Mark Wu : Design & Art Direction for Digital Media
Journal : Entry
stamp
bar

What’s in a job title?

Tuesday, 18 December, 2007

For anyone out there working in web design, would you be offended if I said that job-titling myself as a "web designer" seems so, well, amateurish? I've had to introduce what I do to people quite alot in recent months, and when it comes down to it, I've got issues calling myself a "web designer".

I've recently used this title reservedly because in one sense, it does basically describe what I (mainly) love doing in a nut shell - I design websites. People understand that a web designer designs websites. But this isn't all I do, and in fact, with this understanding that people have, I fear that the title "web designer" also has connotations of a job whose responsibility it is to create websites, no matter how bland or badly designed they are.

I say this simply because the reality is that its not difficult to complete a short course in html and "become" a web designer. And its easy to register your own domain, rent some hosting and place a freshly "designed" website alongside a professional global brand site. Does the fact that its "live" make any website professional?

I mean no disrespect to any one in the industry who takes this path, and no doubt there are those that have done, and who simply possess the right talent.

But having invested in two degrees and a number of years education and training and having worked in the industry for nearly a decade, I feel that I could differentiate myself a little and at the very least, should choose a job title that could reflect some sense of seniority.

(By the way, with 'seniority' I don't mean to imply any comparison to really good designers out there (in any field) who have great careers spanning over twenty plus careers. I know I have a long way to go. I read in an interview with a design legend somewhere that a designer couldn't be considered good until they've amassed over forty years of experience. I might of course have mis-quoted that, or taken it out of context...)

I've considered just using "Designer". In some ways, it takes away the amateurish-sounding "web" part, and I liked both its simplicity and potential to explore any design field. It's openness is all encompassing, but that was its problem. A Chinese consultant I spoke to, wondered what kind of engineering design I did. Is it because I is Chinese?

So then "Graphic Designer" became my next step. It has the "heritage", if I can call it that, of traditional print design. People know what a graphic designer does. Just that it, well, sounded too junior still, and doesn't have enough emphasis on digital.

Moving on, I've then considered using titles like "Art Director" or "Consultant". These reflect more of a sense of experience that could be brought to a project. Prefixing "Digital" to these bring on the web aspect, but can also encompass general multimedia (CD-ROMs - remember those?) which I also like to dabble in.

I've currently settled for using "Design & Art Direction for Digital Media" for elements like this website which allow more room for interpretation. "Design" was added for its sense of a pure and simple discipline.

For limited spaces like business cards, I've chosen to use "Digital Design Consultancy". It states what I do and the media I do it in. And in the course of a conversation, post card-swap, people easily understand the "consultancy" bit.


This entry posted in : Design and Art Direction.

bar

icon comment  0 Comments :

bar

Enter Comments :

Name:

Email:

Location:

URL:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

Submit the word you see below:


bar

<< Previous Entry Next Entry >>
Quick intro :

British Chinese, Digital Design Consultant. Professional experience spans over 9 years working on digital design projects for both small and large clients. Read more...

Events attending :
  
28/04/08 :House of Commons :
Barry Gardiner MP Reception
13/04/08 :The BC Project :
Get Active UK - Register to Vote (Chinatown 12 - 4pm)
27/02/08 :The British Chinese Project :
Political Seminar
Hosted by Cllr Thomas Chan
21/02/08 :Five Circles Arts Festival :
Gala Reception
14/02/08 :Cirque Du Soleil - Varekai
10/02/08 :Chinese New Year celebrations in London Chinatown
16/01/08 :The British Chinese Project :
Working Group Meeting
  
Website updates :
  
27/01/08 :Games and Digiquaria wallpaper now added to the Downloads section
  
01/01/08 :Initial version of MarkWu.Info finally live. Lots of refining and adding to do though, so its live, but not really, if you know what I mean...
To Do :
  
Visit China Design Now at the V & A
Sign petition to stop BIA raids on Chinese catering businesses
Absorb The History of Visual Communication
Listen to the Five East Asian Music Acts to watch in 2008
Revisit my childhood
Wildlife Photographer of the Year
  

Search Journal