A lot has been made of the need for designers who can code. A quick google search for “should designers learn to code” yields 25 million results.
To be straight from the outset, I don’t completely disagree with the premise. However, I think the statement, “we need designers who can code” misrepresents the underlying issue.
As the head of a product design team, who can also write code (front and back end), I understand the value of the combined skill set. The ability to prototype, the ability to converse cross-discipline, and the ability to understand capabilities and tweak implementations. But I also know where the boundaries lie. I am not a developer and I wouldn’t want my code underlying a production application at scale.
Saying designers should code creates a sense that we should all be pushing commits to production environments. Or that design teams and development teams are somehow destined to merge into one team of superhuman, full-stack internet monsters.
Let’s get real here. Design and development (both front end and back end) are highly specialized professions. Each takes years and countless hours to master. To expect that someone is going to become an expert in more than one is foolhardy.
Here’s what we really need: designers who can design…
