Just because you know how to do everything doesn’t mean you should.
Designing a website without knowledge of web development is like designing an airplane without a background in engineering. It won’t work.
That being said, being able to develop a website doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to design a website.
Designers and developers are 2 very different types of people, with very different philosophies but with 1 common goal: to create the best possible finished product.
“Two Cats in a Sack: Designer-Developer Discord” discusses the differences in philosophies between designers and developers, and shows how hybrids are becoming more sought after. It suggests that what we need is for designers and developers to be more alike—to merge their disciplines.
Although creating a universal philosophy of design and development could help bring the two sides closer together, the reality is that hybrid designer/developers usually fall into 1 of 2 categories:
1. There are designers who learn how to use code assist on Dreamweaver, and who use Google for developing through open source coding. This approach can provide users with a better understanding of what can and can’t be done when designing for web, but because they continue to subscribe to their original design philosophies, their development and user experience will be lacking.
2. Although it is important for designers to know something about developing and for developers to know something about designing, the overall quality of the work is usually strongest when designers and developers collaborate.
Through their collaboration, a designer and a developer can each draw on his or her area of expertise, producing work that exceeds the sum of its parts.
Having one person who can do everything isn’t always what is best for the final product. Who would you rather have as a quarterback on the field—Tim Tebow who runs and throws adequately, or Tom Brady whose specialty is passing the football?
Young people can benefit however, by becoming hybrids—by learning designing and developing in school.
A young designer, right out of college, may discover that employers usually prefer hiring people who have some experience rather than those who are just starting out.
For this reason it is important to have as many skills to offer as possible. Having multiple skills will not only benefit companies, but it will also give a new graduate the opportunity to find what he or she is best at and would enjoy doing. For young people, then, being a hybrid can benefit the company and the individual.
Hybrids are not replacements for designers and developers. Instead, they are young designers and developers.
