I admit it, I’m not much of a designer while writing this post.
However, when it comes to delivering a project on time, I rather use Photoshop editing myself, than asking the web designer for help about every little thing.

Here’s why:

Effective websites are designed with effective coding in mind

Web designers, who also code their own design, have the potential to be better designers in many ways. Here are a few reasons: more scalable SEO, better usability and higher site loading speed.

There are still many web designers though, who don’t practice HTML and CSS.
Therefore, it happens quite often to me, that I receive an already made web design that requires some fine tuning before I can slice and code it, that it will become an effective website (and not just a pretty one).

Having things just the way you want them

If the web designer works directly with the client (and not with me), I would not get in the way. I would then expect to receive a final PSD for me to slice and dice; but even then, if I think the design requires some modifications before I code it, I know that by handling these tasks myself, I will get things done faster and in the exact way I want them.

The reason is not that I’m afraid to bother the designer with more work; In fact, it would be perfectly legitimate to ask them to change an image background color, or to make menu buttons a bit smaller.

However, the time consumed by explaining your exact needs, and waiting until you receive the desired result right on the pixel, can be saved if you have the skills to get it done in only a few minutes.

web designer with Photoshop skills

There is no web designer

Well, I don’t mean it literally. What I mean is that the web designer is not available for you because:

  1. Your job is to modify a live website that was designed by someone hired by the client a while ago, and this person is no longer available for your requests.
  2. The client wants a website based on a template they found on the web.

In both cases, you would not want to get caught with simple tasks such as, adjusting the company logo to the template or making RSS icon’s background transparent and save it as PNG.

Improving communication between you and the designer

When learning Photoshop, you get familiar with one of the main tools web designers use.
This knowledge can become really handy if you work with web designers on a daily basis like I do, because it helps you to better know what you need from the designer and which questions you should ask.

Like in every field, broadening your mind to a wider scope provides more power and flexibility.
In time, you start having a better eye for good designs over bad ones, beyond the very obvious.
You begin to notice things such as, site wide consistency in sizes, shapes and alignments, and even more subtle nuances.

Summary

Like most well built applications, Photoshop can be learned by trial and error and good web resources.
There are plenty of good tutorials out there and websites dedicated to teaching Photoshop like this one.

At the end of the day learning Photoshop can be worth your while. I mean, who knows? Maybe you’ll decide you want to start designing websites in the future?

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