Why Designers Need to Code, and Coders Don’t Need to Design.
I got a trolled yesterday, about something I said in Nine Nasty UX Truths:
The troll took offense specifically about the unfairness that designers should learn to code, but that coders don’t have to learn design. One shouldn’t reply to trolls, but I’ve sometimes heard the same complaint from good people, and although I completely understand how daunting and scary learning code can be, I’m very adamant that it’s important, and that it’s not at all a double standard. Here’s why.
I’ve been coding since I was eight years old, and designing since I was thirteen. I care deeply about both disciplines, but I call myself a designer, not a coder. And here is why:
Singers should play guitar
I once heard a music teacher explain why singers should learn to play the guitar: “Because if you don’t know how to play, every time you want to sing, you’ll be at the mercy of some asshole guitar player.”
I’m sure it works the other way as well… but I know this: You’re not going to be a very effective UX designer if you’re not interested in how your ideas become reality… or fail to.
