Concept
Web Design
Design
Technology & AI
Digital CultureWhat is web design and how does it relate to UX design?
Web design is the planning and visual creation of websites: their layout, navigation, typography and images. The Agency editorial treats it as the ancestor of UX design: before the term was popularized, UX designers were known as web designers and designed websites and interfaces directly on Photoshop.
In short
Web design appeared with the World Wide Web in the 1990s, when pages began to be designed and not only coded. Design.3 pairs it with UX design in the title of a section and describes a lineage. Web designers came first and worked on Photoshop; UX designers took over the name as digital experiences grew; and web creators, a title the article says was coined by Elementor, are now the intermediaries of what was once known as web designers and developers.
Key facts
- What does the article say web designers were?
- What UX designers were known as before the term was popularized. They were responsible for designing websites and interfaces directly on Photoshop.
- What tool replaced Photoshop for this work, according to the article?
- Figma, which the article calls the main tool nowadays to craft apps, websites and many other deliverable formats.
- How do web creators relate to web designers?
- The article describes web creators as the intermediaries of what was once known as web designers and developers: they understand how to design for the web and also how to implement websites.
What is web design?
Web design is the discipline of designing websites, deciding how pages are structured, how visitors move through them and how they look on different screens. It emerged in the 1990s with the growth of the World Wide Web. As websites turned into applications and services, much of its territory came to be described with newer names, such as user experience design and user interface design.
How does web design appear in the Agency editorial?
Design.3 mentions web designers twice. In the bonus on web creators, they are half of what the new title replaces: web creators are the intermediaries of what was once known as web designers and developers. In the final section, titled UX Design / Web Design, the author explains that UX designers were known as web designers before the term was popularized.
The passage is also a small history of tools. Web designers designed websites and interfaces directly on Photoshop, which wasn't the best tool for the job but managed to deliver what was needed; nowadays, the article says, the main tool is Figma.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.
Also from these editions: concepts
Also from these editions: terms
Related terms
- wireframenoun
- A skeletal visual guide that outlines the basic structure, hierarchy, and functionality of a user interface.
Related concepts
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- Web CreatorA web creator is a professional who both designs and builds websites, joining skills that used to belong to web designers and to developers. The Agency editorial lists…