Would like to see people’s opinions on this. A lot of traditional artists at my college look down on me as a web designer. Like “oh it’s just a click of a button and its done. So what does everyone here think?

Personally I think its art we just work with different tools and people haven’t accepted it yet.

Web design is definitely art. It takes knowledge of which colors are easier on the eyes, aesthetics, defining a site's "atmosphere" based on the way it looks, and even a lot of graphic marketing! I.e. the design has to sell the product the website is trying to sell :)

commented: Of course, web design is an art, which gives a outlook to your websites and shows how it's effective to customers or viewers +0

Web design is art... but I find its harder to draw to my designs on paper then to actually do it on the computer, but that is because of the selection of tools that computers have. Hand drawing, however, is very nice, but cannot not compair to what a very skill full person can do with images on a computer...

What really drives me crazy, is the resolution of pixles we have now, and are acustom to, image in 15-20 years or more?

Hey all --

I certainly think that web design is an art -- and I also think that it is often times largely underappreciated. Take a look at some of the good sites out there vs. the bad sites. The most obvious differences are usually the outward appearance -- and a GOOD web design, which is likely created by a good web artist, has taken into consideration everything from colors to font size and color to alignment of page elements to photography and the weight of each element on the page. It's just that our canvas is not a big white tangible one sitting on an easel... and our tools aren't paint or chalk or watercolor... but we certainly have our own canvas and artistic tools to choose from. And like any other art -- you can tell when you're dealing with someone who really knows what they're doing and has the creative, artistic talent to bring together all of the aforementioned elements to create something that looks really nice.

Wow -- perhaps I'm a little more adament about the topic than I thought. Like I said, I think it's very often underappreciated. But yes, a web site is definitely art.

Cheers!
Shannon

commented: good feed back! Peace Be with You +5

thx for those replies. i too feel its under appreciated hehe.

Do you think style affects web design? Do web designers use style to persuade?

all these questions btw are for my degree dissertation for uni. getting some opinion so i can write my arguement.

thx for those replies. i too feel its under appreciated hehe.

Do you think style affects web design? Do web designers use style to persuade?

all these questions btw are for my degree dissertation for uni. getting some opinion so i can write my arguement.

I think style in web design is like style in any art --- you have your abstract style and you have your impressionist style --- and within each style there's good and bad. And each style can be used in different ways to convey different messages, or as you say -- persuade. I think that the right combination of style and color and content does indeed have an effect on the viewer... and I think that a lot of thought has to go into all of those things in order to convey the right message. It all goes back to marketing. You gotta find that golden message, the golden style, that speaks directly to the consumer base that you are targetting. That's why, again, I think that web design is often underappreciated. The good designers know these things and are able to cater to different audiences and use different styles in order to hit those sweet spots.

Just my thoughts. :)

thx for the replies. while we are on the subject does anyone know any books or places i can find out about history of web design/development and to help answer the question "is webdesign art".

seems almost impossible to find information on it

:rolleyes:

Web design certainly is an art and if all there is no web design, there is no computer world.

On a recent survey conducted on this topic, i got 90% of the votes for web design as an art. The rest 5% says it is a profession and the final 5% of no comments.

You can see the history of web design right from the Ist generation from this site. I had given the link below.

http://www.innervisions.com.au/webhistory/first.html

Bye

web design is definate art form.....

the guy who told u that "just click a button.and it's done"

ask him to do it..and see what he comes out with....

some people don't what they are talking.. :cool: :lol:

...Hand drawing, however, is very nice, but cannot not compair to what a very skill full person can do with images on a computer...

with the likes of master artists such asda Vinci, Rembrandt, Monet and Dali, to name a few, i'd have a difficult time taking ur statement verbatim, but if ur saying that a skillful computer artist can generate wonderful multimedia imagery and motion worthy of display and competion on its own merit i would whole heartedly agree.

...yes, a web site is definitely art...

well, i would amend that in as much that while the graphics inherent in a website may constitue art, it isn't automatically good art. Can it be? Absolutely! But that's not by definition, but rather execution. jm2c :)

an aside is that a poorly functioning website may still have great graphics, or if you will, artwork, but great artwork doesn't make for a great website - great websites are esthetically pleasing (not necessarily comprised of works of art), efficient, functional & r conducive to a positive "customer" experience, whom ever that "customer," or visitor, may be.

true Art, whether it be comprised of clay, bronze, pigmented oil paste or pixels is defined not only by a great composer but (hopefully eventually), also an appreciative audience - an absence of either one denies the attainment of greatness. fft.

Anyone who thinks web design isnt art can checkout my new project www.sitesthatrock.com. We are showcasing the best websites on the internet here.

Web Desing is an art, in it's own right. Sure, any idiot can click a button and make something happen. And yes, any moron on the planet can design a site nowadays, in seconds, without knowing anything about the internet. What make it art is doing it in such a way that makes it look good, extrordinary even. Some sites out there are simply beautiful. And to make a site like that it takes skill and talent- to see how colors go well together, and what things look good. That is graphic design.

Of course! To sort of quote a well known designer: "Graphic design is like art, except the paint never dries. It's like sculpting, but you can keep on manipulating the clay over and over because it never gets fired."

Definitly, there are many types of artforms, it's not just about pen and paper. You need creativity, colour theory and other such qualities to be able to design professionaly.

Hey all!
I agree with 2-ndPlatform that there are not enough interesting sites in the internet.

I guess the same question could be asked about many things...
Is dance art or exercise? Is rap art or just talking to music? I have seen a few "artists" try to design a web site, but it comes out completely useless.

The reason that question is asked is that so many people without design skills can make (I won't use the word "create" here) a web site with the "push of a button" that it appears to the trained artist that anyone can do it. Sure, anyone can make a butt-ugly web site with tons of animated gifs, crappy color schemes, etc., but it take someone with design skills and creativity to make it look good.

web design is a definate art form. However the sad part is you get people that try to act like web artist and steal your web site.

I think web design is definetily art. It takes much more skill than just a click of a button. You have to make the website for the people who will look at it, you must have a massive imagination and a skill for knowing what people want.

I am a traditional artist. I can draw or paint a picuture that will make you think that you are actually there. I am also a seamstress. I like to make dolls and quilts and of course clothing at times too. There are some who think that dollmaking or making quilts is not an art. I believe that it is one of the purer forms of art combining skill, knowlege, vision, technique, and talent. To build a website, one needs most of those things as well plus a brain full of codes.

Just as a doll or quilt can be quite beautiful but with shoddy craftmanship at the same time, so can a website. If it is all glitter and glitz, it won't be functional. A well made website requires more than just good looks but also functionally. If it is pretty but goes no where, what is the point of having one. . . . something I am constantly harping about when I go to a site and can't find a site map or a link to a page that someone on the phone has told me is there. Websites that are well maintained require a lot more art than any picture that I will ever paint. Tell those who say that what you do isn't art to go soak their heads in turpintine because they now accept Andy Warhol's works as art and the works of Peter Maxx and lately even old can labels from peaches and beans are being called art and sold at outrageous prices. I think that your friends are just jealous cuz you are smarter than they are. Then in a few years or next week, charge them an outrageous amount to design their website where they want to pedal their art. If they sell any of it, they will need you to come back time and time again to "fix" their websites and click your buttons and charge them megabucks again!

Web design is definitely art and as with every form of art there are people who will criticize it. Most web designer's and graphic designer's have some sense of art to begin with. I personally have always loved art and see it everyday in nature and in my surroundings. I consider web design to fall more in the category of digital art. A web designer is faced with the same obstacle’s any conventional artist is only more. Pixel perfect web design takes time and consideration of different browser platforms. Typography is incorporated to blend with the theme of a site. If web design is not art then I don’t know what is.

Hand coding your HTML (instead of using a wysiwyg program) is definitely an art.

It is art and a half. It takes more than just designing skills to do what we do. You have to know lots of different coding, how to use lots of different programs, and still make it look nice and professional. Not just anyone can do what we do so we are definitely artists. :)

Member Avatar for langsor

I think web design is applied art versus fine art. I would compare it to the Art Deco posters that were used for advertising but are today definitely considered art. www.google.com/images?q=art deco poster

In fact, after designing web sites professionally for over ten years I am now going back to college for a BFA in Graphic Design, and what you learn is parallel to what you learn for fine arts, and a lot more. Not only must you be be able to understand and create form, color, tones, drawings, multiple types of media, and work with digital and traditional media, you must also be able to understand psychology, sociology, business, marketing, etc., etc...

My experience when people dismiss web design as NOT being true art or true programming, is that they are either scared or ignorant of technology or design, respectively.

Cheers

I'll throw my 2 cents in here too...

I believe web design to be an "art form" in that it requires a solid understanding of form, colour and contrast to successfully pull off an appealing (visually) website.

Contrary to what some people may think, web design is not just a "click of a button" but rather a very time intensive process of balancing visual and textual elements. As a subcategory, graphic design (read: visual media aka "art") is required to a large degree in web design as (if you're a true web designer) you need to create graphical and multimedia elements to match the tone and style of your site and work those elements into the overall presentation of the site in a visually appealing way.

For people to say that web design is not an art is comparable to saying that architecture has no artistic component. Both are very similar in the way they are acomplished starting with concept, moving through planning, layout and execution.

Again, just my 2 cents :)

When I read the question if it "is art" I still cringe since what I am expecting to find is that the designer feels they should be given carte blanche over the design and not take the concerns of the business into account. I have dealt with many graphic designers, and have had to learn for myself that designing with communication of ideas in mind is it's own discipline. Understanding the best layout to communicate ideas clearly and the appropriate images to use - then yes. It is an art - and I admit I never considered coding an art - but the more I learn about it the more I can see that creating the right code is an art.

If those taking fine arts are looking down on you - remind them that Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel's ceiling on commission, and was told what to paint and what was expected. He was not given free reign over the content of that piece. Does that make what he created any less artistic?

Yes of course web design is art

In simple and short, yes, web design is a form of art. Not one to continue repeating whats already been said, because its all already been said. As for the One Click web page "creator", that requires intensive programming from someone else who knows atleast the basic concepts of creating a web page. The users creating crappy work from another programmers hard work does not constitute art.

it's DEFINITELY art! you have to take into account colour schemes/pallets, layouts, logos, possible metaphors, hows pages flow from one another and how the eye flows down the page, however I'd probably call it digital art rather than conventional art.

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