So my career has progressed starting at graphic design, getting into web design in 99/00 and then after getting tired of having to update pages individually got into application server languages (coldfusion and recently ruby/rails).
Is this a fairly uncommon practice for most designers? I’m leaving a company and while yes i’ve gained friends and they’re sad to see me go…*they’re also concerned that they won’t find a replacement that does all that I do.
I personally feel that web design is just a part of being a designer today (yeah, yeah…*i know about the whole print only or web only argument) but i would think that eventually designers would be curious and start to dip their toes in app server languages.
IS this uncommon to play both sides of the fence?
I guess when I say designer I mean front end only, so (x)html, css, a js framework. No REAL logic being written.
bluedreamer, I hope you’re wrong about being hard to replace. If they can’t find someone with comparable skills… it’s almost like I’ve been completely wasting my time these past 4 years as it’s probably going to go down the drain. 
I mean, I just was copied on an email where they’re thinking about choosing VERDANA as the corporate font! UGH.
I started off in software development and moved to the web, so my journey has been the total opposite of yours 
PS: I agree designers should know some basic code, but diluting your knowledge too much makes you less able to carry out your job to the best extent possible.
There are many types of “designer”
- web designer
- graphic deisgner
- interface designer
…to name a few “web” ones. You could even argue that a programmer is a sort of designer, that they design code and databases to power dynamic sites.
Most “designers” who work with web sites probably specialise in one key area and have varying skills in the others. Some people excel at everything but they are pretty rare.
By the sound of it you have a good skillset that your company is going to find hard to replace.