Biz Question - Job Duties
 

I am having a debate with someone about whom should be made responsible for HTML design.
We can't agree with each other when we talk about it, so maybe hearing what everyone else thinks about it might finally put this debate to rest, or so I am hoping ;)

Here is my question:

You have at your disposal 2 employees: one is a application programmer (AP), and the other is a graphic designer (GD).
You want to launch a site, so you will need your pages designed and you will need scripts coded to run the site.
Your graphic designer has designed the layout with Photoshop in PSD format.

Which employee will you assign to convert/slice the PSD into a HTML document/template?

My position is that the GD should be submitting the PSD in HTML format, and the AP should be taking that HTML and applying the application code to the page to end up with the final product.

The GD's position is that converting/slicing to HTML format is coding work, not graphical work, and as such fall under the responsibility of the AP.


Arrgh, what are we going to do!!!???!!! :)

it should be the graphic designers job. he's already made it on photoshop so it only takes a moment to do the rest

A graphic designer should not necessarily have those skills. A webdesigner however should. I say the programmer has to do it, cause it leans more towards his profession.

However I think that's nonsense. I think the graphic designer could at least SLICE and save the images. The coder should not have to start Photoshop.

In our offices, for the most part, our graphic designers do just that. They design. Coding of any sort is left to the coders. Many of our graphic designers have the skills to convert their work further, but it isn't part of their job responsibility or their expertise.

You can do it however you want, though, as they are both your employees.

True, I can see how some GD would not have that knowledge, however, that is also true of the AP! I think that the AP falls within the scope of web design just as the GD does.

IMHO, the AP should be taking care of the code that actually runs the site. Stuff like accessing and querying the database, designing classes and modules to handle user authentication, etc etc, stuff that the end user will never ever see, because there isn't any type of visual for the work the AP does. I like the analogy that if we ran Ford Motors, the GD would design the cars, and the AP would design the engine.

Another point I'd like to bring up is the fact that if the GD is truly not responsible for converting PSD to HTML, then when I buy a website template from someone here off GDY or some website somewhere, I should expect to receive a PSD, not a HTML page!

That's because most designers here are webdesigners and promote theirselves as webdesigners. There are graphic designers who for example just do typography, print work, illustrations etc. I don't think people should automaticly assume they can create a fully functional website in valid HTML/CSS. Although it's a big plus if they can :thumbsup

Would if affect your position if I made you aware that the GD in this case also does for-profit freelance web design on the side? ( The whole gig, PSD design, conversion/slicing and implementation )

If that's the case and if he was recruited for that, I'd fully agree to let him do the job :thumbsup

Then it is his job!

I think that if these are your employees, you should be able to tell them that you need a project done and they should be able to work together to make that happen. If they are not able to work together, then you must assign one of them the jobs... and at that point, I think you have bigger problems.

I've heard of mainstream design firms where they have different departments doing each task... like one department does design and another department converts it to HTML. I can certainly see the advantage of breaking this type of thing down into departments, but also think that a "graphic designer" should be able to chop their designs into HTML... because to me, proper HTML also plays a role in designing a website.

Thanks everyone for your input!
The truth of the matter is that I am the AP, and I will probably catch some hell from the GD for making this thread! We already know our perspective on it, but I wanted to hear what other webmasters considered would fall under graphic design or application design.

It really is not going to have any bearing 'real-world', as my HTML and CSS skills are stronger than the GD's, so regardless of who comes out on top in this debate, I will still be the one converting full-page pictures to css layouts! ;) I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't the only person alive who thought the conversion task should be on the designer.

This is true.

I'd be more worried that you'd catch hell from your boss. You shouldn't bring inside problems to the boards unless the owner agrees. Plus, it makes him look a bit... incompetent.

i think the designer should be the one slicing the designs and outputting at least simple html that the coder can clean and hack up if necessary. i do agree with the statement that a 'graphic designer' doesnt necessarily need to know ANY code, that is why you hire 'web designers' instead of 'graphic designers' IMHO a web designer should know graphic design and web layout, simple code(html, css, light php), etc.

however.... if the design is going into something rather intesnse codewise(large templating systems, etc) it might be helpful for them to at the minimum work together to meet certain requirements of the design that the coder might have, specific image sizes, etc.

:2 cents:

This is a problem!

No, it's an old thread.

It is a gray area.

I used to work at an affiliate program where the AP did only stuff that queries the DB, etc. while the designer sliced and html'd the design.

Our designers slice and code into HTML. As someone said, the AP shouldn't have to touch Photoshop.

A lot of graphic designers balk at it, because they don't even know what HTML looks like. They click and drag in Dreamweaver until it's pretty, then it goes to the magical internet fairys to make it work. I don't let them do that. If they absolutely have NO knowledge, well, that's one thing. If they're just lazy and standoffish, that's another.

Hire a temporary worker to slice the PSD into HTML.