Re: FLASH: What drives the process- great design or great code?

[Dorian Nisinson]

    In an evolving field, like web design, the boundaries between areas of

expertise can get pretty blurry. Anyone who lived through the desktop

publishing industry's drastic changes over the last 15 years or so can see

the similarities. The job descriptions of designers and printing technical

experts began to merge in the middle just as is occurring in web design.

Between these two areas there was and is a certain tension very much like

what web designers and coders feel now. This constant jockeying for the

position (who is the most important partner in the relationship) is the same

stress that can be seen in web design. The stress is unavoidable and not

necessarily a bad thing as long as there are no clear winners or losers.


    In point of fact coders and designers need each other very much indeed.

When coders have the upper hand, you get gee whiz design where the novelty

of the trick takes precedence over clarity and ease of use for the  end

user, and the visuals can be somewhat unsophisticated at best and sophomoric

and unreadable at worst . When designers have free reign, you can get

artistically beautiful objects that can be just as unreadable and as

unusable.  Witness certain magazines of recent years where you need to have

20/10 vision to read them and the patience of a saint or a devotee to find

out where the article continues.


    What causes the most problems between the two camps is a certain

defensiveness. Each knows (if they are honest with themselves) that they

cannot really do the other's job. Both are key to the process. The old

clich�, "I don't know a thing about art, but I know what I like." can be

just as true when applied to code. "I don't know a thing about code, but I

know what I like." and both are valid.


     In order to really clarify the issues, it is important to define good

design and good code.  The following are my suggestions for the definitions.

Additions or different opinions are welcome.

Good design is:

1) ease of use

2) visual appeal that enhances and elucidates use

3) getting the users attention.  (the balance between 2 and 3 are a

challenge)

Good code is:

1) ease of use

2) transparent ( I.e.. the user should not be aware of the hard work it took

to achieve the final result)

3) getting the users attention (same balance problem)

 Coders and designers share the same goals. It is only the means that is

different. At the risk of sounding more pollyannaish than I would like,

together they can achieve their goals.


Dorian



----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Green <

tgreen17home [dot] com

>

To: Flash <

flasherchinwag [dot] com

>

Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 9:20 PM

Subject: FLASH: What drives the process- great design or great code?





>

> My question: , " Is there a point where collaboration between the coders

> and the designers will find equilibrium or are we heading for a business

> where the code drives the design?"

>




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