why designers should learn how to code
DESCRIPTION
A talk for Figtalks, an event held by Figtree London for Digital Shoreditch, about why designers should stop complaining about coding and just do it.TRANSCRIPT
Why designers should learn how to code
Rik Lomas, Lomalogue Ltd. @riklomas
How the design and development process worked 5 years ago
Design Development
How the process is becoming
Design Development
How should the process be?
Design Development
!e best product companies mix design and engineering
e.g. Apple, Audi, Dyson, Eames, Herman Miller, Ikea, Leica, Lego, Monocle, Penguin Books, Vivienne Westwood, Zaha Hadid
Design Product
Design Product
Cra"smanship.
Understanding code means you will understand the medium and the cra".
“Web design is product design. Drawing a picture of the product is not designing the product.
Web design is experience design. If you stop at the PSD you've stopped well before midpoint in the design.”
# Andy Rutledge
You need to know HTML and CSS to be a designer at Facebook
You need to know HTML and CSS to be a designer at Facebook and Google
You need to know HTML and CSS to be a designer at Facebook and Google and Apple
You need to know HTML and CSS to be a designer at Facebook and Google and Apple and Instagram
“Ability to modify and construct solid HTML and CSS is a BIG plus. [...] You'll be the one moving your designs from Photoshop to code. You should be very comfortable with HTML & CSS or be willing to learn them quickly.
Exceptional candidates will have a fundamental understanding of Javascript and Python.”
# Instagram’s designer job advert
“But learning code is hard...”
“I take great pleasure in talking to developers about jQuery, HTML5 and other such dev terms, completely oblivious to their meaning.”
# Tweet from designer
“If you don’t want to learn code, don’t do digital design.”
# My reply
Are you smarter than a 10 year old?
www.codeclub.org.ukwww.raspberrypi.org
What is there to lose?
Onlineteamtreehouse.comcodecademy.comdesignthencode.comlearncodethehardway.org
IRLlondon.generalassemb.ly
HTML, Javascript, iOS
Javascript, web fundamentals
iOS, Mac
Ruby, Python, SQL
Pre!y much everything digital
Best way to learn?
Best way to learn?Do it yourself.
You will be frustrated.
You will be frustrated.You will solve your own problems.
You will be frustrated.You will solve your own problems.You will learn to be self-reliant.
You will be frustrated.You will solve your own problems.You will learn to be self-reliant.You will be be$er at design.
You will be frustrated.You will solve your own problems.You will learn to be self-reliant.You will be be$er at design.You will be be$er at your cra".
!anks!
Rik Lomas, Lomalogue Ltd. @riklomas