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Matt Stow
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- What is JavaScript and the DOM?
- Learning the basics
- Using JavaScript
- Refactoring for jQuery
JavaScript for web designers
Web designer really is an ambiguous job title, isn't it? What does a web designer do exactly?
In my opinion, to be a web designer, you need to have some level of competency or awareness in all of the following interconnected areas:
- Information architecture
- Layout design
- Interaction design
- Usability
- Accessibility
- Standards-compliant, semantic XHTML
- CSS
- Browser limitations and inconsistencies
- JavaScript
- Server-side programming languages
By being proficient in all of these areas, you will not just end up with a web design, but a complete web solution.
A majority of designers fail, I think, when it comes to interaction design, especially client-side interaction. For some reason, JavaScript is widely ignored by designers, who believe it to be part of the developer's tool box. Sure, a developer has uses for writing JavaScript code, but those use cases differ completely from a designer's use cases.
For a designer, using JavaScript opens up a world of possibilities to improve the interaction of the design, and ultimately, the overall user-experience. This is why you, as a designer, need to embrace JavaScript, and bask in the benefits it can provide to your designs and your customers. And besides, JavaScript was designed to make it easy for non-programmers to spruce up the design of web pages.
In this article you will learn how web designers can embrace JavaScript to improve the interaction and overall user experience of their designs.
Requirements
To complete this tutorial you'll need to install the following software and files:
Dreamweaver CS4
Sample files:
- js_for_designers_files.zip (ZIP, 20K)
Prerequisite knowledge
Familiarity with the Dreamweaver CS4 workspace and building websites using CSS and XHTML.
About the author
Matt Stow is a web and user interface designer who specialises in designing and developing accessible, standards-compliant websites. From conception to completion, Fireworks and Dreamweaver are his most important companions. Matt is a Fireworks evangelist and can often be found championing its abilities.
