
Designers are not Programmers - twampss
http://ignorethecode.net/blog/2009/03/10/designers-are-not-programmers/
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dasil003
This article is about 10 times too long for the point it is trying to make. It
could be summed up as "don't let implementation considerations quash your UX
creativity."

That's a valid consideration for sure. But as a full UX developer with a nice
bell curve of experience centered squarely over javascript and server side
programming, and extending respectively through Photoshop/Illustrator on one
side and Linux server admin on the other, I can speak from experience that
when you have hard separations between the skill sets of your team, a _lot_
gets lost in translation.

Knowing code is pretty much orthogonal to design creativity. If your goal is
to create the most stunning and innovative design possible then I think there
is some merit to the OA's thesis. However, most the time, time-to-market and
length of iteration cycles are far more important than breaking new design
ground (not to mention giving up the usability capital of tried-and-true UI
design elements).

Having a cross-disciplinary team makes it possible to start performing
usability testing and iterating rapidly even before graphic design is
finalized. 9 times out of 10 this is going to result in a better product than
trying to silo your people to force them "out of the box". If a mind-blowingly
original design is what you want, you just need more creative people, not less
cross-disciplinary ones.

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jlangenauer
As someone who's also sat on both sides of the fence, as a coder and a
designer, I think there's a fair bit of truth in what the OP is saying. I can
think of a number of times where I've restrained my UI ambitions in order to
keep code elegant, and also a number of times where I've been presented with a
UI, and been forced to implement it.

The latter case has always produced better designs, despite my whinging at the
time ("Holy fuck, does this Photoshop-jockey even realise there's a difference
between print and web design?" etc), because it forces me to produce code to
make the UI, rather than leading me to a compromise between the code and the
design.

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LukasMathis
Thank you for writing this. It's exactly the same experience I've had, and the
reason why I wrote the article.

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jchonphoenix
Doesn't the author contradict himself? He states that one should not both be a
designer and know how to code because one is detrimental to the other.

Yet, he himself must both know how to code and design (which would mean he's
not following his own advice). If not, then this article is just the ramblings
of an uninformed individual, for he would be passing judgement about an art he
has no first hand knowledge with.

~~~
LukasMathis
Yes, I am both. Which is why I've noticed that I'm often conflicted between
the two goals. I'm not sure where the contradiction lies?

The original goal of the article was to alert people who do both to this
conflict, so that they can handle it consciously. I think I overstated that
premise while writing it, which I now regret.

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markbnine
_Being able to program corrupts your ability to focus solely on the human._

Lines like this make me think the whole thing is an overworked troll. Domain
name included. I couldn't be bothered to read much more. That said, my
favorite part is from the profile:

 _my current snowboard is from Lib Tech. I live in a small cottage in a remote
part of the Swiss Alps_

sweet...

~~~
LukasMathis
Why does that line make you think my essay was supposed to be a troll? Is
there something logically or obviously wrong with that line?

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richcollins
_When you write code, your goal is to create a clean, maintainable, readable
code base. When you design the user experience, your goal is to create a
human-friendly application._

I like human friendly code as well. Design is an important consideration any
time you are making tools for other people to use.

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jeffreylo
Sure, human usability factors are important in designing applications, but Mr.
Mathis sets up a false dichotomy between design and programming. You can do
both - just recognize where you're weak and delegate responsibility where
needed.

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LukasMathis
My original goal was to help people recognize the problem, not to start some
kind of war about it. I now regret having written the whole thing in a way
which caused some controversy.

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etherael
To reduce this argument infinitely, isn't the best user experience going to be
a nice shiny button to push that says (and does) "Do what I mean".

Actually, better yet if I don't even have to push it and it just reads my mind
and reacts. Inasmuch as the above is not actually possible, thought needs to
be given to what is possible. In arriving at this conclusion haven't you just
said "You need to know how to code" in a round about fashion? Maybe you don't
need to remember all the API's, all the tags, every syntactic piece off by
heart, sure, but just forgetting about what is real and going off into a
fantasy world is not going to get you a useful result either.

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jorsh
Designers & programmers are not necessarily good writers either.

~~~
LukasMathis
English is not my first language. I apologize for my English; I do the best I
can.

