Why you should not hire me to design your website:

i-blog2 might seem like a jack of all trades because I do print design, type design, lettering, and illustration, but really I’m a specialist. I specialize in drawing type and illustration. This is what I’m best at and is probably why you found my website in the first place. I find it strange that I get so many requests for web design—I went to school for graphic design, yes, but each subfield of graphic design has its own set of problems, limitations, and guidelines.

Just as you wouldn’t expect any random person that owns Adobe illustrator to be able to draw a decorative initial from scratch, you can’t expect any print designer to be able to really and truly design for web. Web design is not print design, it is so much more complex. With book design, a person that encounters your book knows how to view it. They look at the cover, they open the cover, and page by page they work their way to the end. With web design, it’s (for the most part) not linear. You have to understand how people are going to use the site (and how people use the web changes all the time).

Not all web designers can code their own websites, but you do need to know what others are capable of doing. I believe all web designers should be able to do basic front end coding (html and css) because so much of the design process can happen at that stage. Also, unless your website is INCREDIBLY image heavy (like all of your navigation is image and much of your content is image) it just MAKES SENSE to do some designing in the browser as it is so much easier to make universal changes and move things around and see them (almost) exactly how others will. I feel like not being able to do basic coding is like being a print designer that never sees proofs before things go to press. You can wait and make the changes later, but its just so much easier (and less expensive) to make things perfect before you send them off to someone else to “print”.

Another reason why web design should be left to the professionals is because web design is almost always a collaborative process. If you are a web designer, chances are you know developers of different skill levels and price ranges that will work well for different projects. Most print designers probably have a friend or two that knows html and can edit the heck out of blog css but very few have close relationships with back end developers, people that know javascript very well, etc. It makes sense to hire someone that has the means to get your website made all lined up and ready to go. They’ll know how much the developing will cost, how long it will take, how to make a site that can easily be passed on to a client so you don’t have to “maintain” it for them. I’ve seen so many people struggle with web design, not because they couldn’t put a .psd file together to hand off, but because their developers were fucking up because they had to hire whoever they could get to work for $1000 because that’s all the clients budget allowed.

The most common argument I get from clients that want web design is “But I just need you to do the .psd file designs, I have a developer friend that will put them together for me.” This is fine. If I wasn’t so completely picky and insane this would be great, but to me I see it like this: If you designed a tattoo for yourself, spent months thinking about it and drawing it, would you take it to your cousin’s friend that bought a tattoo gun on ebay because he calls himself a tattoo artist now? Probably not. How do I know that your developer will put things together right? I’ve never worked with him before. I’m not in contact with him, you are. Developers and designers need to be able to work together from the beginning of the project to the end of the project to make a site perfect.

Anyway, to conclude a fairly long rant: Hire people that are best at what they do. It’s not that I (or other print designers) CAN’T do web design, its that you should want to hire someone that will do it best—someone that knows the ins and outs of the web and can then hire people like me to do what they do best: draw ornaments, logos, illustrations etc that will make the site sing.

Posted February 18, 2010//Comments (59)

Filed Under: Rant

Duane King says:

Hear, hear Jessica! Nice article.

Posted February 18, 2010

Kyle T. Webster says:

Word up. Great piece.

Louis W says:

Amen sister!
As a developer this post makes me feel so good. I have worked with web designers before who have no sense of how pages are built and the limitations they bring with them. Getting a print designer to change their thinking to web is not an easy thing.

Brock says:

YES.

clara says:

nicely said!

Jessica says:

print designers: feel free to send your clients that demand web design to the article

Chris Arnold says:

Speaking as a web designer and developer, I cannot agree more with this sentiment. Totally correct. And a great message to print specialists who should stick to what they do best; the same goes for web folks who shouldn’t be getting deep into print stuffs. ‘fo sho.

Baxter Orr says:

Amen, I think this is why so many designers are so frustrated these days, everything is going online, print has very few limitations for what “print” can do, normal everyday people know what can be printed, they see it in Walmart, they see it on the newsstand, etc. Budgets usually determine the limit to what is truly possible with this dying buffalo “print.” With Web design the possibilities are absolutely endless, but by being that way its extremely limiting what one person can do cause there are things that just don’t work due to limitations of size, format, collaboration efforts. So when you tell a client you cant really do what they want with the Web, often they don’t get it and just act like you arent a true “professional.”

I really truly hope the gap widens and becomes more distinct between “designer” and “programmer” as so many jobs these days want someone to do both, that is like wanting a classical trained pianist who is as creative as Jimi Hendrix, you end up getting Creed.

You are very lucky to be so incredibly talented and able to choose to do more “niche” work, most of us have to just take what we can get, and if that means a Web project we spent months on gets raped by some Craigslist programmer, we just have to separate ourselves from it and keep moving forward.

-Baxter
twitter.com/baxterorr

Sage says:

“Developers and designers need to be able to work together from the beginning of the project to the end of the project to make a site perfect.”

Bingo! Well put.

Michelle Oros says:

Well said. Love it.

jamie says:

Yes! I think I’ll send this link to my boss…

Linda says:

Thank You!

George Echevarria says:

i love your awesomeness.

Jacob says:

It should be said, though, that there are people who can do all of the above proficiently. One need not necessarily be a specialist, or a specialist in only one discipline. Some people are dedicated to learning as much as they can.

It pays to ask your designer. A good designer will be honest with you about the jobs she’s willing (able) to take because it’s in her best interested to deliver a good product.

very good point Jacob. Some people are great at print design and web design because they have great resources and knowledge in each field. it’s just not often that you find an illustrator / typographer / print designer / web designer / developer, which was the main point. Not everyone choses to learn everything and they shouldn’t have to because there are people that specialize in certain areas as well.

heather says:

I agree both with Jessica and Jacob. I explain it like this to my clients: web design and print design are two different disciplines. For example, if you needed your knee replaced, would you go to a brain surgeon? No? Why not? A brain surgeon is a doctor just like an orthopedic surgeon. They both went to med school…it is about at this time, the client says, “ooooohhhhh, ok – I get it now.”

Nadia says:

well said!

Miguel says:

So can you design me a site? hahaha Jk and totally understand. The same goes for some people with web knowledge only, dont expect great print work from it.

Meek says:

Exactly!

Jen says:

oh if only ALL print designers had this mentality! As a programming geek first, designer second, I go nuts when I’m handed a design from someone who very obviously knows little about front-end coding (and sometimes, I wonder if they’ve ever even BEEN to a website! heh) I would never assume to know the first thing about print design, so going in the other direction is crazy as well.

The issue comes when trying to explain this to clients who are paying the bills. It gets tricky

Great post.

Joe Murphy says:

Hey, good piece. I assume most developers are guys, like you do — but do you have to go out there and publicize it? (”How do I know that your developer will put things together right? I’ve never worked with him before. I’m not in contact with him, you are.”)

Travis Berry says:

Nice, I’m like that you put together an argument instead of just saying, “I won’t do it”. I agree with you, as a web designer I can’t make a print design to save my life.

re: the developers are guys thing: I don’t assume most of them are guys, though most I have met are men, I am just not a fan of he/she writing everything all the time. It’s just easier to default to “he”.

Posted February 19, 2010

Jessica did you program your site? Its lovely, so that is probably why so many people ask you to d them, put up a flickr site and your problem will be solved.

D says:

Ahhh! I couldn’t agree more! I am so tired of hearing from people, “What? You don’t know how to design web pages?” I didn’t take graphic design to become a web designer, nor do I have the slightest interest in doing so, There’s a web design program for a reason! It’s beyond irritating that companies are looking to hire graphic designers but web design is an absolute MUST have… um, what?

Matthew says:

well, but say you WERE a web developer, just like hypothetically, how much would you charge to do my website?

also, can you quit publicizing the fact that developers are guys? sheesh.

Jon Buda says:

You get it! Awesome!

THANK YOU! Whenever people ask me what my degree is in and I tell them “graphic design”, their eyes usually glaze over and they reply, “you mean… like… making websites?” I’m graduating soon; thanks for being an inspiration for those of us who want to enter the field as print designers!

shane Durnford says:

Your right, we can’t do everything , it spreads us too thin in many ways. It only serves as a distraction.

Alphonse says:

As someone who got into a fight with his father over this subject, this made my day.

Eric J says:

marry me

Jonathan Dance says:

There’s really no right answer to the he/she debate, and is an easy bikeshed issue, with camps firmly entrenched on both sides. Readers should know that using “he” (or “she”) does not imply that the author thinks the group of people are all one sex. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun

Matt Convente says:

I definitely agree with you, Jessica, though it’s a tough call in regards to print purists. My design education was all print, but I’ve taught myself front-end web design and development during the past 10 years, and I’m confident doing both print and web. While I enjoy doing print projects, there comes a time (perhaps presently) where if web skills are a must for jobs, then that’s how it is. It’s almost like people who still use 35mm film simply for the reason they think it’s more pure. Maybe the quality issues made sense 8 years ago, but with 40mp Hasselblad medium format digital backs, that argument really doesn’t hold anymore.

Believe me, I got frustrated when I saw job listings that wanted a packaging designer who was also fluent in AS3. That’s ridiculous and unrealistic, but I think a lot of companies were searching for ultimate design ninjas because they knew they had the advantage of a bad economy. Recently, I’ve seen jobs from Fall 2009 constantly reposted, despite the apparent mass amount of unemployed designers. You’d think a company could find someone in 4-5 months, but they’re probably still looking for the “perfect” person, someone who likely doesn’t exist.

In the end, I think designers, especially recent grads, should have somewhat of a handle on web even if they don’t want a career in web design. During my job search, I rarely found jobs that were print only, and unless they want to be unemployed I think some of the above commenters might have to change their minds.

Matt – definitely agree in terms of young designers being expected to know some web. Really I’m not saying that all print designers should not do web, I’m just saying that clients need to understand its a skill that not all of us have. I know many crossover designers (that do both print and web) but the thing that good crossover designers have is knowledge of their limitations and good connections to get things done. When you speak of “jobs” generally you’re talking about office situations in which people are already going to be working collaboratively in teams (how all web design projects generally work) and businesses that take on a good amount of web work already (and have developers they use). Generally if you’re trying to work in an agency you’ll have to deal with web projects occasionally, but you’ll have the resources at your fingertips to get it done. This is article is more about people that freelance.

fernando says:

well said, awesome article! kind of reminds me of people who think that just because you know how to install a program on a computer or something of the sort, all of a sudden you work for the BB geek squad and you know to build a computer blindfolded with one finger. one of the many things i liked about this was that if you looking to have a website designed, go to a web designer whose primary knowledge is, of course, web design. they will get it done better, faster, everything. any design that needs to be done, the web designer will, most likely, hire someone to do it.
everyone has their specialty and let it be that way. you don’t go to a mechanic shop asking and expecting them to make you the best hoagie you ever had, just sayin’.

Idan Gazit says:

Well said!

A small critique of your (lovely) site, if I may. I honestly wouldn’t bother to write a comment, except your beautiful site deserves typography which is swinging in the same weight class as your design skills.

The body text size is miniscule. The overall design is delicious, and the typography is balanced, hamonized, etc. — just really small. It looks nice from a layout perspective, i.e. if I step back from the screen, the blocks of text have great texture, but the small body type impairs legibility.

The small type actually leaves your body text with very long line lengths — far more than the recommened alphabet-and-a-half or 40-ish ems of text. My eye loses track of which line it is reading as I move rightward across the page, and if I flick my eyes to the side, it is difficult to find the point I left off. Also, I generally read the screen at a much greater distance than a book or a newspaper; 11-point type at screen-distance is like reading 8-point type at normal viewing distance.

For a far more eloquent reasoning of why small type on the web is a Bad Idea ™, check out Wilson Miner’s post on the subject (http://www.wilsonminer.com/posts/2008/oct/20/relative-readability/).

Thanks again for an entertaining (and well-written) read! FWIW, I think that the best web designers understand the print medium, so much of our terminology and practice derives from the press that any serious web designer should at least know their way around the print side, even if the reverse isn’t true.

Laura says:

Yes! Thank you! As a web designer and front end developer I can spot a print designer’s web site design a mile away.

creativeholly says:

agreed. great post!

Anonymous says:

Someone should forward this post to Michael Bierut. The new Felt & Wire site is painful.

Posted February 20, 2010

adrienne says:

all i can say is:
yes.

Posted February 23, 2010

Rob Loukotka says:

Wow, totally agree.

As a web designer myself, I encounter these barriers all the time. After working on branding and their website, I’m often asked about print work (menus, reports, etc.). It’s like, yes, I can technically make them. But my knowledge of printed material, ink colors, and layout outside of a machine is very limited compared to an amazing print designer like yourself.

It saves clients (and employers) money to have a jack of all trades, in the short run. But if you want quality work, you need separate (but talented) people.

Here’s to turning down the other side’s projects! (Although there may 4 or 5 actual factions of our design industry nowadays)

Mig Reyes says:

High five. That’s all I got.

Bryan Heredia says:

You should rant more often…

Corey Thompson says:

I agree. I stick to print cause that’s what I know.

Gillian says:

I always tell people “well I can, I can do anything, but you’d be better off going here or here. I can work with them to make it look like the material we already have.”

I want to punch people who say “oh your SUCH a dinosaur, all you do is print”. I just go “Yep, that’s my thing. And it will be my thing until it’s not a thing any more. By which time you and I will both be drooling into our porridge at a high security retirement home.” The “bite me” is implied.

Posted March 5, 2010

adesignaffair says:

Great post, thanks Jess.

danny hennessy says:

THANK YOU!! i am a web designer, and totally appreciate your opinion. i do know a bit of front end code, etc, and i think you hit the nail on the head – i totally appreciate how you went into the coder / designer relationship, too. i quickly learned my lesson about the whole “i already have a developer” client. NOT a good idea…

LOVE your type, btw!

Posted March 6, 2010

Christina says:

This is so true…….. I have an awesome web developer but we haven’t found the perfect graphic person for my site so nothing has happened yet.

I am a handbag designer and I always put my absolute best forward and want that for anyone that is working in connection with my site. Great post. Details are what make anything perfect!!!!

Posted March 7, 2010

GPH says:

Found your site through Fecalface, wish I was there now, especially in Melbourne to see your show.

Excellent article. Excellent type.

Posted March 24, 2010

brad says:

Great read!

Posted March 29, 2010

Rakel says:

As a web designer & ui programmer, I definitely relate to this. Sometimes print designers just don’t “get it” when it comes to designing for the web. i.e. the logo is at the bottom of the page, the backgrounds are not fluid or repeating and just cut off at 900px, etc.

On the other hand, I’ve coded someone elses design, held the integrity of it 100%, and then passed it over to a JSP programmer to build a custom shopping cart, and HE totally hacked it up. Which I really don’t understand because I had all of the html & css done. *very large sigh*

By the way, this is my first time commenting on your blog but I just have to say that I am in awe of your talent for type. And, um, girl power?

Anyway, 2 thumbs up from me on this one!

Posted April 15, 2010

Ramona says:

I love your website. I’m not an expert designer or developer… but created everything that is on my website. I realized, I’m the person who is best suited at putting the pieces together! That is my specialty.

Your design is very inspiring by the way. I love the clean style! And great article! You make an excellent point!

Posted May 3, 2010

Designers I Admire: Jessica Hische | Stuff Avery Likes says:

[...] blog is great (especially this post about why you shouldn’t hire non-web designers to design websites, and also this guide to twitter that’s gone viral). I really like Jessica Hische’s [...]

Posted May 26, 2010

Ron Rattie says:

Amen! (in a completely agnostic sense)

As a web designer/developer I couldn’t agree more.
Getting designs from purely print designers can be
very frustrating. It is a rarity to find a print designer
that understands designing for the web.

Posted June 28, 2010

Carsonified » Around the Web: Type, Humbled Pied Inpiration, & Why You Shouldn’t Hire “Me” says:

[...] The Distance between Maker & User (via @bokardo) Wildcard: Why You Should Not Hire Me to Design Your Website [...]

Posted July 12, 2010

existdissolve says:

Great article.

I would suggest that while a clear distinction should be made between *print* designers and *web* designers, the same level of distinction should be made between between web *designers* and web *developers*.

I know a lot of developers (guys who program applications) who “know” HTML and CSS, but don’t really. They can get HTML and CSS to work (like anyone who has access to Google), but not in an elegant, efficient, or even standards-compliant way.

So your point about using people who are best at the job you need them to do is spot on. Need a logo? Hire a graphic designer. Need a poster? Hire a graphic designer with heavy print experience. Need a website mockup? Hire a web designer who has experience designing for the intricacies of web interactions. Need HTML and CSS? Hire a web designer who lives and breathes the stuff. And need your web site to “do” something? Hire a programmer who knows how to make stuff work, and make stuff work in a fast, efficient way.

Therefore, the point about collaboration is critical. Sure, there are individuals who can pull off all these *jobs* to a certain extent. But if you truly want the very best product possible, it’s going to take a team of professionals who are outstanding at the specific species of work that they do, and who are engaged as a team from day 1. Unfortunately, few people have the budget or leadership abilities to pull such collaboration off…

Posted July 13, 2010

Around the Web: Type, Humble Pied Inspiration, <span class="amp">&</span> Why You Shouldn’t Hire “Me” | RefreshTheNet says:

Marcin Petruszka says:

If only all our clients were just so brilliantly clever as you are… world would be perfect. I loved the tatoo part of your rant. I might use it myself if you don’t mind

Owen Waring says:

Web designers the world over thank you for writing this!

Both our disciplines have become so specific and complex in their nuances, that it is a disservice to clients (and your chances of repeat business) to pretend to be something you are not. I applaud you for knowing your niche and embracing it, and as a professional, I do the same. Just because my Adobe Creative Suite came with a copy of InDesign doesn’t mean I know what it takes to lay out a book or magazine spread and, more importantly, troubleshoot getting it printed properly.

Posted July 14, 2010