Why should designers learn how to code?

There has been heated discussion about designers learning code on the web, and here is one more view about it.

Some people say that we should keep the boundaries of the traditional divide between developers who create the code and the designers that design the experience. There are heated blog posts that deny the benefits of people other than developers coding or understanding code and then there are many posts that say that we should brake this divide. At Frantic we are braking the divide. We believe that teams work better when the developers understand basics in design and vice versa. The web design process has changed radically and the people should follow. It's the nature of this industry. To illustrate this point I've put together a couple of reasons for designers, producers, managers etc. to learn to code: 

Gain understanding

It's about understanding the medium and the products you design. Once you see how the web works, the solutions designed are more realistic and translate better to the final shape and form. Steve Jobs once said in an interview: "I think everyone should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think."

Communication

Programming is a form of communication. A deeper understanding of the form and the aspects that developers use to create code helps the people around them to make better designs and projects. Being on the same page makes the teams tighter and the work more effortless.

Exploration

Once designers begin to understand code and venture out of their comfort zones, new things start to happen making it much harder to fall back into old ways of working. Some say this restricts the designer, not resulting in the best possible design, but this is not necessarily true. Good designers will relish the serendipity when trying out something new.

Control

Once you are working with the code for the product or service you gain better control over the things you have designed. It's not the developer's interpretation of your Photoshop file, it's the designer's own view and execution.

Working with new tools

Code can do a lot of things that Photoshop can. The latest evolution in CSS and browser debugging tools let the designer create the typography and visual styles without ever leaving the browser. Coding is also great for creating automated systems, making the code work for you in precise manner. One example is Joshua Davis , a designer who uses code to combine mathematical patterns with illustrations. I used ActionScript to do all the boring repetitive and boring stuff when I was using Flash back in the days. JavaScript can do lots of the same things in HTML.

Taking the first leap?

If you are daring enough and ready to learn the ways of the Force… Er… Coding, there are lots of ways to start learning: 

Books that are short and sweet:
A Book Apart collection 

Magazine tutorials:
There are some great examples in .net magazine

Videos:
Lynda
Treehouse

Self learning and projects:
CodeAcademy is the web service for anyone wanting to learn coding

Time to break the mould

Is web design stuck in a rut? Are we being as creative as we could be?

During a few days of browsing the works of others and the projects we’ve done here at Frantic, I've discovered a bigger pattern that has emerged over the years.

We tend to take the trends that shape the websites – the big intro pictures, scrollable lists, feeds and cards of content – for granted and not question them. This is one piece of proof that the web as a medium is maturing to a stable format. But stable doesn’t mean that the designs always have to follow a certain pattern. In web design, the technology has always set constraints to the design – and that is just fine. But having said that, we need to keep pushing the constraints to the limits to achieve new things. It’s the beginning of 2014, so it’s a good time to start refreshing the way we work.

Let’s be brave

Next time the site sketches start with a big featured image and continue with the patterns of familiar elements, take a step back and try to come up with a couple of different approaches and see how the alternative solutions could work. Try doing a couple of Sketchboarding sessions to get as many ideas as possible to the table. Sometimes the obvious and the familiar blind us from fresh ideas. Changing tools and methods can help bring fresh views to the design as well. The idea is not to force out something out of the ordinary just for the sake of it, but to see past the first ideas that come up and thus maybe create something new. Going with something unfamiliar takes guts – but the web is a perfect environment to test out new approaches.

Break the rules

While the bootstraps and patterns help us to come up with solutions that work, the friction caused by breaking the rules and surprising the user can result in increased social sharing or even better: bigger movements like the now famous “Konami Code”. Remember to help your clients understand the value of breaking the rules, as contrast differentiates you from the rest, draws attention and creates emotion. And emotion is the glue that keeps the users interested in your message.

Bringing back that craftsmanship

Web to me is a handcrafted world and all about the people making it a better place. There's a big difference between building on top of someone else’s work and creating something yourself. Creating new things from scratch let’s you explore much more. I like to think that it’s like playing with the smallest LEGO blocks: with them you can create anything.

So now it’s time to sketch, draw, code and design. Be inspired and find your own path to the great designs of 2014.