11 Jun Should UX Designers Learn to Code?
By equipping yourself with a solid foundation in coding, you’ll be ready to bring your design expertise into your dream job in the tech field. Python is one of the most easy-to-use and versatile programming languages. Python is often used to power search engines, content management systems, predictive algorithms and more. Even researchers and scientists sometimes use Python for their work. Like JavaScript, there are libraries for Python for nearly every situation.
Add that much needed flexibility and versatility to your arsenal of success and vault yourself into legendary status. At its heart, coding is a tool that benefits every designer in bringing their ideas to life. Careers in the tech industry offer schedule and location flexibility, competitive salaries, and a leg up on that always elusive work/life balance.
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This includes animating images, automating functions and enabling interactive components. These are essentially blocks of pre-written code that developers can use as templates. From CSS to Python, we’ve compiled a list of the most common programming languages used by developers. With some fundamental frontend skills under your belt, you can start to design for the developer as well as for your users. Even if you don’t get hands-on with code in your day-to-day work, you can design with the knowledge of how your vision will be implemented. Great designers are masters of empathy—and not just for the people who are or will eventually use the products they design.
The first reason why designers should learn to code is unsuspecting. User Experience (UX) Design is one tech career path that seems to be more about creative vision than computer science. In its quest to provide end users with the most positive interactions possible, UX Design draws on everything from visual design to ergonomics to human psychology.
The Importance of Understanding Development Languages for UX/UI Designers
We, UX Designers, love to ideate and think outside of the box in order to solve the problem at hand. However, many times we focus too much on the innovative idea, and less on the feasibility. More often than not, this is due to our lack of understanding of the time and effort it takes to build out these ideas. However, by understanding basic HTML and CSS it opens up this conversation.
If this sounds like you, there’s no reason not to leverage your passion to become a hybrid with a job title like UX Engineer or UI developer. And design has finally won a seat at the proverbial table. Learn the full UX process, from research to design to prototyping. Get the best UX insights and career advice direct to your inbox each month.
Understanding Code and How to Code Is Understanding Pixels
To expand, designers who code can make realistic demands, make simple changes to hand-coded prototypes, and even hand-code prototypes without having to ask developers for help. An organization may choose to cut costs through lean methodology or be forced into it due to monetary constraints. In either case, course ux ui design lean companies prefer to hire team members who are equipped with multiple proficiencies. To achieve this, UX designers conduct user interviews, contextual inquiries, ethnographic studies, competitive analysis, and rigorous user testing. Thus, a UX designer needs to be skilled in various types of research.
We’re told that we need to walk in the user’s shoes to create a successful product. However, there are other design constraints to consider, such as SEO, performance, technical limitations, and figuring out how your product will make money. Unicorns and unicorn memes seem to be everywhere at the moment. A “unicorn” is a term in tech hiring describing a person who is both a developer AND a designer. But there doesn’t need to be anything mythical about this creature.
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As John Maeda predicts, if designers want to survive in the future, they’ll have to learn how to write code. With an influx of job titles, such as UX Engineer and UX Developer popping up, the demand for this type of role is obvious. Companies would like to close the designer/developer gap. You can take steps right now to make the myth a reality and position yourself as irresistible to employers. While you’re reading this, tech employers are on the lookout for designers who can code.
- However, it’s still to their advantage to develop an understanding and appreciation for what Developers do.
- CSS, which stands for Cascading Style Sheets, describes how HTML elements should be displayed on the screen.
- Understanding code has really helped with thinking about dynamic user interactions.
- That journey includes different touchpoints – from the legal terms of use to the pricing model, from microcopy to illustrations and images, and from customer care to the code behind products.
- In its quest to provide end users with the most positive interactions possible, UX Design draws on everything from visual design to ergonomics to human psychology.
- This led to the need for a more holistic approach towards the user’s experience.
It is faster and easier for a software developer, who primarily works with code, to adapt and learn about new technologies. The designer can spend her time on design-related activities (understand users and their challenges and identify solutions) and not worry about the newest technology. Even if you don’t want to become an expert coder, basic HTML and CSS skills are valuable to all UX/UI designers. This basic knowledge helps to establish a “shared understanding” with developers. That is, the designers understand the developer’s perspective, allowing them to collaborate on a deeper level.
Tunnel Vision
What happens when the marketplace is full of designers that can write code? Historically, companies have struggled to find people to fill this void. With UX Design being a relatively new field, combined with the fact that technology changes so rapidly, it was nearly impossible for anyone to learn both of these skills 10 years ago. We’ve used the term “unicorn” to describe such people because they were practically non-existent. Different employers will have varying expectations when it comes to skill sets for UX designers. Regardless of the specific employer, a working knowledge of coding will always be a benefit to you.
I like how you re-framed the question and made it more applicable to UX designers wanting to improve their craft. When re-framed from a different perspective, it helps to better understand what we are really needing to know. One of the most common questions I have been receiving lately has been “Should I learn to code? This would imply that it’s actually a bigger issue than designers simply writing code. To have a more holistic view of a product, a designer needs to understand the business and marketing side of things too. Here are 4 reasons why designers should learn to write code.
They’ll provide feedback, support, and advice as you build your new career. Enables personalizing ads based on user data and interactions, allowing for more relevant advertising experiences across Google services. Similarly, an architect who creates the blueprint of an office space is aware of how her designs will be built.
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