What it Feels Like to be a Teenager in the Web Design Industry
A lot of respected designers out there happen to be adults. And to an adult, this sounds fine. What about to a teen? A teen that wants to take the industry by storm? This sounds like a goal.
My name is Nicole Dominguez, and I am a sixteen year old with a passion for Web Design. For the past three years I have been teaching myself the in and outs of creating websites, and I run a this blog helping teens like me learn as well. From personal experience, I’m telling you that it isn’t easy competing with people twice your age. So, what is age really? How important of a factor is it?
Sometimes, age plays a huge role in being respected by other designers, but sometimes it earns you cool points by knowing so much at a young age. Age can mean many things to a designer.
Think college. If I wanted a formal education in Web Design, I could go to college, and as a teen, there aren’t many ways to make that happen without waiting for it. But, I could also teach myself. What’s the difference between going to college to learn about Web Design or teaching myself? Its the egotistical pride with saying that you have the degree of course. It’s knowing that I have accomplished a goal.
Design of all sorts isn’t something to be taught, it’s something to be mastered, and sometimes a teacher can’t do that for you. A teacher can’t instill that passion; they can only help you master tools and concepts. After all, Photoshop is only a tool. I can honestly say, that in the two years of taking design classes in high school, I ended up schooling my teachers on a few techniques – anything I learned was a ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ for what I had known already. I’m deciding to take the formal education route, and go for the gold – because, well, I want to succeed. I want to be taken seriously.
I’m planning to attend the University of Central Florida and earning myself a degree in Digital Media with a Web Design specialization. Yes – a degree is only paper. It only shows that I had what it takes to do it all. But you know what else it means? It means that I get a chance to be taken seriously as a designer. Wait, this isn’t about me.
There are quite a few teens like myself fighting the same battles; being underestimated, laughed at, not taken seriously, not having the privilege of being able to do things adults can. Yet – they gain from their experiences in dealing with clients and creating their own projects. For instance, take a look at the team at 9Miles Media. 9Miles is a team of teens trying to do what they love, design, program, and collaborate. I used to be a part of 9Miles, until there just wasn’t enough time for me to be an active member. Just one of the trials and tribulations of being a teen in this industry, not enough time.
Sometimes it feels like I make a difference out there – inspiring others, being able to help; but sometimes it feels like there’s no hope in the world if I have to wait years to be where I want to be. No matter how long it takes, I am going to get there. My name will be in lights, (well monitors at least) and nothing is going to stop me. And that folks is the advice I have to give to all you young designers out there – don’t stop trying to reach your goal, even if it feels hundreds of thousands of miles away.
Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to let us hear your thoughts. Are you a teen designer? Are you an adult with an opinion about this? Let us hear it!
You’re not above a college education. Your high school design teachers sucked or the curriculum sucked. A real design teacher would open your eyes as to how crappy the current web design trends are.
It’s good to find a blog for teenage web designers. I started freelancing when I was 16 and I felt so alone.
Nonetheless, being a teenager in web design is no different from being an adult in web design. We have no bills to pay most of the time, but we still learn the same skills that adults in web design do.
Thanks for your comments guys.
Sometimes I feel that there are somethings that I can’t do because I’m not old enough But other times things are perfectly fine for me. For example, its obviously harder for me to attend design conferences
@Nicole: Attending design conferences is hard for me as well, but that is due to location. I live in New York, but it’s more upstate, so NYC is out of the question.
I believe age shouldn’t be a restriction. I took my first step in saying “screw you” to my age and bought a high-quality women’s business suit jacket. I showed up with it one time for a client meeting and she was very impressed with my appearance (this was a client that I have worked with several times).
@Joe: High school web design teachers do suck. I knew more than mine. She even asked me to make her a website.
However, I wouldn’t say all the current trends are crappy. I think the minimalistic trend is probably the best because it de-clutters websites. Minimalistic websites encourage User Experience (UX) and encourage web designers to think more about the content, which is a good thing.
Nicole, it’s interesting to get your perspective on being a teen within the design industry, trying to make a name for yourself.
Luckily, it seems that the industry is moving away from design degrees being assumed when applying for an entry level position, and instead many companies are looking for a stellar portfolio and great communication skills.
It’s hard to say where things will go from here, but it’s certainly a fun ride!
@Nicole Foster
Not all trends are bad, I agree. However, most web designers implement a web design trend just because they’ve seen it elsewhere, not necessarily because the trend provides an adequate solution to a client’s needs. Minimalism for minimalism’s sake also does not solve a clients need. I do SEO, so I know the importance of content, but I also work with a professional graphic designer and have learned that presentation of content gives the content authority in the minds of the audience. Content, design, and functionality have equal importance. If you find yourself compromising one of the three on a website, you’re simply not doing it right.
@Ben,
College isn’t about the degree. It’s about immersing yourself in different ideas and bringing them to your field. Of course you can apply for entry level jobs without a degree, but if you haven’t thoroughly exposed yourself to any new ideas, what are you going to contribute to your industry as a whole? This goes beyond just “getting the job” and “making the money.” It’s about making the web better.
@Joe: I have to agree. Most web designers only focus on design and nothing more. It’s very sad. All web designers need to learn these three things: basic SEO, basic UX and how to research users. Those three things will make your websites better and will make your clients happier.
I’m a teen, and I love designing. I’m obviously still learning though, so I’m not gonna go ahead and go freelance. I don’t consider myself a professional, so I’m not going to act like I’m some sort of professional.
For now, I’m just learning by myself, getting experience by doing my friends favors, without the pressure of working as a freelancer. I’m a teenager, so I’m going to act like a teenager; I’m not going to waste my high school life trying to be like an adult.
That’s just my opinion though. If you want to go freelance or something, go ahead, but I guess I’d just rather not force myself to grow up if I don’t need to.
A similar thing happened to me. I took classes in Multimedia & Graphic Design in middle school and this year, but to be perfectly honest, it’s been me teaching my teachers.