The face of the matter is, tables are the most misunderstood, misused, and consistently debated tools a web designer faces on a daily basis. There are times when using a table can be a time effective, logically sound solution to help layout lots of information, and then there are elements that don’t necessarily need tables, but can be solved with a single div tag with a float statement.

This will split the good from the bad, the useful from the wasteful, and the logical from the down right confusing.

Quick & Efficient

You can save a ton of time coding out lots of information with tables. Having worked in several fast-paced design firms, it’s all about making deadlines and efficiency. While you’re skimming through css blogs looking for the best way to code a community form, your boss will be wondering why you’re taking so long to finish, when you could just simply make a table, set it to the right attributes via style-sheet, make the appropriate number of rows and columns, and voila! You’re done in under 20 minutes with minimal to no browser errors. A Table can be a quick way to solve a layout that contains multi-columned information, such as a community form and a large list of information.

Reliability & Consistency

One of the best things about tables is their consistency between all browsers, no matter how much information you place in it or what way you do it, you can count on it to look the same no matter what browser you’re using.

The Right Way To Do It

Make sure that before you use a table, type this in your style-sheet:

td {
text-align:left;
vertical-align:top;
}

What this insures is that when you place a div in a table, that the div id will be aligned at the top and left of that column. After you have that in your style sheet, say you want to make a 4 columned, 5 row chat example:

First make the table

Create the divs inside the table

Now set the border of the table to border=”0″

Make sure to properly margin your divs and you’re done in record time!

The Bad Thing About Tables

Tables are the first construction tools used to create websites since the internet opened to the public, therefore they’re looked down upon and considered outdated to most designers and developers. If you haven’t noticed, the code isn’t pretty. If you’re sharing development of a website with a fellow developer, make sure to label your tables with comment tags! And lastly, don’t use tables for the container of the actual website. The reason being is because you can accomplish that easily with CSS. Never use tables for the actual construction of your website’s layout, unless you have no other option, strictly use tables for organization of data.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, Using tables is a highly debated subject, so i want you to do just that. Tell me why I’m wrong, and why. The main purpose of this post is to help both beginners and experienced designers to consider tables every once in a while. Just because huge CSS galleries (to this day I still don’t understand) reject beautifully made websites because they contain a single table, don’t sacrifice time and convenience over an opinion.

One debate that I’ve heard time and time again has been the issue of experience over education. Recently in the office we conducted this small debate in what appeals to a company more when looking for a web / graphic designer. When getting a full time job, or a contracted gig, does the company look more at your work experience, or your amount of education?

Personally, I leaned more towards work experience because said company is not only looking for designers who have a solid portfolio history, but have that experience of working in a fast paced environment and know how to handle a crazy multi-tasking place like a design studio. I’ve worked with a lot of fresh graduates who can do really awesome work, but taking a full day or more to do so. At the end of the day you get one really awesome mock-up / logo, but 10 more take it’s place in a high traffic design studio. Not saying this comes from all fresh graduates that are interning, but I’ve seen it a lot, and unfortunately move on due to stress.

On the flip side I’ve worked with some grads who can code up full Facebook style websites in just under 3 days, which is phenomenal by all sense of the word.

The downside of having work experience but no degree is the pay. It is very hard to convince the employer to be paid at a rate ( with appropriate research ) that seems consistent and fair with the work involved. The higher the degree you have in your field, the better chance you’ll have of getting a better rate. It’s just fact. A degree also has priority when it comes to office rank. The designer who has five years or more work experience gets a good position, but the man with the Bachelors gets title of Project Manager. Not saying this is fair or un-fair by any means, it’s just fact.

So, what has the upper hand in getting hired / staying hired, the work experience and a lengthy portfolio of work history, or the degree with a solid student portfolio? This also includes freelance contracts and gigs.

Let the debate begin!

This weeks post I want to talk about following your passions as a web designer and how to get into the industry.

If you have been dreaming of the perfect job that reflects your very passions as a person, I suggest that you just try it. Not saying that you should go freelance right away by any means, but start in baby steps. Start taking a community college course on the subject, and see if you’re still interested after the class is over. If after that you still want to pursue that ambition, take as much extra time that you can to learn the subject consistently. This means taking more courses, buying a couple books and spending a few hours each night writing notes and studying, and actually trying it out! Don’t be afraid to create something for the first time, because once you do this, you’ve already completed the first step.

Here are a few steps I used to get myself in the field

When starting out in any field, surround yourselves with professionals related to that field. The reason being is so you can learn from their experience, have someone to accurately answer your questions, and more over someone to critique your work, and suggest ways that you can improve.

The key to finding any clients when you first start working on your own is identifying your niche. What sets you apart from other designers that are looking for the same target market? Once you do this, you can find others who sell to the same market, but arn’t direct competitors. Once you do this, you can start networking with other people to referral work back and forth, creating a stable stream of clients in your network. I am not a freelance, but I do receive consistent work through this method. I recommend that you go to your city’s chamber of commerce, start talking with others about what they do, and from their start networking with them. A good example of a perfect relationship with a web designer are web programmers, graphic designers, photographers, and social media marketers just to name a few. They all share the same creative market, but arn’t competing each other because their services differ.

If you have any questions on how to get your foot in the door, I would absolutely love to speak with you! Shoot me an email via my contacts page. Maybe I can even add you in my network!

Some #FF Love. Most of these people I interact with daily, so give them a follow. All are awesome!

• @fontburger
• @joshcagwin
• @aaroni268
• @openboxcreative
• @adellecharles
• @kylesteed
• @chatcreative
• @joelbeukelman
• @omgxzombies
• @Marcellpurham
• @joshroyse
• @death2themovies
• @cherub_rock123
• @lopezdesigns
• @theleggett
• @est_1911
• @motbones
• @UDontKnowJackie
• @shaken_blake
• @seotips2go

Sorry about the abrupt ending.. I almost didn’t post a V-cast today because of our room being invaded by summer bugs. But alas, here it is!

So for this post I’m just talking about how I preformed an epic fail at work, how designers should learn from their mistakes, and how to turn them into accurate designs. Basically, don’t take your critiques personally. Your company hired you so you can interpret their thoughts on a medium, so there will be misinterpretations and mistakes constantly.

You are the pen to which their thoughts are rendered.

So that’s about it for this weeks SF V-cast. Next week I’m going to interview some surprise guests, so stay tuned!