10 Problems Only Graphic And Web Designers Will Understand

5. Responsive Web Design, Or One More Damn Web Standard To Learn

In the old days of web design, you tried to keep your designs locked into the 1024x768 rectangle mode, that being the highest resolution for most home computers. But now, everyone is using their cellphones and tablets to read web pages. They may not mind scrolling down so much, but they€™re going to go elsewhere if they have to scroll sideways. That means you have to learn how to create responsive web pages €“ pages that automatically flow based on the device being used. So, on top of needing to know HTML5 and CSS3 (at a minimum), with PHP, JavaScript, and a host of other elements of alphabet soup a plus, your web designer now has to figure out this new method of building web sites. The good news: there€™s a standard forming up, with grid-based systems such as Twitter Bootstrap taking the lead. The bad news: you€™ve got to jump through some hoops to make your elements shrink and expand to fit the different platforms. And if you€™re using a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal, you need to fit those grids into the limitations of those particular entities. Oh, well. When you€™re drowning, who cares if they pour a cup of water on your head?