Will html5 change everything for designers?

Question

What impact do you think html5 will have on the workflow/way graphic design is done for the web? Right now most designers stay in an Adobe tool, doing most of the design work there, and implement some elements with graphics and some with code.

Checking out http://www.apple.com/html5/ it seems that almost everything done in a graphic can be done in code. Will designers have to learn very advanced levels of html5 and do the actual design work in the browser or do you see a more "designer friendly" gui being made for html/graphics work? Will tools like photoshop evolve in a way that handles this new lack of image files?

Answer 1

First, HTML5 isn't a single technology, so there's no straightforward answer. HTML5 video tag is completely separate from CSS3 transitions. And those, in turn, are separate from HTML5's support for offline apps and advanced form controls.

Secondly, "Is seems that almost everything done in a graphic can be done in code" has always been true. If history is any guide, "designer friendly" tools have always been augmented with hand coding. For example, at the shop where I work, our designers start with Photoshop; we then ship the PSD file to PS2HTML.com, and then we hand craft the rest of the markup/css/javascript by hand. HTML5 won't fundamentally change things for us.

Answer 2

HTML5, no.

CSS 3: I don’t think it’ll make designers work in code. There seem to be few people who are creative enough to do great design work, and nerdy enough to churn out HTML and CSS. (I speak as a nerd, no offence intended to either faction.) CSS 3 doesn’t change that. If anything, some of the proposed additions make CSS harder to learn.

You could imagine a GUI tool that outputs HTML and CSS, and takes advantage of all the CSS 3 features. It’d be cool to see one made, and see if it tempts designers away from Photoshop.

Answer 3

Adobe isn't purely about flash. HTML5 will actually make it much easier for tools to be able to output nicer markup/css. It will also be easier for designers who know how to code never need to crack open a design tool, so I guess its a mixed bag. Depending on the workflow of the designers/coders, I think everything could likely stay exactly the same, only it will be even easier to transfer from design to code. Instead of needing to hand off a ton of image file resources, it will be more important to spec out sizes, hex values, border radiuses, fonts etc.

At some point, though, I'm sure some tooling will come in to make the workflow simpler. My advice to a designer would be to learn some code, but I think there will still always be work for pure designers.