Developer and Graphic Designer in one?

Question

I received a BSCS two years ago and find myself bored in just doing development. I'm a good programmer from my what peers and managers tell me but I've always found graphic design interesting and know that I would succeed at that as well. I hear so many programmers say I have no design skill and I'm thinking, you know I have some design skill what can I become if I develop it.

When I think of the ideal job that combine both, I'm thinking of someone that does both web development and design. I'm thinking that if I was to develop my design skills, I could start my own business, which is something I'm interested in, that could be a one man web development/design shop. What type of other opportunities could this lead me to?

Also, I'm about 44 hours away from getting a graphic design degree and I'm wondering If I should pursue it or maybe just take the classes I need?

So, basically I know I'm not going to be happy just doing development all my life. I need a career that will allow me to do both design and development. What are the options out there?

Answer 1

User Interface Specialist comes to mind. Combine your skills with a good base in Usability and you have a very useful and under utilized skill set in software today.

A google search for User Interface Specialist turned up several job postings.

Strictly speaking User Interface Specialists are more Graphic artist than developer, however, there would be a lot of shops that would love to have a front end developer and Usability / Designer in one.

Answer 2

being graphic-aware and confident in 3D graphics could lead to development/design of video games and special effects.
most graphics software packages (like Flash, 3D Studio, Maya, etc) have some scripting element that can enable complex animations and graphics.
combine these skills with web design, and you could create something like these awesome flash-based sites: http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/best-flash-sites

Answer 3

I identify with you as I find myself in a similar situation.

I graduated 2 years a go with a Bachelor in Computer Science, I find I can program well, and have progressed into Web Development, as I found web work slighty more interesting than straight application development.

I also studied Psychology, and Music at university. My passions are music, learning, art, and aesthetics and I think a creative career would more suit me.

I have been considering Graphic Design and run my own screenprinting t-shirt design outfit, and think running my own business may be the way forward. There might be a future in incorporating my web/technical skills into ventures in fields I more am passionate about.

But other than that I have not really found a solution, and I if I decide to work towards Graphic Desing, I think I will attempt to build a portfolio with out going back to university.

I would also be keen to hear of possible creative careers that could benefit from development experience.

Answer 4

Although I graduated with a BSCS degree, my first job was as a graphic designer (some of my work were published as newspaper ads). So I found myself in the same situation as yours now. Just so you know, I'm now doing serious programming, and simply use my graphic design skills as a hobby.

I have to agree with the others, you do have an edge if you plan to focus on doing programming for a living, with your graphic design skills as a value-added, employable skill. Web design and programming is perhaps the more visually-oriented programming job you can get, although you should not rule out other types of work or roles such as user interface design and video game design/development. In my experience, however, expect to write more code than making layouts and design.

So I'd also like to present something different: if you choose to focus on graphic design but still don't want to let go of programming, then try going to a design company that also does some web design and programming on the side. Although many graphic artists are expected to be computer-savvy, this does not automatically mean that they know their HTML/CSS well (for starters). You definitely have a great advantage if you can show and convince the art director that you can not only create killer designs but also write the code that drives the design.

Answer 5

Best of both worlds? Resisting assimilation? Sacrilege!!!!

Just go for it. It's great when you can do both. I started out in plain old graphic design and one day decided to go after programming and it's a great feeling to get a project finished on both ends. I'm even lucky enough to have a job where I can do both on day to day basis and it's really really satisfying.

Beware though. You'll most likely make a lot more money programming. Case in point from this week. I've put out some feelers trying to see what the job market has to offer these days and got 2 bites. 1st job was at a well established advertising agency as an 'Senior Interactive Art Director'. Paid about $41 a year. 2nd job was an entry level Java/Sql position at an undisclosed startup. Starting at $45 a year. Go figure.

Do it.

Answer 6

It is great that you can do the both parts of web development, i would go for both of them. I think in the area of web development design is as imported as development.

I am currently doing co-op and quiet surprised that some developers don't want even learn html and css. Go figure.

Answer 7

A little tale for you to interpret as you will: 2 jobs ago, we had ~10 dev'ers and 1/2 that many graphic designers. The company went under. Of the graphic designer, the one who had the best job offers (both in terms of quality of the company and of compensation) was the only one who not only knew programming but who had also consistently kept himself up to date on the latest programming trends and made sure he was at least competent at them.

Answer 8

44 hours is nothing in the grand scheme of things -- if you have the means to pursue it, I say do so. What have you go to lose? This degree may open the doors you need to develop those design skills.

You can get a good sense of the type of role you could fill as a designer from Bill Buxton's Sketching User Experiences (it's an excellent book) which may give you a perspective as to what you should bring to the table.

I am also a fan of About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design which is more technical and has served as invaluable reference for me in the past.