Key Theory Web Design

Defining your target

One of the first things you should do be for setting out to find a job in graphic design or web design is figure out:

• your strengths, weaknesses, interests and talents
• what separates you from everybody else
• what type of work you’re looking for
• what’s available in your area / industry

Defining who you are and where you want to go will help you take the right steps towards getting there. You shouldn’t apply to all the possible jobs around, focus on the ones you’d really want first and let them know why they should hire you.

Where would you like to work?

Identify the design offices, corporations, or individuals with whom you’d like to interview with. Contact some of these shops that you’d really would like to work at and make plans to visit them. See if you can intern or volunteer your services for a tester project.

Do your homework on work on the shop before visiting and perhaps even pitch an idea or solution that would serve one of their clients. If you go above and beyond it WILL get noticed OR you wouldn’t want to work for a place like that anyway.

Network, Socialize and be Vocal

Networking and getting involved in different organizations AIGA / JAMA will definitely increase your contacts. There are groups you could get involved with in your area, a quick search on Meetup.com or Google could point you to groups in your area. Don’t be shy there are a lot of talented people out there that no one knows about.

Create a great portfolio

In your portfolio only show your strongest work and make sure you practice presenting it. Employers don’t want to see everything you ever done and if you aren’t excited about your work they wont be either.

Résumé

You should create a resume that lists out your education, skill sets and experience. You can create a hard copy and feature a digital copy online and on sites like Linked In. If you don’t think you have experience enough for a resume, dig further as you must have gained some experience getting the skills to apply for a graphic design or web design job.

Be real & be professional

Be yourself but also make sure to follow professional protocols when getting an interview or a job offer. Be sure to research any offers you get to make sure what you’ve been offered before accepting.

Be persistent

It may take some time to get your foot in the door but persistence will pay off.

Well among all the other things I manage to get myself into, I’m starting a web design crash course that is aimed teach those interested in learning the basics about web design. There are a lot of other web design tutorials out there but most are geared for people who want to be web designers and are very detailed which can be overwhelming to someone who wants to learn how to get up and rolling in a short time. That’s what I aim to do.

What is this crash course in web design?

• A web design course for those  looking to gain the basics of web design in a speedy crash course fashion

What web skills will you learn?

• XHTML & CSS Basics
• SEO Basics
• Social Media Techniques
• Resources

What does it cost?
This course is free.  The only thing I ask is help me promote it.

• Post it on FaceBook
• Tweet it
• E-mail it to a friend

Making it interesting:

To make it interesting I’ve gathered up a group of graphic designers that will help me test out this course and promote this crash course.

I also have arranged for a few other professional web designers to contribute some additional lessons.

Feel free to participate and submit your feedback and suggestions.

To follow the course, become a fan of Key Theory at Facebook.com/keytheory or follow my RSS feed.

Syntax Highligher is a Javascript code that formats and highlights code in an easy to read format. It is free and easy to install http://alexgorbatchev.com/wiki/SyntaxHighlighter.

I’m in the process of gearing up for a web design course that I’m offering to fellow graphic designers from here in Jacksonville, Florida to out in Los Angeles, Califorinia. They are looking to learn the basics of web design and I am looking to help them out. By using the syntax highlighter I’ll be able to share snippets of code with others. Stay tuned, more to come in the upcoming days.

Test of Syntax Highlighter

/**
* SyntaxHighlighter
*/
function foo()
{
if (counter & lt;= 10)
   return;
  // it works!
}