What Got You Interested In Web Design?

[P.T.]

I was just curious as to how everyone else got interested in web design. I took a basic computer class many years ago and my instructor mentioned another class she taught and said she thought I might find it interesting. (Basic HTML) I've been hooked every since.

[parrotletmommy]

Your story sounds like mine. I took a Computer Course at our University and once I got onto the internet (20 years ago mind you) I was hooked. And what with my art background it was just a natural migration into web design.

 

Parrotlet Mommy

[!!blue]

I was getting a Bachelor's in Business Management and noticed how much I *loved* being online. I mean *loved.* So then I graduated and hated all the jobs I was getting/being offered. See, originally I wanted to be a photographer in the artistic sense and my dad was like "I'm not paying for you to graduate to no secure future" :-/

 

Finally I looked up a degree in anything web and found one school offering a Bachelor's in Multimedia and Web Design and here I am. (I wasn't going to get just an Associates cuz I already hadda Bachelor's; plus most of the classes transferred.) Long story short, I'm now a Web Designer with a secure job.

 

Yeah, baby!!

 

later,

!!blue

[bellringr]

I was a total internet and chat junkie, and my boss suggested a couple of us in the unit take a 2-day HTML course through work. That got me hooked, but it wasn't until last year that I had any "real" software (Netscape Composer doesn't count much) I've used free sites like Geocities for years but when they got to five or six ads and popups per page, I got fed up.

 

I mainly love being able to share pictures and stories with friends all over the world. I think if I had to design sites for people for money, I wouldn't enjoy it as much.

[kaseytraeger]

I got into web design because of my dog, believe it or not! He was a show dog, and I got him from a breeder that was 2000 miles away. I wanted a way to keep her updated on his growth and progress, so I created a small web site for him.

 

That small site is no longer posted, but the love of creating web sites has only grown.

 

Go figure!!!

[DarqFlare]

My best friend and I moved away from each other while we were still in middle school, so we then wrote letters back and forth.

 

We had these fake companies that would try to best the other one. Eventually I got internet access and created a website for mine using Geocities to say "haha, my company is better than yours."

 

And now here I am.

[Ninepatch]

I just like toys - and web design is just another toy. My creative background is in photography, and I've done a lot of desktop publishing. My undergrad is in journalism, so it kind of helps, too. None of what I've done is any good so far, but I'm having a blast just playing and getting stuck and unstuck.

 

Use it or lose it! Besides, it keeps me from wandering the streets and scaring the horses! Thumbs Up

 

Beth

[Dark Angel]

I started making websites in grade 8. I was building simple things the Geocities editor. Then a friend showed me how he'd done a "cool" logo for his website. I was amazed by his work, even if now I'd say it was $#!&! hehe! He showed me a couple of tricks with Adobe Photosop.

 

Since that time, I've learned many things, and recently discovered sites like good-turotials.com which really help me.

 

Now I have my own Dongeon & Dragons website, and I'm working on a new design : http://www.adnddownloads.com/design/

 

I try stuff with photoshop and learn new tricks by "error". And I really like my new forum sig.

 

That was my story! Bye!

[TangentIdea]

I think what first drove me was the incredible geek status available for saying, "here, check out my website..." That's what hooked me. What kept me is the money (and the hours) -- it's a whole lot better than working at McDonalds all through high school. Thumbs Up

 

-Ryan

[stevevan]

I got started on a part-time job I had. I found it incredible that the ISP I worked for had a full-blown Wed Dev. Dept. but the Tech Support side was getting by on outdated methods (e.g. 4-inch binders with pages upon pages of printed and xeroxed information and instructions). Since I enjoyed databases, I decided to put everything contained in our binders in a large database and display it via a web format. I did this on my own with some insight and assistance from the Web-Dev guys. Got a promotion out of it (pay increase) and 6 months later got fired for "Not having the proper customer support attitude" and "Not showing support my fellow coworkers or the company." Go figure!

[Santolina]

First, I bought a digital camera for a trip we were taking to Alaska back in 1999, because fussing with film in the hinterlands would be a bother. We were driving, so the laptop fit comfortably in the RV and the hundred of photos I was taking were stored there until I had time to edit them. When we returned home, I edited, then transferred them to a CD. "Now what?", I muttered. Ah ha! I'll make a website to share all these pictures with family and friends, never bothering to ask if they'd actually like the idea. I decided I didn't really mind if they did or didn't. At least *I* could see many of those images whenever I wanted! The idea of how to put a site up on the 'net' was a challenge to non-techie me, and still continues to be, in terms of design (it certainly isn't cutting edge), software to use, text (more or less?, fonts?), images (size?, how many? optimization?), whether to learn HTML or use a 'wysiwyg' (still leaning toward the latter)-the list is endless. Meanwhile, I am learning something new everyday, especially here at TCH, and am having a great time with this 'photojournal thingy' I have created, even though, according to awstats, nobody has visited.

Thanks for being here!

 

Santolina

 

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www.santolina.net

[Deverill]

I've been a hardcore computer geek since I saw my first one in 1976 and bought one in 1977. I'm a programmer by training (formal and otherwise) and at the time Mosaic was available I was writing multi player computer games. When I saw the first web page it was a way my computer geek side and my non-artsy side could produce something almost artistic.

 

I totally love being able to use my computer skills to make something sorta artistic. It's like the first paint program - "Wow! I can finally make a straight line and a proper curve!"

 

The scientific uses for research were even more obvious then because that's about all that had web sites. That also apealed to me as something that would be (become) a great tool. Boy has it! You can find anything on the 'net from how to build a nuke to the latest way to cook meat using only the sun safely and nearly free.

 

You gotta love it!