Repost from the old blog from June of 2008:
Stephanie Sullivan just posted a great article on the Community MX blog about the discussion floating around in the blogosphere (primarily 37 signals) about the need for designers to become developers and developers to become designers.
I humbly ask...why can't we all just get along??
This is my reply that won't post to the Community MX website:
I agree with pretty much everything Stephanie says here. (and yes, I too am late to the D vs. D blog boat)
There's a good reason everybody's talking about this. It's a risk area for every web or interactive project, and reconciling the differences between the creative and technical project team can seem insurmountable in many circumstances.
In my estimation, as with many things on a project, success hinges upon good communication. With the client, and certainly amongst those doing the work.
I spoke on the subject of Design for Developers at CFUnited last week in DC. I feel that only by enabling designers and developers with a base of common knowledge can we hope to make successful web sites and applications.
It also seems to me that we are experiencing a paradigm shift of sorts. The web presence is evolving. No longer are we working strictly on web pages that are presented in a static manner. That's fairly simple for a print designer to learn.
With the advent of the RIA (be it Flash, Flex or AJAX), we have a new breed of specialist. The User Interface/User Experience Designer/Developer.
The UI/UX designer is in high demand these days. Is this a matter of circumstance perpetuated by tools that don't quite bridge the gap? Will the UX developer go the way of the Dodo with the development of smarter tools like Dreamweaver CS4 and Adobe's Thermo project?
Only time will tell, but one constant will remain. Those that have the foundation, the skills, to bridge the gap between design and development will continue to do well for themselves.
Stephanie Sullivan just posted a great article on the Community MX blog about the discussion floating around in the blogosphere (primarily 37 signals) about the need for designers to become developers and developers to become designers.
I humbly ask...why can't we all just get along??
This is my reply that won't post to the Community MX website:
I agree with pretty much everything Stephanie says here. (and yes, I too am late to the D vs. D blog boat)
There's a good reason everybody's talking about this. It's a risk area for every web or interactive project, and reconciling the differences between the creative and technical project team can seem insurmountable in many circumstances.
In my estimation, as with many things on a project, success hinges upon good communication. With the client, and certainly amongst those doing the work.
I spoke on the subject of Design for Developers at CFUnited last week in DC. I feel that only by enabling designers and developers with a base of common knowledge can we hope to make successful web sites and applications.
It also seems to me that we are experiencing a paradigm shift of sorts. The web presence is evolving. No longer are we working strictly on web pages that are presented in a static manner. That's fairly simple for a print designer to learn.
With the advent of the RIA (be it Flash, Flex or AJAX), we have a new breed of specialist. The User Interface/User Experience Designer/Developer.
The UI/UX designer is in high demand these days. Is this a matter of circumstance perpetuated by tools that don't quite bridge the gap? Will the UX developer go the way of the Dodo with the development of smarter tools like Dreamweaver CS4 and Adobe's Thermo project?
Only time will tell, but one constant will remain. Those that have the foundation, the skills, to bridge the gap between design and development will continue to do well for themselves.
