problem solver and good with computers? Then maybe Web or multimedia design is for you. You need to design how things work, how it looks and the user interface. Web designs are put on computer servers for others to access via the Internet, and Multimedia often refers to programmes on CD’s with audio, video, 3D graphics and user interactivity. Many of the regions web and multimedia courses have given rise to former students starting their own business, such is the demand in this fast growing sector", says Kathryn McKelvey, course leader, BA (Hons) Multimedia Design University of Northumbria at Newcastle.

Universities and colleges to contact in the region include:

• BA (Hons) Multimedia Design
  University of Northumbria at Newcastle
  Tel: 0191 227 4802
• BA (Hons) Electronic Multimedia Design
  University of Sunderland
  Tel: 0191 515 3593
• NCFE Multimedia int. & adv.
  Teesside Tertiary College
  Tel: 01642 275 000
  
• C&G Web Page Design
  Bishop Auckland College
  Tel: 08000 926 506
• NCFE Multi Media – int. & adv.
  Gateshead College
  Tel: 0191 490 0300
• HND Multimedia (Design)
  Newcastle College
  Tel: 0191 200 4000
• HND/BSc/MSc Multimedia Design
  University of Teesside
  Tel: 01642 218 121
• BTEC Nat Dip. in Multimedia Design
  Tynemouth College
  Tel: 0191 257 1414

The Key for Designers

"One of the many challenges of designing for the Internet is in creating a design that is flexible enough to allow for future additions and changes with out the need to start again from scratch,"

says Sarah Kemp, senior Internet manager at Trinity Mirror New Media in the North-East.

"A good overall commercial understanding is a very important characteristic of a good web designer -–challenging the over-optimistic views about the technology."

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This document is reproduced with he kind permission of The Journal and Benchmark Communications.