Tech Training Zen

#noexcuse – originated as a tweet by @elliotjaystocks, which he followed up on his blog.

What is it about code that we rally so strongly for or against this idea?

Meet the Panelists: What’s your origin story?

• Ethan and Ryan got into music as teens which led them to building websites for their bands/music groups. They appreciated the immediacy of the concept and execution of building their own sites, they could build something and see the results right after. Also, Geocities & web rings.
• Jenn Jukas had to choose between being a designer or developer, her boss said she was spreading herself too thin.
• Wilson Miner started out in print design/T-shirts – I had all these designs and I knew no one else would build it for me – “I downloaded the first Dreamweaver beta, but I remember the tools always falling short so I had to learn HTML.”

Pivotal similarities: love the immediacy of being able to take an idea from concept to done to sharing all by themselves, found interest in the web & design in high school, got internships, had personal projects as teens that motivated them.

Act 1: Real Web Designers

“Real web designers write code. Always have, always will.” – @zeldman

There’s a line being drawn – we stand on this side of history and you stand on the other. But what exactly is a “real web designer”? A bit like asking what’s a “real American”? It’s highly subjective and different for everyone. We’re not going to debate semantics.

How does this debate affect our collective identity? We clearly care about it and we’re defensive about the idea of “real”. It’s us vs. them and we bond around these shared values.

What makes a “real web designer”?

• Hire the one who can write – Jim Coudal, and by write, can you organize your thoughts and communicate clearly?
• Hire the one who can write code – don’t care about language or spec or technical level, but I want to know if you can think systematically and understand the form and structure that you’re designing for
• Taking a holistic approach to what you’re doing, pick up on the intangible patterns, problem solve. Do you consider yourself an artist? You may or may not. We get so tied to the tools and processes we use as we go from novice to expert.
• Ethan: Solves visual problems. Should be able to articulate solutions. It’s a culmination of all the hats we wear that makes up the nebulous cloud of “web design”. If a developer understands grids or color theory, they’re a better developer. Same thing with design – think visually, sketch in code.
• Jenn took a survey – “web designer” should go the way of “webmaster”. simple answer: “someone who makes websites” and super long answers about having a big picture understanding of your site, from front end to back end, etc all the way around.

Act 2: Tools of the Trade

Tools vs Materials – tools (software) manipulate the materials (code is our language, our paint)

It’s easy to get caught up in mastering tools, but tools will not save us. Tools can’t keep up with the web.

“the only way you truly understand a material is by making things with it.” – Jonathan Ive, Apple Sr. VP of Design

Also depends on the circumstances: in a large business, you’ll probably be more specialized, and at a small company you’ll benefit from knowing various aspects of web design. As a team, you combine your knowledge together.

“Some of the most important design decisions happen in code.” – we need to understand these crossovers, “you can’t have a beautiful design without great code.” But as our industry grows and specializes, we can’t all wear all the hats.

Designers and developers should be able to communicate and understand where the other is coming from at a basic level so you can relate and be more efficient. When you share some common skill knowledge/background, you can establish a common overlap that will make your interaction with your team easier.

Q&A:

What’t the best way to get over the fear of code?

• I learned how to code so that I could tinker – immediacy! I don’t write markup, but I tinker.
• Jump in by viewing source, using Firebug.
• Work with a developer to learn more about what they do.

How far into code should I go?

• Learn what you need to do what you want to do. That’s the best way to learn, to accomplish something, not so you can check a box or fill some competency.
• Designers: Learn usability and accessibility! That’s something designers should be thinking about and take some responsibility, like color checking in Photoshop before going to code.
• Don’t forget about the print style sheet design! Developers might otherwise have to pick up the slack after the designer hands off their design.