Web Designers, Photoshop and the Missing Link
Most of us learned Photoshop much the same way we learned HTML; we went in knowing nothing and played around until we figured it out — in my opinion, the best way to begin learning anything! However, there is one fatal flaw that I am guilty of not rectifying; staying on top of enhancements created to make life easier. Working on the web, it seems as though everything we work with changes so rapidly and staying on top of everything can be overwhelming and perhaps even unpractical. As embarrassing as it may be, I must share some of my Photoshop ignorance in the hopes that my recent enlightenment will be as helpful to others as it was for me.
I started with Photoshop 3.0; I still have the install “disk” at home (all six of them). I quickly moved up in the world with a copy of Photoshop 5.0 – that is when I feel in love and was hooked for life. For the longest time I worked solely with 5.0 and 5.5; it was all I knew and all I needed! It seems as though it is still all I know (for the most part) but by far not all I need.
I am currently working on a large-scale project (soooo Web 2.0) with one of the most talented developers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with – what makes him so exciting to work with is his design background (or deep knowledge of). Strategizing is much more fun when you can speak of design technically and visually without missing a beat. It seems to be his occasional treat when he can question something within my Photoshop file or watch me perform an action in Photoshop to which there is an easier and more efficient way. At first I was slightly offended; I am the Art Director and sole designer on this particular project – shouldn’t I know what I am doing visually more so than anyone else; who is he to tell me better? It only took a matter of seconds for me to put my ego to rest and realize I never had any formal training on this intense professional program – I’ve just been doing things best as I knew how. That and if we ever assume we have nothing more to learn, then we’ve truly learned nothing. Most of what I know stems from the best-of-the-best in thinking from versions 3.0, 5.0 and 5.5 – and we all know there have been extreme advancements since then, especially within the newest CS2.
Has Photoshop become such a “given” in this Web 2.0 environment that we are more concerned with staying on top of the latest and greatest technically than visually? Am I the only slacker in the group? Are there best practices for Photoshop files? We praise XHTML/CSS and standards-based design for its simplicity, efficiency and easy maintainability – where is that same spirit and determination for the visual applications that are eventually the face of our sites? It is all the praise when you can shave hours off your development time for efficient and forward-thinking code – what about the countless hours that could be saved from utilizing layers, layer-sets and the vast tools created to make life in Photoshop easier that didn’t exist when most of us probably first discovered this amazing program?
I get a few hits a day from my past article, “What about ‘Match Color’; a PhotoShop technique forgotten?” – inspired by that interest (however small it may be) and this post, I am going to start a short “Did you know Photoshop could …” series. Once a week or so I am going to highlight a simple Photoshop technique or two. Many of you will probably condescendingly roll your eye, but hopefully a few will shiver in embarrassment much like myself as they realize there is a better way. The web design community has recently been so focused on technical development that many of us are losing sight of the visual development – or so it seems.
- November 20th, 2006
- 13comments
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Many of us have the ability to “learn” photoshop on our own. But until I worked digital prepress professionally for four years, I realized how much I (not to mention all the “professional” designers work I was fixing) and others didn’t/don’t know about photoshop.
You are absolutely correct. I think the same can be said for a lot of the work we do. A lot of can do something in Photoshop, but not many actually know Photoshop. I guess a good question is, does it matter? If someone can create a design without really knowing Photoshop three times better than someone that really knows Photoshop — is that okay? We should all strive to better ourselves — it is to each of us to determine how, when and to what degree we do that.
That sounds great - although I’m a Photoshhop newbie it does seem like a neglected subject.
Everyone is pressuring us to make our sites more compliant, validate and even more accessible — but where is that focus for the simple things? Is it lost because we look at applications like Photoshop as “the simple things”. I don’t recall even reading any articles on Viso best-practices — I read a lot of debate on the topic of which application to use, but rarely on how to use the application correctly.
I honestly think the biggest hurdle is finding a good designer that knows how to properly layout a website in photoshop. I think too many of them assume you want to create a web page completely out of images rather than css and html.
I’ll agree with that. There is still a blurry line between design and development — the difference between a graphic designer, web designer and web developer is often hard to see.
True! I am a web developer that happens to be okay at design.
Im not super, but I randomly create beauty. However its so difficult to find a great designer that knows even a little asp.net or C#! I have been searching for a real partner to work with for a long time.
asp.what? Just kidding! I feel your pain. I am not much of a C# developer, but it nice when you can have that conversation where both parties are competent.
Although I was never good at photoshop or art and most probably never will be, I do agree with your statement that the best way to get good at something is to keep working with it until you have conquered it. Good article. Thanks
Martin, thanks for the article. You are not alone. As Creative Director at a small design firm my role is predominantly strategy, concepting, client presentations and overseeing other designers. I too began with 3.0 in the mid-nineties and have not really had the need or the opportunity to get ‘under the hood’ of more recent versions.
When a recent project hit deadline and we all pitched in to finish files, I realized just how atrophied my skills had become - especially in light of the myriad new features in CS2.
I for one look forward to your series.
Jon. Thanks for the comments — I feel like I am in the same position as yourself. So little time and so much to learn. I guess that is what makes this industry so much fun!!!
Great article Martin. I first learned Photoshop with version 5.0 on my own. I had a solid understanding of the program when I first got to college but took a course in it anyway and picked up a couple tips that helped save me some time. But I haven’t had any training in it since then, and I know I’ve only been using a small percentage of the new features that came out with each new version. Recently, my company paid for me to attend a 1-day Photoshop CS2 seminar, and it was a great way to get me up-to-date with some of the latest features. Some of the tips I had read about but forgotten because I never used them, but seeing them used in person helped them to stick in my mind and I now use them today.
Also along the same lines, a couple days ago I was using the background eraser tool in Photoshop while a coworker was looking over my shoulder. He never knew about that tool and was amazed with what it could do so easily with it. A few minutes later, I was showing 5 of my co-workers how to use a tool that has been around since version 5.5 (I believe). Photoshop has tons of features, and very few people know the in’s and out’s of every one of them. Just like I “amazed” my coworkers with the background eraser tool, each of them probably has been using a technique in Photoshop for years that would amaze me and I don’t even know about it yet.
I am with you! You should have seen how embarrassed I was when I found out you could underline text!! I was creating a line for the longest time to replicate the look for a hyperlink.