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Design Development

I’ve been saying this for years… Designers should design and Coders should code

Fast Company Design posted an article today titled “Designers Should Design, Coders Should Code.” It’s an awesome read and it’s something I’ve been saying since about 2004 when I finally realized that my coding skills were not evolving as fast as my design skills. I made the conscience decision on that day to stop lying to myself. I stopped trying to be something I wasn’t… a coder. I committed then and there to be the best designer I could be and let the developers of the world turn my designs into reality.

It was humbling but freeing at the same time. What I learned when I did this was that I was able to focus on solving problem and solving them in the best way possible. I no longer had to dumb down my designs to my coding skill level. This is when I feel I truly became a designer.

Over the years I’ve had many debates with people who think they are, or can find a unicorn that can both design and code. They call these people “UNICORNS” for a reason, they don’t exist! If you think you’re a unicorn, I’m 100% positive I can show you a designer that is better and more creative than you and a coder who can code circles around you.

This is still a controversial topic and one that will probably never go away. But reading the above article just re-engergizes me and give me hope that others are finally coming around to the myth of the unicorn.

Another good read about this: Why Designers Should Not Code (written by a “unicorn”)