Designers need engineers

I come from more of a designer stand point and I've realized that sometimes I've had "cool" ideas but when I go to plan out how that would look and the process behind it in a programming language, it gets quite complicated pretty fast.

I can think of the coolest UI's and 'experiences' but when you go to plan those out and map out the structure you soon realize stuff is harder than it appears on the outside. Kind of like a commercial I've seen recently that shows a couple walking into their house and everything they touch or use expands showing all the intricacies of modern conveniences. Things are so easy to do nowadays without knowing really 'how' they work.

I think this is an interesting point in our history. We can pick up anything nowadays without having a clue as to how it works. We lose sight of what it takes to bring something from idea to reality. More people need to become aware of how things work. This kind of makes me rant about how a lot of people I see constantly refuse to learn how things work. I see friends that have cars and they break and they just take it to a mechanic and let the mechanic worry about knowing how it works. In a sense that's nice but in another sense it's scary. I still may take my car to a mechanic but I at least know how it works to a certain depth and what could cause the problem. The same scenario for computers to proper zombie invasions. I'm guilty as much as the rest but I still try to keep a handle on things.

Here is my take for what its worth - Great products require great understanding: The designer needs to understand what can be engineered, now, what needs to be invented, and what can only exist in the future, and an engineer needs to understand what the designer wants. And both teams or individuals are responsible for the process and outcome. If you have a flimsy designer that makes everything look pretty on paper but fails to communicate the entire picture, the engineers will inevitably produce sub par work, not because they're bad at their job, but because you did not give them enough to work with, unless you have visionary engineers with a foot in the design department as well. Then again if the engineers only think code code code they will fail to meet the designer where it counts and again the product is sub par. They are 2 parts of the same creative entity, one that lives and relies on communication and understanding. This is unlike the "well oiled machine" where each person or team resembles a mindless cog in some contraption... These are companies that do not understand the ultimate relationship between designer and engineer. It takes a designer with a stubborn focus on the big picture and a razor focus on the tiniest details along with an engineer of godlike skill to not just solve the puzzles set before them, but solve them intelligently (there is a huge difference), while keeping an eye on the final product. The two parts should always demand validation in their understanding of what the other has communicated.

Build a team that does not simply 'do', but a team that thinks, communicates, and understands; and create an environment that fosters this relationship.

    It takes one designer...

no it doesn't. it takes a design team, just as it takes an engineering team.

If you think about the phrase "designer" in its wider sense it's always an occupation that's multidisciplinary by the nature of the gig. It doesn't matter what type of design you are (industrial, graphic, fashion, etc.) because you are always working with people outside of your profession. Many people think of a designer as someone on a mountaintop who is going after "a vision" -- well that's real a fine artist.

Designers on the other hand are always about making something for an end purpose, and something that NEEDS to please an audience (be a client or end-consumer). Design should be style thrown on top of engineering -- that's decoration, which isn't what designers do. Designer solve problems, tell stories and give their creations personalities.

Designers and engineers have a codependent relationship. Either party can (and should) learn to do what the other does, but a single person mastering both fields is pretty rare.

I've see a lot of hostility between designers and Engineers. Engineers can feel contempt for designers that dictate functional and UX decisions (often without understanding the ramifications of their choices). Designers often feel contemptuous towards engineers that are getting paid 2-3 times their salary.

We probably all want to be on collaborative project teams. I wish they were more common.

Great article, though I would take it one step further and strongly nudge more designers to take on more engineering roles (as many engineers also work to broaden their skill set).

"no, designers don't need engineers. a project needs engineers just as a project needs designers."

This.

> good design depends on great engineers

Beware the teammate that champions the importance of their discipline over that of others. Good design and engineering have many dependencies, but neither should include an inflated sense of entitlement.

I wouldn't go too far out on this guy if I were you.

comment on post from Jason Block:

  Conversely, a lot of engineers believe that you don't 
  need great designers--just great products. It's a 
  relationship that absolutely must be synergistic if 
  one wants to captivate an audience of millions with 
  their work.

lets qualify that. Apple clearly establishes markets where the first-to-market guys couldn't. That's because they build products that make people feel good. Need design and engineering synergy.

Apple was also originally a garage startup where their product was a jumble of exposed wires on a breadboard. Need engineers.

Lets not lose track of the spectrum here.