Do most ASP.NET positions require a decent amount of artistic ability?

[Bob Maxie]

Hey all,

I've played about with ASP.NET for a couple of years and was hoping to
start going 'pro' soon. I've also have been employed as a software
developer doing primarily C++ for several years.

It seems as if the 'core programming' and classic 'web development'
worlds have collided when it comes to ASP.NET. Is the ability to
develop professional looking websites usually a requirement for ASP.NET
positions (I'm not talking presentation/business logic, but graphical
design and GUI usability/aesthetics)? I think I could handle the core
development portion of it (C#/ADO.NET/ETC) but I really suck when it
comes to artistic ability. Do most ASP.NET positions require a decent
amount of artistic skill or do most places understand that coding and
web design skills are somewhat independent? Thanks

 

[Shawn Wildermuth]

Hello Bob,

Not usually. In decent sized teams (more than 5 people), usually the art
people are separate. In smaller settings, art does become an issue...but
those aren't places I want to work. GL with your search...

Thanks,
Shawn Wildermuth
Speaker, Author and C# MVP

 

[Robbe Morris [C# MVP]]

Nope. But, you do need to have a sense of what user friendly
user interfaces should be to help your "artsy" people have a
good feel for what the various controls can do and what
are the best ways to implement them.

 

[Steve C. Orr [MVP, MCSD]]

No, web sites that consider an attractive design to be a top priority
usually have graphic design artists that do all the fancy Photoshop work.
Then us programmers just translate their artistic vision into code.

 

[Mark Rae]

No, web sites that consider an attractive design to be a top priority
usually have graphic design artists that do all the fancy Photoshop work.
Then us programmers just translate their artistic vision into code.

That's also my experience. The vast majority of my work tends to be
intranets for corporate clients who already have a public Internet site in
place and a very clear "house style". More often than not, I get a very
detailed functional and technical spec about what they want on the intranet,
but when it comes to the look and feel, they're generally happy for me to
reuse whatever I can from their public website and adapt it to fit around
business applications.

I'm the first to admit I'm no graphic designer, so where the above isn't the
case, depending on budget, I sub-contract the GUI design to a friend of mine
who specialises in this area. She then meets with the client, gives them a
few choices and, when they've made up their mind, sends me the images,
stylesheet(s) and a sample HTML page which she's mocked up in FrontPage, and
I'm pretty much good to go from there.

On the very odd occasion when a client has aked for Macromedia Flash to be
used, I also sub-contract that work to another friend, as I have no Flash
skills nor much interest in acquiring any...

 

[Bob Maxie]

Just want to thank all of you for your responses. As I was reading, I
was breathing a big sigh of relief

Bob