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I am a total noob to the idea of web design. The internet is full of half answered, left open ended, super vague information.

I know some HTML and CSS. As for designing, I don't know where to start.

Where do I begin?

I made a list of skills needed, but I don't know if it's right.

  1. Graphic Design
  2. Adobe Suite
  3. Front-end development - HTML, CSS, Javascript, Bootstrap
  4. UX/UI

What first?

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Always start with needs. Get yourself a project to work on or manufacture one for yourself.

Then learn the skills as necessary to complete the project.

Say you want to start off with a brochure website for a company. Something somewhat simple. You'd probably start by doing graphic design / UX design all at once whether its in a software application or on a white board or piece of paper.

You'd probably then start with empty markup. Then you'll want to start implementing CSS to style it to match your sketches.

Then you decide this element would be better with some interactivity, guess its time to learn Javascript.

Finally you refine, test, criticize and get others to criticize. Then you refine, refine, refine. Now you're working in UX.

As for things like Bootstrap, you kinda have to make a decision like that during the initial stages. Do you want to follow some existing framework / template? Then start your sketches based on that framework and concept. Still do you sketches but then you'd want to start the markup and css taking the framework into account.

And this is really the case for any career / skillset not just web design. Anything you're trying to learn is best done incrementally on a needs basis. The hard part is pushing your concepts to include needs you might not already know how to implement.

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  • Thanks for the suggestion. Seems like the most logical way to approach it. Design seems like a easy career to have all the technical expertise, but actually not have any skill. I'll have to think of a project. Give a suggestion if you have one.
    – Jan
    Oct 31, 2016 at 18:42
  • @Jan see my answer here to shed some light on that: graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/70510/…
    – Ryan
    Oct 31, 2016 at 18:45
  • Very well said Photoshop Wizard
    – Jan
    Oct 31, 2016 at 19:53
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    Excellent answer, and I agree on the Bootstrap point because in my own personal experience I found that I was chopping and changing it more than implementing it. Bootstrap quickly became a hindrance.
    – Bagseye
    Nov 1, 2016 at 9:00
  • Well I'll find out when I get to that point. Thanks
    – Jan
    Nov 1, 2016 at 16:41

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