4 ms·

The role you described as a bridge between those two domains, how could I go about pursuing that as my career?

thenerdhead 4y ago
Lookup product management. They typically do this.
dmalik 4y ago
It's called UX engineer, Design Technologist or Design engineer depending on the company. Here is a helpful guide on the role: https://www.designbetter.co/design-engineering-handbook https://www.designbetter.co/design-engineering-handbook
Brajeshwar 4y ago
Over a decade ago, @cdixon tweeted, which has since been deleted, "Desingineer" - mythical person startups are looking for who can do UI, UX, and excellent front-and back-end coding.[1] This should be a blog post or even one of those mini pay-what-you-like eBooks sold on Gumroad. Let me try a quick and short starter for you. It is easier to teach designs to developers than vice-versa. "Design" is not what most people think -- artistic. To me, design is more about knowing the key aspects of arranging objects based on symmetry, sequences, and patterns. Once you understand these nuances of spacing objects to form a cohesive and meaningful flow of information, tackle the idea of how typography works. If you grasp these two essential items well, then others will keep flowing on their own, or you will be exploring automatically. Now, since you can dabble in the front-end, play around and apply your understanding of "design" and experiment. Learn the basics and do not start from "frameworks" such as Bootstrap, which most impatient developers start with. It is indeed OK to be using the likes of Bootstrap but know that someone else wrote that, and you too can write one. Once you are comfortable with the two worlds, it is then up to you to go deeper and specialize in being the Product UX Engineer or stay a generalist and work/lead other aspiring designers and developers. I have a friend far better than me in both design and development. He is an engineer with an additional degree in design from one of India's prestigious design institute. When we discuss things, we tend to complete one another, and can dovetail fast enough while I never fail to be amazed by his insights every time we talk. Unlike me who have moved much further to the dark-side of the Business world, he remained a deep specialist in that beautiful realm. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2011/desingineer-the-mythical-person-every-startups-are-looking-for/ https://brajeshwar.com/2011/desingineer-the-mythical-person-...
- MrWiffles 4y ago
  > "Design" is not what most people think -- artistic. Just wanted to call this out as ABSOLUTELY SPOT-ON! One additional concept I'd throw at developers is that design is not about making pretty pictures alone. Sure that's a part of it - nobody wants to use something that looks like ass - but in addition to that obvious requirement, you have to convey meaning without using words and do so with patterns, layout, and flow that people are already used to. For anyone wondering "WTF is he on about here?" check out the study of "iconography". Think of the old school Windows system tray network icon. Two screens with a "link" thingy between them that blinks. Notice how that conveys the idea of computers communicating - aka, a network? That's a fundamental, critical element of UX design. Now couple that with the need for layout, aesthetics, Gestalt theory (humans like visual symmetry), simplification of the interface for a very wide variety of audiences (elderly, Gen Z/millenials, boomers, everything in between), multiple device types, color theory (in some cultures, for example, colors have different meaning than they do in the West. In China, I've read, you wear white to funerals, not black; what other variances in color meaning may exist worldwide?), various linguistic idiosyncracies in various cultures, etc. Once you put all that stuff together in your head, it becomes much clearer that UX design is a hell of a lot more than pretty pictures. It's a research discipline, and a field worthy of respect in its own right. If the software is hella capable but a pain in the ass to use, it's worthless. Why do you think Windows is so much more popular than Linux?
  - Kaze404 4y ago
    Not to take away from your great post, but that jab at the end felt unnecessary and reductive. There are a million reasons why Windows is more popular than Linux, and while user experience is one of them in my opinion, I'd say it's not one of the most relevant. Either way, this was a very informative post. I'll be googling these terms as soon as I'm at my desk. Thank you.
    - necovek 4y ago
      I guess UX also explains why Windows is way more popular than MacOS, too. ;-)

Lookup product management. They typically do this.

It's called UX engineer, Design Technologist or Design engineer depending on the company. Here is a helpful guide on the role: https://www.designbetter.co/design-engineering-handbook https://www.designbetter.co/design-engineering-handbook

Brajeshwar 4y ago

Over a decade ago, @cdixon tweeted, which has since been deleted, "Desingineer" - mythical person startups are looking for who can do UI, UX, and excellent front-and back-end coding.[1] This should be a blog post or even one of those mini pay-what-you-like eBooks sold on Gumroad. Let me try a quick and short starter for you. It is easier to teach designs to developers than vice-versa. "Design" is not what most people think -- artistic. To me, design is more about knowing the key aspects of arranging objects based on symmetry, sequences, and patterns. Once you understand these nuances of spacing objects to form a cohesive and meaningful flow of information, tackle the idea of how typography works. If you grasp these two essential items well, then others will keep flowing on their own, or you will be exploring automatically. Now, since you can dabble in the front-end, play around and apply your understanding of "design" and experiment. Learn the basics and do not start from "frameworks" such as Bootstrap, which most impatient developers start with. It is indeed OK to be using the likes of Bootstrap but know that someone else wrote that, and you too can write one. Once you are comfortable with the two worlds, it is then up to you to go deeper and specialize in being the Product UX Engineer or stay a generalist and work/lead other aspiring designers and developers. I have a friend far better than me in both design and development. He is an engineer with an additional degree in design from one of India's prestigious design institute. When we discuss things, we tend to complete one another, and can dovetail fast enough while I never fail to be amazed by his insights every time we talk. Unlike me who have moved much further to the dark-side of the Business world, he remained a deep specialist in that beautiful realm. 1. https://brajeshwar.com/2011/desingineer-the-mythical-person-every-startups-are-looking-for/ https://brajeshwar.com/2011/desingineer-the-mythical-person-...

MrWiffles 4y ago
> "Design" is not what most people think -- artistic. Just wanted to call this out as ABSOLUTELY SPOT-ON! One additional concept I'd throw at developers is that design is not about making pretty pictures alone. Sure that's a part of it - nobody wants to use something that looks like ass - but in addition to that obvious requirement, you have to convey meaning without using words and do so with patterns, layout, and flow that people are already used to. For anyone wondering "WTF is he on about here?" check out the study of "iconography". Think of the old school Windows system tray network icon. Two screens with a "link" thingy between them that blinks. Notice how that conveys the idea of computers communicating - aka, a network? That's a fundamental, critical element of UX design. Now couple that with the need for layout, aesthetics, Gestalt theory (humans like visual symmetry), simplification of the interface for a very wide variety of audiences (elderly, Gen Z/millenials, boomers, everything in between), multiple device types, color theory (in some cultures, for example, colors have different meaning than they do in the West. In China, I've read, you wear white to funerals, not black; what other variances in color meaning may exist worldwide?), various linguistic idiosyncracies in various cultures, etc. Once you put all that stuff together in your head, it becomes much clearer that UX design is a hell of a lot more than pretty pictures. It's a research discipline, and a field worthy of respect in its own right. If the software is hella capable but a pain in the ass to use, it's worthless. Why do you think Windows is so much more popular than Linux?
- Kaze404 4y ago
  Not to take away from your great post, but that jab at the end felt unnecessary and reductive. There are a million reasons why Windows is more popular than Linux, and while user experience is one of them in my opinion, I'd say it's not one of the most relevant. Either way, this was a very informative post. I'll be googling these terms as soon as I'm at my desk. Thank you.
  - necovek 4y ago
    I guess UX also explains why Windows is way more popular than MacOS, too. ;-)