Comments on: Print Designer Vs. Web Designer Debate

By: Jess

Jess — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:53:54 +0000

oddly enough I trained as a multimedia designer (web design with motion graphics and tv etc) and my first job was designing children’s books so I feel like I did it backwards. There’s so much I learnt from print design and so much more I still need to learn but ultimately I’m happiest in a digital environment and I like to play with print and keep learning.
With print you have to get everything right but when you have your end product, everyone will see it the same – with digital, you think you’ve got it right but everyone will be seeing something slightly different so they’re both frustrating and rewarding in their own ways!
The one thing I resent is a bit of an old school attitude to digital design – I worked in an ATL agency and the ECD just didn’t get interface design at all so he took the project away and gave it to a “real” designer (how rude!). To his credit, the print designer did an ok job but it had to be done in flash and I was left to fix all sorts of problems. I think some people need to realise that the two disciplines are quite different but both deserve the same amount of respect!

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:25:39 +0000

I’d have to go with web design. Web design gives you the freedom to always go back and correct or tweek something even after it is displayed for public view. Once a print product is printed whatever errors or flaws you notice at that point are done and done.
Print can present a headache because your design can be destroyed by improper printing. There is so much more to creating a print design than simply making an attractive design. Resolution, bleed, vector vs. bitmap, etc. I do enjoy viewing the final product of one of my print jobs but so much more work goes into creating that job.

By: Logo Design

Logo Design — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:50:44 +0000

I think there is a big difference between print media and the web and the design techniques employed. Jumping from one medium to the other may not be as easy as it seems.

By: Michael Kozakewich

Michael Kozakewich — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:49:36 +0000

Something I’ve realized today is that webpages are more like scrolls. I’ve since been thinking about designing some sort of html document which juxtaposes a scroll setup against a paged layout.

Speaking of scrolls: Back in the day, what kinds of designs did scrolls have?

The true power of the web is the malleability of the canvas. We could make things codex-like, scroll-like, or tablet-like, or create an infinite expanse, like a map.

By: Graphic Designer Suffolk

Graphic Designer Suffolk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:40:22 +0000

There is science to print design. I spend a lot of time at printers and the way ink reacts to different media is something a print designer has to understand.

Trapping, CYMK splits, overprinting, font embedding are all technical requirements of a good print designer – all of which have to be understood from the start, or will cost you and the client more money.

There is none of this messing about doing code – if that dosn’t work, you just adjust it. If the trapping is wrong on a 10,000 brochure run, then the stakes are a lot higher.

By: Jillian

Jillian — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:25:53 +0000

As a designer I do prefer print, however I started off as a web designer, and I think it is under-appreciated. There is almost a science to web design and things that a print designer just doesn’t know or understand about it, which sometimes irks me!

But I think they can both be truly beautiful!

By: 2stGeorge

2stGeorge — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:37:43 +0000

Print or web – that’s really difficult question. I prefer the typographical possibilities of the print, the feel of different print finishes, to hold beautiful piece of design in my hands, althought I’m rather web designer. Anyway both are about getting across the story, message, about the communication and about carrying the information across to customer after all, isn’t it?

By: Rhonda Brown

Rhonda Brown — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Though I do like both, I prefer print over web design. I learned both just about at the same time but I gravitated toward print more than web over the years. I like how with print you can feel the finished product and the finished product can come in different shapes, sizes, and materials. Web design can get a little complicated at times because there are so many variables that can happen with coding, different browsers, and screen sizes. But then at the same time web can be much faster and better on the environment. I feel though that both design avenues are great but I just prefer print.

By: Kelli Brown

Kelli Brown — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:54:24 +0000

Maybe I’m old fashioned, but print design is my heart’s desire, hands down. Despite all the cool functionality, I think most of the stuff out there today doesn’t have the same attention to detail, typography and color scheme that we see in print design.
I started as a print designer – in newspaper design (yay! SND!) – and moved into Web. Now, I do both, in addition to web development and marketing. But if I had all the time in the world I’d love to go back to all print, all the time.
I do admit though that when I see amazing web design – truly crisp, clean work – it still takes my breath away.
@pixelpointpress

By: Tessa

Tessa — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:40:42 +0000

It’s interesting that we live in a society inundated by media. We’re hit with advertising and design every second of our lives and now have a short attention span for it. We were brought up on 30 second commercials and fleeting glimpses of billboards. Great design is great design, regardless, but is anything really timeless anymore?

However, I’m a print designer and stickin’ with my field :) mostly out of preference for how I have to work in either field.