Print designer vs Web designer Dec 18th '09

You would think that a print designer would be able to handle any form of web design and likewise a web designer would be able to come up with a stunning business card design. This may be true but to get the best results you need to have a different designer for your print and web work.

There are many elements of the design industry which are relevant to both the print and web mediums. Colour schemes, typography and layout all make a good design, however there are some major differences which must be taken into account when designing for the web.

1. Typography

Designing for the web involves understanding which fonts are web safe and which aren’t. Chris has wrote an article on exactly this so I will leave him to explain about the history of web fonts. In a nutshell the Web has a very limited set of possible fonts whereas print designers can use any they like.

2. Colours

In a similar way to fonts above, there are a set of colours which are deemed “Web safe” which will display approximately the same across multiple platforms and browsers. To achieve a consistent design to all users these “Web safe” colours should be used—though this is becoming less of an issue with modern monitors.

One further note to make on colours is that print designers are in the CMYK world, which certainly shouldn’t be used for Web design. Likewise RGB is for the Web world and shouldn’t be used for print. So it might be a good idea to swap that hot pink out for one which won’t burn your users eyes out, but more importantly be viewable by all your users.

3. Resolution

One of the major issues we have with dealing with designs created by print designers is the resolution. The Web is a 72 pixels per inch (PPI) world. With print design the pixels per inch is set by the designer, usually around 300 dots per inch (DPI).

In a similar vein websites need to be designed for a myriad of browsers: some old and some new, some support certain functions whereas others don’t. When designing sites we generally build them at a resolution of 960 pixels wide. This allows the site to be viewed in the vast majority of monitor sizes without compromising the design or content. Print designers can design their work using whatever dimensions they wish whilst having the luxury of knowing people will see every last square inch.

Final thought…

This post isn’t about criticising Web or print designers, it’s about making people aware that there are vast differences between the two. If you found this article useful there is a post on Smashing Magazine which goes into more detail about each section which is titled ‘Switch from print to web: Where to start?’. To achieve the best results it is a good idea to choose a designer who is best suited to the job in hand, whether it be for a new website or for a new brochure design.

Written by Oliver Culverhouse

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