Designer v Developer Death Match

July 11, 2008 By Leave a Comment

There’s been some interesting buzz going around about the role of designers and developers in the modern web development process. The demi-gods at 37Signals sparked some controversy when they posted about why they skip photoshop. Andy Rutledge posted an entry on his Design View blog about how to be an employable designer. James Bennett summed everything up nicely with his Designers and Developers: FIGHT! entry.

I’m surprised (and not at the same time) from the reaction from both designers and developers. Both want to keep their “I know something you don’t know” status while insisting that their jobs and skills are important. However, once we inject some professionalism into the debate it becomes clear why combining talents is the best scenario.

The Geek Ethos and Jock Revenge

Part of the greater geek ethos is that you’re a superior being who has used your talents to amass an amazing amount of knowledge and skill in a particular field. You step on those ignorant fools who can’t normalize a database or implement a design pattern. You have sacrificed your time and energy (and encounters with the opposite sex) to get to this level and Linus willing you will not have some pesky designer approaching your level of geekliness.

There is something about your average programmer, developer, dba and general nerd that gives them an inferiority complex where knowledge of a subject and skills in a work environment are treated like a zero sum game, “you cannot has mai skeels!”.

Study the Basics, Master Their Use

In the modern web development work flow, the best results occur when designers and developers work side by side to produce the end result. If the separation between the two is too great, there will be an obvious disconnect between the design of the finished product and the development of the finished product. Like a puzzle missing some pieces.

To achieve this melding of talents both designer and developer need to go beyond their comfort zones and learn something new from one another.

Designers

  • Learn basic HTML
  • Learn basic CSS styling and layout concepts
  • Learn how your developer’s program interacts with your design (the V in MVC)
  • Learn the basic concepts of your developer’s programming language

Developers

  • Learn the basics of information architecture, usability and visual hierarchy
  • Learn the basics of spacing, margins and padding for elements on the page
  • Learn how to use white space
  • Learn the basics of design (line, type, shape, contrast, texture etc.)

Ignoring Ego for Fun and Profit

If designers and developers can get past their own desire to be the most important person in the process and realize that their own personal short comings are what matter, the world of web development will be a better place. You will be amazed at how successful you are when you’re on the same page as your designer. It’s not enough to complain that the other person doesn’t know what you do and that they don’t respect your skills, drink your own medicine and learn what you don’t know if you want to become a better piece of the puzzle.

Filed Under: Development, Riffs Tagged With: , ,

Fostering Successful Twitter Relationships

June 18, 2008 By Leave a Comment

At a basic level, most prosperous relationships are a two-way exchange of value. If one party is neglecting the other and the balance of value gets out of whack the relationship becomes damaged and potentially fails. With this in mind I’ve been evaluating how I use twitter to interact with those who follow me and also those who I am following.

Twitter: A two way street

Twitter: A two way street

Permission and Tweet Spam

When someone chooses to follow you they are essentially saying “I find you interesting and want to hear more”. They are giving you their permission to interact with an expectation that you will continue to deliver the same type of value you were providing when they made that original decision. To make the most of this you should be mindful of what you’re providing and compare that to the noise you’re sending across the wire.

Someone to Ignore

There’s a passage in one of Seth Godin’s books where he mentions a study in which CDNow (the amazon-purchased-dot-com) ruined their customer relationships by sending them too many e-mails. At a certain frequency their once loyal customers determined that CDNow was something they could ignore.

Don’t pollute your relationships and become someone to ignore.

Filed Under: Riffs, Social Networking Tagged With: ,

Low Barriers Of Friendship on Twitter

June 13, 2008 By Leave a Comment

You don’t use twitter? You silly luddite! Okay actually I just started using it yesterday, I’ve had an account for a while but I never really understood what I was supposed to do with it. The idea that other people care what I’m doing at the moment seemed like a joke, however I’ve realized that there’s more to it than that.

That was Easy

That was Easy

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Reciprocal Friendships

You have two basic relationships on twitter, following and follower. If I find you and like you for whatever reason I can choose to follow you, I am not your follower. On the other hand, people might find you and decide that you’re interesting and want to follow you. So after a few clicks you’re suddenly “friends”.

I find it hard to not to follow someone who has decided to follow me. It feels wrong not reciprocating the love and saying “oh you? Uh sure, I’ll be interested in what you’re saying too, sounds great!”. I have 1 person that I’m following on twitter that I’ve actually met in person (we’ve known each other for a while) the rest of them are unknown entities recognizable only by their 48×48 pixel avatar.

Twitter as a Networking Tool

Since I’m not really interesting in trying to form a bunch of online relationships with various people, I’m trying to approach twitter as a method to get in touch with people in my area who are interested in the same things I’m interested in. So far I’ve found a number of local industry experts, bigwigs and people I’d like to meet and have issued that first bit of contact. I’m now on their radar, fantastic. I’ve also found out about an awesome local gathering that I’m excited to attend.

It may be simple to follow and be followed on twitter, but if I remember “quality over quantity” it’s possible that I will create some very useful online and offline relationships that can benefit both parties. So what are you waiting for? Follow me on twitter

Filed Under: Riffs, Social Networking Tagged With: ,