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I am both a designer and a developer, and the central point of the article is very true - design vs development is a false dichotomy. The problem is that peopl

by Jack000 14y ago

I am both a designer and a developer, and the central point of the article is very true - design vs development is a false dichotomy. The problem is that people confound "design" with "artistic styling". Real design is at its essence a left-brain activity - whereas successful art evokes emotion, successful design communicates a message. The practice of design is about communicating something to a group of people, in a way that is repeatable and quantifiable, it should be more science than art. The basic tenets of design are quite simple, anyone can pick it up. I've tried convincing the developers around me to give it a go, but the most common response has been "I'm a techie, I won't be good at art, thus I won't even try". The same kind of thinking that causes the imbalance of women in STEM fields. We should all try to broaden our horizons, I think many developers would be surprised at their design skills if they could only break through their bubble.

seanmcdirmid 14y ago
Design is neither art, science, or engineering, rather it is...design! Everyone practices design in some aspect of their job, which is developed mostly through experience. Design is about communication, and science invariably involves design, but they aren't otherwise very equivalent. Nor is design equal to art, though some art activities involve design and vice versa. As a researcher, I've practiced much more design than development, and would definitely go the IxD path rather than the SDE path if I ever left research. I've never felt like I was actually doing science.