Its good to talk!

Why can’t developers and designers see eye to eye on site creation? Well both look at a task from two different points of view – visual impact and core functionality; but both have the same ultimate aim – to create a site that they are proud of and that serves the client’s wishes. These differences can be the ruin of any site but can be solved by one simple device: communication; and I don’t mean just a chat at the start of the project but continual interaction at every step of the process, which is how we do it at Slightly Different.

If a designer would like a bulletin board in a CMS based site and the CMS does not offer this functionality then it’s up to the developer to suggest other options; writing a custom plugin, using a different CMS etc. Unless developer and designer sit down and talk about the specification at the start of the project then countless hours and budget will be lost later down the line when the developer suddenly realises that there is something in the specification that will be impossible to achieve within the budget but that has been promised to the client.

This works both ways. Developers should realise that designers are not “just being difficult” and should work with them to make a site that was enjoyable to create instead of a battle of wills. Granted, a developer doesn’t see the point of design half the time but oddly that’s what makes the projects we work on enjoyable.

In other words, just talk to each other. Designers are not all effete Flash lovers and developers are not all geeky code-monkeys.