Show HN: A site for teaming up designers and developers on short projects
analoghq.com
analoghq.com
I guess I might as well shamelessly plug myself: I am a developer who writes python and nodejs on the backend, loves coffeescript, and my last project used Meteor.
and if not try http://www.weekendhacker.net/. It launched about a year ago with the same idea and format as Analog. It grew quickly and was fairly successful for a while. It has been quiet lately, the creator mentioned going through some personal stuff, but the most recent mailing was May 4 and it looked great and sounded promising. Good luck finding a project.
It'd be nice if there was a way to browse/view what the service is doing/offering before signing up.
I signed up on your site.
vs.
"I totally flaked on talking with the client"
vs.
"I took his advance and blew it on hookers and blow"
Yes, it matters.
That said, if it was something more malicious than what you mentioned, then it would be worth looking into.
I don't know him or you and it's not an excuse, but if you hire a 17 year old you can't expect the same level of experience as working with a freelance designer.
What happened: I missed a Skype call, and wasn't interested in working with you on a potential project. No contracts signed, 8 emails exchanged - just a sign from you that you might be interested in hiring me; and I wasn't into the project.
Hardly a crime in my eyes.
Also, this means I just shared a different story where I actually messed up.
Basic idea was designers want to give back to the community but can't find any (good) projects. They could do 'drive-by-design' or put in more time and see the project grow. This site could help. But reputation is everything and I'd like to see a bit more up front. A bit more of the guy who made it would be nice. Kind of makes my Spidey sens go off as empty as it is right now...
On any other day you'd be able to see my full site, with a ton of stuff about me, my work and my writing. I'll go work on getting it back up now. So, I understand your reaction.
Thanks for the feedback:)
Thanks a bunch for all the nice stuff:)
So yeah, there probably are quite a few, but I'm confident that Analog has something unique going for it.
Designers: learn programming. The programmers you'll find this way will not be worth anything more than a really inefficient way to test your designs through a compiler.
There is real value to having a skilled designer and a skilled developer, but those people are rare and you aren't going to find them reliably if you don't know anything about their fields. At best, you might randomly stumble on one. Considering that communication is far more important of a skill than most other skills, the only way to find the right people is to first get to know them as people, not as objects to plug in to a whole in your project. I talk more about this on my blog (http://moron4hire.tumblr.com/post/48619863000/hiring-is-dati...)
Both of you will be far better served by the experience. You might have an idea now that seems like it has a burning need to be developed and you don't have the time to learn on your own, but it's just not true; that's the manic tendencies inside of you talking. If you give in now, you'll be in this exact, same position in N months when the next burning-a-whole-in-your-brain project idea comes along.
By all means, continue with your project as you learn. It will probably suck, but you'll come out of the other side with more skills, ready to make the next project even better.
I'm slowly but surely getting better at design things but I choose to focus my energy on development rather than prettifying pixels (I say that with absolutely no intent of malice).
I agree that broadening my skills to include design would be helpful. I'd also be really great off if I learned how to treat my own ailments and fix my own car. I can't do it all though, so when I have the need, I partner with designers. I look through portfolios, gauge talent and ability, and hope for the best.
I don't think he said that nor suggested it. The point is being able to empathize with your "other half" (dating term!). Empathy is important and critical for the success of both the technical and interface design of any web product.
Basically, my CSS and HTML sucks massive schlong. But I've gotten the front-end working prettly neatly (Batman.JS with CofeeScript) with the RESTFUL (in true meaning) API.
I want to focus on an iOS version + some additional social provider authentication while you do the front-end in terms of HTML and CSS.
It's a client-side front-end. But the templates are in HTML (HTML 5 with data attributes that is)
Sometimes it isn't about skill-set, but about Time To Launch(™)
But I have added support (on the DB side of things) to make it agnostic in the future.
Say for separate IOU's index listing for different currencies and items. From books and games to World of Warcraft gold.
Heh, actually a funny story... At first I allowed realtime currency conversion, but a friend pointed out how stupid it was. I didn't really think it was stupid until he laughed out loud and explained.
I do get now... but back then it seemed only natural that the user picks a single currency to list all the money that the user owes or is owed.
Thanks for showing interest. It's just a side project, not a profitable startup in any means - scratching me and my friends list for splitting and keeping track of tabs. It does separate item splits, even splits and single one off payments/loans (essentially the same thing). It's all client side so you get feedback directly on how much you got paid for or paid for.
> "Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.
> A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."