Designer

Steven Trotter Refresh Jonesboro #17

Developer

“You broke my whole fraking design!”

kkthxbye,The Designer

Discuss potential problem areas during wireframe process.

Explain how you arrived at the design solutions you’re presenting.

Find compromises when things don’t work out perfectly.

“Oh hells no! That’s going to take too

long to build.”pwncakes & roflcopters,The Developer

Explain why you really want things a particular way. Both of you.

Evaluate with the whole team to find better, streamlined methods.

Decide together. Will this function make the product better? If not, where is the time better spent?

“Why do you fuglify my stuff ?!”

kkthxbye,The Designer

Review the design internally before beginning development. Point out small nuances in your design.

Is there a reason for the styling? C/B compliant? Is it accessible? What’s the user experience?

Explain your point of view. Listen to their point of view. Rinse & repeat.

“Yeeeaaahhh…I’m kinda coming in

the back door on this one.”

pwncakes & roflcopters,The Developer

Brainstorm together before beginning design & development.

Get & give input during the entire process. Blur the lines between designer & developer.

Review everything internally before presenting to the client.

“Let’s throw a little AJAX in there…

make it real slick.”

kkthxbye,The Designer

Don’t be afraid to be a teacher.Knowledge sharing now makes for more streamlined projects later.

Learn to trust each other so that you can be honest. - “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. "

It’s a relationship. You’ll start completing each other’s sentences.

”Um, yeah. We’re not including that…

it’s completelyuseless.”

pwncakes & roflcopters,The Developer

Remember that you are not the user. Often times, developers lack empathy for the user’s POV.

It goes both ways: Too much or too little – both suck.

Developing for geeks: include the kitchen sink. Developing for task management: a few streamlined features.

“Let’s throw anadd to calendar link

in there. That’s easy enough right?”

kkthxbye,The Designer

Scope creep: Did the user request a calendar on the site? Will this link add to the site’s calendar or is it an iCal file to be imported to a desktop calendar?

Know the specs. Inside. And out.

Yes, the developers can work their magic, but that doesn’t mean the client will pay.

”Can’t do it.”pwncakes & roflcopters,The Developer

Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to create the best product possible.

Requirements change, and though it sucks to complicate elegant solutions, sometimes change is necessary.

Avoid the “knee-jerk no” & when a truly bad idea lands on your plate, your objections will carry a lot more weight.

KK THX BYE

http://www.twitter.com/steventrotter

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