Re: The difference between designers and developers

Matt,

The discussion of "designers vs. developers" is as old as the computer
era. First of all, we need to understand that one of the key
differences is that while they should have a common goal of "build the
best product available," they each play a distinct part in that goal,
and therefore often have different goals.

A couple of key differences.

Designers concentrate on look-and-feel. A designer's goal is to create
environments and interactions that the audience has an emotional or
tactical connection to. They typically achieve this through good
interaction design, usability practices, and visual appeal. They're
often concerned with things like colour, font, screen placement, naming
conventions, etc. They're less concerned with how much code it takes to
get there.

Developers concentrate on core functionality. A developer's goals on
the other hand is to create an application that has a great deal of
functionality. A really great developer's goal is to create an
application that has a great deal of useful and desirable
functionality. They're typically less concerned about aesthetics and
more concerned about optimized code, reusable components, objects, etc.

That isn't to say that there isn't overlap. You'll find developers who
are concerned about usability. And you'll find some designers who are
concerned about optimizing the product through the use of reusable
components. But that's not typically true.

Another example to show the difference.

Designers see prototypes as something to throw away (the true meaning
of a prototype). A developer sees a prototype as part of the final
product.

How can you address this void, bridge the gap? Well, one of the best
ways is through the use of personas (actors). Personas help to drive
the conversations towards what a real user wants instead of jockeying
back and forth between designer and developer of "I think this, you
think that." The fact is, with a persona (actor), the conversation is
focused on "Alison wants this to operate in this manner. Therefore, we
need to make it work like that."

And yes, it is a distinction that should be made. At the same time,
each discipline needs to understand and appreciate the others key set
of skills and needs.

On Thursday, October 2, 2003, at 7:50 AM, Matthew Goddard wrote:

> I'm sure you've all had similar experiences, but how in the absence of
> hard
> metrics can you bridge the gulf of understanding between developers and
> designers? I suppose a further question is should you?
>
> Regards
>
> Matt Goddard

Cheers!

Todd R. Warfel
User Experience Architect
Message First | making products easier to use
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