Life on the Spot! Life and Leisure in Doha, Qatar

A lot of people have asked me how I got into the business of Web Design. They think that since I’m into IT, I have a degree in computing or engineering. I wish! I then have to explain to them how I became a web designer. I spent my first 2 years of college life taking up Journalism at the University of the Philippines (U.P.) in Baguio. I love writing but then, it was also becoming boring for me. I thought of shifting to the more interactive segment of Mass communication which was Broadcasting, but that meant I had to move to the U.P. Campus in Diliman. I found out, as I was applying, that my grade average was about .2 below the cut (thanks to Spanish 10 and 11) so my next option was Film and Audio Visual Communication which needed a 2.0 average (1 was highest in our grading system). Yup, you read it right. I have a B.A. in Film and Audio Visual Communication. It is a 4-year course. I took classes in Directing, Script-writing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Photography, Experimental film and even Acting (I’m not that of a good actor… he he he). The thing is, I didn’t even know how to start a computer in 1995. Then we had courses in Film animation and Digital Editing and that started it. I got introduced to the world of Photoshop and Premiere. Instead of becoming a Film/TV director, I became more involved with graphics. I got my first PC on 1996 and spent late nights with Photoshop. I got hooked to the web on 1997 and just used it to learn more of computers, the web and web design tools. I didn’t even have a book on Photoshop then and online tutorials were not many. By 1998, I was working part-time as a graphic artist/web designer for a local company and working full time as Head Graphics Artist for a desktop printing shop. Then everything just fell into place. I was offered a job in Saudi as a Web Designer in 1999 and now I’m here! I’m sure a lot of universities already have a specific course for Web Design. The thing is, Web Design is both technical and artistic. You have to deal with the design itself, colors, graphics, elements and then you also have to deal with user-functionality, compression and code. You just can’t say “I want to be a Web Designer” but not deal with the elements of design or not deal with the technicalities involved. Although in a scale, it pays off better to have the inclination with the arts. Companies usually have a dedicated Programmer/Developer to the hard coding for you. Still, you need to know how to code, what the code means and what the code can do. For me, I may not have a degree in computing or engineering, but some things you just to learn outside of the University and excel in it ( at least I think I do).