Net work: the professionalization of web design

Abstract

In the decade or so since it first emerged as an area of work, web design has normalized. From its birth as an anarchic free-for-all, web design has undergone a process of standardization, resulting in recognizable job titles, core skills and an emphasis on adhering to the guidelines established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other international standards.At the same time, a great representative burden is placed on the shoulders of web designers. They are portrayed as exemplary of the future of work and of working in the new economy. Their work is emotional and affective, it is claimed. They are either creative and autonomous producers of culture for the digital economy, or victims enslaved to the mundane and low-paid, or to the insecurity of portfolio knowledge work. As Rosalind Gill stated in 2002, web designers and other new media workers are 'invoked rhetorically all the time but rarely studied' (Gill, 2002: 75).This article addresses the call made by Gill and others for more empirical studies of (new) media workers, which move away from rhetorical invocation and burdensome representation, to focus on how this group of cultural labourers feel about their work, and what work means to them. The paper focuses on a topic which is central in web designers' talk about their work -that is, the professionalization of web design. This issue has not been sufficiently acknowledged in the limited body of literature on new media work (though Christopherson, 2004 and Gill, 2007 are exceptions). Instead, this literature has focused on other issues in cultural work, such as affect, creativity, networking and risk, themes which all, in turn, map onto broader debates about the contemporary social formation. The prevalence of these issues in the literature sidelines the professionalization

The lived experience of a contemporary creative identification

“…The accounts can be seen as part of a larger feature of the participants' talk, namely, the avoidance of such work. To suggest this is not to accuse the participants of laziness: the research projects confirmed what other academics have noted, that creative workers commit long hours and great effort to their chosen specializations (Gill, 2007;Kennedy, 2010;McRobbie, 1998). Their willingness to overwork has been attributed in part to the personalized nature of creative work and creative making.…”

Gender and Creative Labour

“…One of the consequences of this pervasive work insecurity amongst cultural workers is the prevalence of second-jobbing or indeed multi-jobbing – frequently in teaching or in the hospitality industries. This is necessitated by insecurity and by low pay, as well as by the deeply entrenched culture of ‘working for free’ (eg Figiel, 2012; Hope and Figiel, 2012; Kennedy, 2010), not only in unpaid internships at the start of a career (eg Perlin, 2012) – which represent the most well-documented example – but right across working lives. The ‘privilege’ of working in a particular orchestra, theatre or media production is frequently presented as reward in its own right, and silencing mechanisms include the commonly held view that it would somehow be in ‘bad taste’ to ask about money/pay, implicitly calling into question one's commitment to the project – whether it be performance, recording, film or a new online publishing venture (Ross, 2000).…”

Internet Access by People with Intellectual Disabilities: Inequalities and Opportunities

“…Support is essential for most people with ID to engage with Internet [58]. Training and ongoing support for Internet use is typically provided by family carers and direct support staff [46].…”