Exams are over, dorm rooms have been cleaned out, parties have been had, and diplomas have been accepted. Spring is over, and for many recent design graduates, the beginning of summer marks more than just the start of a new season. It's time to enter the working world and begin their careers as graphic designers.

If you read web design blogs, you've likely heard of the debate between "designing in the browser" and good old-fashioned “comps”. In corner number one, we have those who believe in designing every single pixel in Photoshop (read: graphics engine of your choice). In corner number two are those who believe in eschewing Photoshop in favor of designing in the browser. But like most things in life, the best solution rarely lies in extremities. I believe the happy medium of good web design lies somewhere near the middle of the Photoshop/browser spectrum.

As a student on one voluntary night spent behind a skirted folding table—a bucket at each side half filled with ice, half filled with beer, water and soda—tending the pop-up-bar located on the second floor open area of the (then) Modis building as creative of all levels filed through awaiting Rich Roat (of house industries) to take the stage, I got my first taste of the experience to come.