5 ms·

Front-end development is not a problem to be solved

26 points by PretzelFisch 8y ago

commandlinefan 8y ago
I can memorize different tag names and attributes, and look at how other people have used HTML & CSS to achieve beautiful designs, but I've come to the conclusion that there's an artistic sensibility in actually using them that I just don't have and will never be able to cultivate. I wish that front-end "design" wasn't such a lowly-regarded skill; I'll always be able to create rock-solid applications that are as ruthlessly efficient and reliable as possible, but they'll never be pleasant to use unless somebody who CAN produce aesthetically pleasing designs can work with me to produce a finished product.
- user68858788 8y ago
  I second the sentiment of wishing design was more valued. It's a shame, really, that the majority of engineers look down on something that is so essential to customer experience.
  - brailsafe 8y ago
    Engineers aren't the ones paying for design, it's not their praise that's to be won.
- codyb 8y ago
  Design has always been painfully slow for me as well, despite the ease with which I can implement a design handed to me. If you actually do want to get good at design I recommend just building five or ten nonfunctional web designs based on already built sites on the web. I bet you'd get better at laying out a decent site without bootstrap or anything else relatively quickly.
erik_seaberg 8y ago
I sympathize, but this is a lost cause. Javascript apps have pretty much killed the World-Wide Web of interoperable hypertext.
- AzzieElbab 8y ago
  Really? How about css and html together are a horrible mismatch when it comes to writing even a halfassed gui
  - brailsafe 8y ago
    Why?
jaredcwhite 8y ago
Hear hear! As wonderful as it is that we can build applications on top of the open web platform, we must never forget that the web's greatest strength is that is is a universal network of documents — readable by cross-platform document viewers (aka browsers). The interactivity on top of those documents is what makes the concept so unique, so powerful. No other application platform or format by any vendor can claim anything close to this. That's why we need to treasure HTML, CSS, etc. These standards enable universal understanding and sharing of web documents. I can "view source" this very Hacker News page I'm writing on, and I can see why there's a text box here and a button below that and comments below that. I can find out why the Hacker News nav bar at the top is orange, and why there's a beige background color underneath. Never, ever underestimate the importance of that. Front-end development isn't some crappy bag of hurt we need to minimize. It's a glorious exploration of all that is possible on the web.
sunstone 8y ago
It's more of chore to be avoided.

26 points by PretzelFisch 8y ago

I can memorize different tag names and attributes, and look at how other people have used HTML & CSS to achieve beautiful designs, but I've come to the conclusion that there's an artistic sensibility in actually using them that I just don't have and will never be able to cultivate. I wish that front-end "design" wasn't such a lowly-regarded skill; I'll always be able to create rock-solid applications that are as ruthlessly efficient and reliable as possible, but they'll never be pleasant to use unless somebody who CAN produce aesthetically pleasing designs can work with me to produce a finished product.

user68858788 8y ago
I second the sentiment of wishing design was more valued. It's a shame, really, that the majority of engineers look down on something that is so essential to customer experience.
- brailsafe 8y ago
  Engineers aren't the ones paying for design, it's not their praise that's to be won.
codyb 8y ago
Design has always been painfully slow for me as well, despite the ease with which I can implement a design handed to me. If you actually do want to get good at design I recommend just building five or ten nonfunctional web designs based on already built sites on the web. I bet you'd get better at laying out a decent site without bootstrap or anything else relatively quickly.

erik_seaberg 8y ago

I sympathize, but this is a lost cause. Javascript apps have pretty much killed the World-Wide Web of interoperable hypertext.

AzzieElbab 8y ago
Really? How about css and html together are a horrible mismatch when it comes to writing even a halfassed gui
- brailsafe 8y ago
  Why?

jaredcwhite 8y ago

Hear hear! As wonderful as it is that we can build applications on top of the open web platform, we must never forget that the web's greatest strength is that is is a universal network of documents — readable by cross-platform document viewers (aka browsers). The interactivity on top of those documents is what makes the concept so unique, so powerful. No other application platform or format by any vendor can claim anything close to this. That's why we need to treasure HTML, CSS, etc. These standards enable universal understanding and sharing of web documents. I can "view source" this very Hacker News page I'm writing on, and I can see why there's a text box here and a button below that and comments below that. I can find out why the Hacker News nav bar at the top is orange, and why there's a beige background color underneath. Never, ever underestimate the importance of that. Front-end development isn't some crappy bag of hurt we need to minimize. It's a glorious exploration of all that is possible on the web.

sunstone 8y ago

It's more of chore to be avoided.