In the website building world, we hear a lot about the importance of web design and how essential it is to have a skilled and creative designer who produces amazing landing pages, stellar animations, fresh crisp images, etc. That may be true, but does the responsibility of creating great designs fall solely on the shoulders of just the designer?
No, it shouldn’t. In fact, everybodyis responsible for the design of a website.
Sometimes it may seem that if everybody is responsible for the design, then nobody is. But in truth, as cheesy as it may sound, everyone in a web company is working together as a team and so everybody is responsible for the outcome of a project.
In the end, the goal as a team should be to produce something great.
Don’t Isolate
In some cases, web companies have these very isolated teams, almost like silos, where there are designers who prepare the design and because it feels completed on their part, they then hand it off to developers to implement. This is actually not the kind of experience you’ll want to be implemented. Working as separate individuals will create challenges because the interaction between a designer and a developer should be a very collaborative experience with open dialogue.
Context Is Important
The idea that there is a finished, prepared design that gets implemented by the developer separately will produce a website where there’s always something missing. You’ll lose context. It’s important for developers to bring some of that context into the discussion with the designers as well. For example, when it comes to things like topography, the web is full of problems because fonts are big. So if part of design includes making your end-users download the fonts, you’re going to have to consider what happens while the fonts are downloading and what happens once the fonts do download. Do you swap in system fonts by the downloaded font? Do you wait before you do so the user has a chance not to see that jarring transition? These are all learned things that developers can help the designers with, particularly if they’re new to the platform.
You’re Only as Good as Your Team
The outcome of website design is a shared responsibility where the designer and developer are only really as good as what collectively comes out at the end.
“Even if you have the most amazing design, it may not be as realistic to implement according to the restrictions of the particular platform you’re going to implement it in.”
That amazing design may not work.
So it’s really a matter of focus. A designer won’t do as good a job as a developer just as a developer probably wouldn’t be a fantastic designer either. Because of this fact, it’s important that each team member still know enough about the work process of the other. A developer should know a bit about a designer’s tools and the designer’s language in order to be able to collaborate with them and present solutions to problems in their language. In the same way, it’s useful for a designer to know a little bit about development and what it’s like to develop a website based on a design so that they can then communicate with developers in a similar way.
Focus and Learn
Designers and developers need to adjust how and what they focus on in website design and implementation. Focusing on collaboration and not individual limitations is going to produce the greatness they both desire. It’s also important for each member to continue to learn a little bit beyond their own core job in order to work as a cohesive team.
We at Bwired thrive on teamwork and unify our focus and abilities to create amazing web design and solutions. Visit Bwired and check us out.
About Bwired Technologies
Celebrating its 10th year, Bwired Technologies empowers digital leaders by creating competitive advantage through the design and development of robust web, mobile, and digital solutions. The company’s Rhyno Cloud™ also integrates high-speed hosting, cybersecurity, maintenance and support into one fully-managed solution. Visit Bwired.ca
About Dan Duran
At the dynamic cross-section of Digital Technology, you’ll find Dan. An experienced technology strategist with a strong understanding of business and agile software management. Dan founded Bwired in 2009. He holds an iMBA degree from the University of Illinois, a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a Software Product Management Specialization from the University of Alberta.
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