Designer v Developer: FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Sadly, this is often what happens when the personalities of graphic designers and web developers clash however it doesn’t need to be this way. When designers and developers work together to complete a project, they are both focused on achieving the best possible end result but they often clash on different aspects of the project. So who should be in charge? Who is more important? Many people have a definitive answer to that and that answer usually depends on who is being asked. In truth, the designer and the developer are equally important to a project and both have ideas, opinions, and insights that contribute to the overall success. How are these two types of professionals different and how can they learn to work through their differences? First, it is important to understand what drives each individual in his or her business.
Graphic Designers
Designers are often more focused on making projects visually attractive and appealing to potential customers. They complete projects with an artistic mindset and are always striving to create the most aesthetically pleasing combination of colour, fonts, and graphic elements. They love to play around with various styles, always looking for the next great trend in design.
Web Developers
Developers, on the other hand, have goals that are centred on functionality and accessibility for viewers. Their thinking tends to be more functional and technical, focusing on what will make the project the most efficient and easy to understand. They are masters of code and are subject to the limitations it imposes. Their work often takes longer to complete, which can frustrate designers they work with.
The Friction
Many of the issues that cause friction between designers and developers include incompatibility of formats. Often, designers work predominately with Illustrator and Photoshop so they prefer to send projects to developers in those formats. Developers, in turn, can be frustrated when they receive an object that consists of multiple unnamed layers that are complicated to transform into code. Alternatively, developers may send components to designers in html or css and, since many designers are not well versed in script, this only causes further problems.
Considering that both the graphic designer and the developer are professionals who are highly knowledgeable in their respective fields, communication can become a bit tense. When the designer tries to tell the developer how he or she could do something better, or vice versa, the conversation is likely to end with some variation of “I don’t need you to tell me how to do my job.” So who should be in charge? Who is more important to the project? The answer is that both providers are equally important and must share in the decision-making and responsibility for each project.
Both professionals have their own specific area of expertise and the skills of both are important to the success of the finished project. Designers and developers are much like peanut butter and jelly. Either is great on its own, but it takes a combination of the two to create a masterpiece. The best way to solve problems between designers and developers is for them to understand the thinking and issues of the other. Instead of becoming frustrated by format issues and other problems, both professionals must focus on collaboration and improved communication. Only then can they work together to reach a common goal.
