[Sigia-l] Designers and Developers

[russ at bluechromedesign.com]

>> So we have 3 categories of workers:?
>> Designers, Developers, Engineers?
>
> If you are asking me, just two: Designers and Developers. Remember my
> whole purpose is to consolidate all this title explosion nonsense into
> two logical units, designers and implementors.
>
> So basically it's like taking the CSS approach, separating content from
> presentation, let those code who code and the others present the code
> with an appealing shell. Maybe too simple, but I agree that there almost
> should be some TITLE standards or someone should setup a list of TITLES
> and define what each role encompasses. Now that would be a project.

Now here's a point that I'd have to disagree on.  Sort of.

I've pretty much "grown up" in consulting firms and started working in
design.  Since the onset, I've worked toward enhancing my knowledge so
that I can, indeed, do some development in .php, .asp, coldfusion and CSS
and javascript.

I know a lot of developers that do not think CSS and javascript languages
are really development, but I also know a lot of designers that couldn't
javascript their way out a paper bag if Dreamweaver didn't have built in
functions.  Yet, I've worked on insane, intense apps that were all
javascript and css...

Anyway, I'm saying that there's probably a third or fourth (or fifth?) set
of definitions of "types" in there somewhere--sort of like there are IAs
and there are UI designers and sometimes UI developers.  Just because I
can translate a wireframe into a webdesign into a front end in a few
languages, including the CSS effects and styles that I'd like to see,
well, that doesn't make me a developer, but on the other hand, I feel like
I'm a bit either a) beyond or b) behind a designer since that doesn't seem
to be my core focus these days.

If you're going to be a web designer, however, it is my personal opinion
that you need to know what it takes to actually make a page "live" and you
need to know what some of the limitations of the languages and tools are,
as well as how databases can behave--or at least some degree of
understanding there, otherwise, you're really just kind of a print
designer attempting to get into web space, and that can be a nightmare for
all involved.  I certainly wouldn't expect a developer to know how to cut
up a design, build tabled or table-less containers for a design, at least
not entirely.  There's a lot of cross-over in there and a lot of room for
a lot of "types" of people (sometimes we've called them "production" but
that feels just a little less than what their true, often life-giving
roles can be).

Just saying.