[longisland6]

i'm the web designer for my company and i do just about everything that is web related; back-end coding, asp, graphic design, information architecture, flash design and coding, page layout and css.

with the web experience i have i think i am the best person possible capable of taking basic collateral from stakeholders (including marketing) and putting it onto the website. i have the basic styleguide so i know exactly what the company is trying to achieve, our colors, etc...; i can pretty much even write the proper copy with the proper voice.

so my question is this... what is the proper relationship between myself and the marketing department, what exactly is marketings role as far as interacting with the webmaster?

[Do Gooder]

Art Director tells you where to put things.. because (hopefully! I have met some right shite Art Directors in my time! as well as some fantastic yins) they have a keen sense of visual layout, typography etc. And will be working to keep the website in line with other mediums.

Perhaps ask (nicely now) the art director to take you through what they do. It will help your working relationship i'm sure.

[Brown]

it massively depends on the internal set-up. if a person in marketing has access to the stats on the site and know the way that people interact with a site, then yes, they can tell you what to place where. they might know that a particular ad-spot on the site gets more clicks than another, purely b'cos of its position on the page.

if you want to know why they make the decisions that they do, then simply ask them. you'll learn something i'm sure, although not its guaranteed to be what you want to learn.

also remember, it'll take more than one person to finish the internet, so don't try to do it on your own.

[longisland6]

good points all...

[Do Gooder]

It's difficult to judge from the outside.. but i can say...

Just because you do the donkey work doesn't necessarily mean you are the best judge of layout, design and typography. I think maybe you need to let go a bit.

[longisland6]

yes... must relax...

[Agricola]

As the web expert it is your job to make sure that anything the Art and Marketing people come up with that is utter bollocks is not going to see the light of day on the internet. Of course utter bollocks can look like the dogs bollocks, ( the best thing ever made) however this could seriously compromise the working and function of the website. just because something looks good doesn’t mean your customers or visitors will want it. Infact most people who browse webpages don’t really give a shit about that fancy background art that merges itself with the content in a smooth silky orgasmic way, all they want is to find the information or product they wanted in record time

If you look at many of the terrible webpages out there you will probably find they have been born hideous mutants as a result of some perverted and unnatural relationship between entities that should never have been allowed to join in first place, let alone be allowed to wonder free for all to see.

A good web graphics artist, and there is a huge difference between someone who can produce master pieces of art that hang in galleries with sales ticket of $10,000 and someone who knows their way around Photoshop and can whip up an intelligent design that enhances a webpage and doesn’t distract from the visitors primary functions and goals.

Same goes for Marketing, Marketing campaigns can be so arty farty and shit that another horror love child of unnatural proportions is born, leaving people thinking WTF or heading for the toilet to throw up. Elements of Marketing and Advertising strategies can be used and enhanced well on webpage, again its the web designers job, ie you to make sure they don’t bully you into putting all their crap all over the webpages that will result in something that will make having sex with Michael Jackson seem appealing.

At end of day everyone thinks they are right, most people haven’t a clue how webpages should function and what a good layout is, as long as they get their way and thier love child on the screen they are happy, even though shareholders and customers/clients are not. When you allow more than one department to screw you over and take over the webpage then you really are in deep shit.

The only thing the board or bosses will understand is money, so if you don’t think something will work or shouldn’t be, bring up the point that people would rather look at a sex symbol laying naked in front of them than having to eat a lump of dogs excrement, or if it has diarrhoea drink it. If you make people do the later then they will loose customers and profits, ie the hideous love child marketing and art department have forced upon you will do just that turn people away in droves.

Anyways I think you get my drift…..

[Do Gooder]

Produce master pieces of art that hang in galleries with sales ticket of $10,000?

Think you have a odd view of what an Art Director is!

[hawken]

Originally Posted by Brown

it massively depends on the internal set-up.

yes, longisland6 why not ask a human being where you work.

or would it be considered faux-par, to not know your job?

[SMILEdotCROSS]

What is an Art Director? - wiki knows

[Mik]

depends if you have the skills.
i could be wrong but somehow i dont doubt it

[Do Gooder]

Originally Posted by longisland6

yes... must relax...

good good!

having worked in some big agencies I can understand the frustration that can build up. Do your professional best and if the working relationship ain't right for you - bide your time while you look for a new job.

Don't burn any bridges if you leave - or they will be kicking you nice and hard on the way back down! .. Also I now jointly run a company with a chap who was a Senior Creative/Copywriter that I worked under as a newbie mac operater at the very start of my carreer... Keeping on the right side of folk can have it's rewards.

[R1gM]

it should be your job and you should have the knowledge or someone should within creative to know about user interactivity and what visually communicates the message and pushes the right buttons however your marketing department should have the stats to help you make revisisions etc and help you help the client to make a successful product. Unfortunately you get some marketing experts who then seem to call themseleves "brand managers" who think they have an eye for design and interfere too much. Truth is good advice can come from anywhere but I can understand a designer would get pissed at the meddling of marketing in every single visual you make.

[Do Gooder]

Originally Posted by R1gM

it should be your job and you should have the knowledge or someone should within creative to know about user interactivity and what visually communicates the message and pushes the right buttons however your marketing department should have the stats to help you make revisisions etc and help you help the client to make a successful product. Unfortunately you get some marketing experts who then seem to call themseleves "brand managers" who think they have an eye for design and interfere too much. Truth is good advice can come from anywhere but I can understand a designer would get pissed at the meddling of marketing in every single visual you make.

True. meddling 'suits' - Marketing bods, Account Handlers, Media Buyers and PR folk can be equally bad at shite 'creative' input.

[weldo]

the marketing people like to do all the talking.
they think they know whats best.

you do the work, they take the credit.

[longisland6]

good points

[SMILEdotCROSS]

Originally Posted by longisland6

well... i actually am the best judge of layout, design and typography for the web. at least at my company. and i'm professional enough to see the big picture and understand why i'm doing what i'm doing (from setting up the right datatypes in my database to creating and balancing page layout to striving for valid, accessible sites that adhere to web standards).

but part of my job also involves office politics, talking the talk, and diplomatically letting my peers and managers that i know what i'm doing and trying to bring them around to seeing my point of view. i'm past the rebellious stage of my life (for the most part) that would have me tell them to ***k off. that achieves little in the long run. i'm just looking for examples of other work flows and org chart dynamics that are effective and fair and take account of the strengths of all involved. but i think we all know how life really is..

life's good, but not fair at all...
lou reed

best advice I can think of is to act like the guy on the left :

YouTube - Howard Moon: The Spanner (Of Genres)

there soon learn your the boss

[longisland6]

"if i see a boundry i eat a boundry"...hilarious. thanks.

[vannova]

hi

Role of marketing person is to give the

1.clear picture of product.
2.target audience
3.branding



website designing delhi

[longisland6]

seems right on point vannova. thank you.