Back To School?

As a web designer, I make the designs/look/feel for a website. As a web developer, I try to implement those designs to be viewed whenever you go to www.kewlsite.com, or whatever. I am not as good a developer as I would like. This isn’t self-deprecating, it is just fact that I do not possess the multitudes of coding vocabulary I need to develop a site appropriately. I have designed and built some award winning sites in the past, but I designed them with the knowledge I would have to develop them. So the designs are beautiful in their simplicity. I used a ton of tables, too.

Now, however, I am designing sites that require accessibility and more compliant and flexible coding. This is the part where I am not 100% on yet. I know a couple of tricks. I know a lot of theory. I know a good deal about what is wrong and what is right with the web. What I am still shaky on, is the actual development part. This will have to change. As I work for an education based state agency, I should be able to find education in web development. [As a side note - there is a HUGE difference between development and design. It takes two, distinctly different mindsets. Those mindsets can, and often do, work very well together. But, much like the tango, it takes both to perform the deed.]

With that said, today starts my research on getting into a relevant course of study for web development and, most likely, a class on Flash (as that is something I am instructed to learn). And it looks like Monday will be the day that most of it gets hashed out.

Some inspiration for a more active pursuit of this was found at StopDesign with regard to his charitable rebuild of Microsoft’s website.

Though based in the UK, this is very important and useful information on emergency awareness.