THE LEARNING STUDIO

Can I Do That? Yes, You Can Become a Web (UX/UI) Designer.

(I wrote this white paper originally for my department’s recruitment use when I was teaching design at SMU.)

(Cover of White Paper)

[Web] founder Berners-Lee recently said: “If we end up building all the things I can imagine, we’ll have failed.” We cannot know where the imagination will take us.

The Web Today

In the 32¹ or so years since its inception by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the web has evolved to be more than merely a linkable publishing hub or suite of online storefronts. Today, in what is considered its 3rd iteration (Web 3.0) with its use of artificial intelligence and semantics [in part via Content Management Systems (CMS) and search engines], it’s now a smart web — a kind of personal assistant to make life more efficient and better, one that predicts content a user wants and how they want to see it. Arguably, this new web is what it is because it combines semantics, artificially intelligent algorithms, its virtual nature, and, of course, being an ever-present experience thanks to mobile and wearable technology, as well as augmented and virtual reality.

Define the Difference:
THE INTERNET is a system of interconnected networks that use the TCP/IP protocol to link billions of devices worldwide. It developed out from independent efforts in the late 1950’s through early 1970’s by DARPA in the U.S., the NPL in the U.K. and the French network CYCLADES.
THE WEB uses or operates over the internet; it is an information space where documents and other online resources are identified by URIs/URLs connected by hypertext links. Sir Tim Berners-Lee is sited as the founder of the Web. He remains president of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3), which is a global standards organization for Web technology.

The IoT and the Industrial Web

As these technologies continue to emerge, the web takes its next evolutionary step into the Internet of Things (IoT). Smart devices, using technologies that allow both wireless and wired systems…