Laziness & The Web Designer: How Some Tools Make Designers Lazy

But after watching Bret Victors great Talk about The Future Of Programming (https://vimeo.com/71278954) I don't think you're 100% right.

Right at the moment I also prefer hand written code over that generated code by some Adobe tool. But as Bret Victor puts it in the talk, I think it would be shame if we create applications in 20 to 40 years in the same way we do today.

Or to put it into another way, who really knows what programming is? Is programming something you do when you put characters into a text editor or is it something you do when you click something together in a tool like Macaw?

I don't think we should wear blinkers but instead should be open for new ways of thinking and approaching stuff. In the end, as long as computers do the stuff we want them to do, I don't really care about how its done anymore.

Just my 2 cents.

However, both design and frontend development are becoming more specialized roles--especially for large web applications. A designer may be proficient in CSS/HTML but it may not be her forte. She may spend most of her time in design software creating wireframes and mockups and a smaller amount of time actually producing CSS/HTML. Furthermore, some large web applications are so complex (in terms of javascript and ajax) that production HTML/CSS is only written by frontend developers.

Therefore, a tool like Macaw is brilliant for a designer who wants to quickly produce actual working prototypes to show interaction, responsiveness, and animations to developers. Simply delivering static screens to developers is not enough anymore.

And, I'm not sure that designing all in the browser is the best approach, especially if you're working on a complex web application. Designing in some design software allows you to brainstorm and iterate through many different design ideas before settling on something.

Furthermore, Macaw doesn't take away your job of writing CSS code. You still have to organize DOM elements and set class names.

PS Macaw didn't pay me to write this. I just think their product is very compelling for rapid prototyping.

I haven't quite managed to work Photoshop into my workflow, but Macaw looks promising because it puts CSS into an UI.

So personally I consider using it for outputting my ideas and for showing different layouts, but then later coding it down myself.

Macaw (or something that builds off of what Macaw starts) will find a niche in prototyping designs that handcoding will be too slow to do.

Handcoding will remain the backbone and the quality control.

I work with a lot of folks that produce content but have no need, and no time, to learn HTML/CSS. But a tool like Macaw can allow them to deliver content in a way that I can refine instead of building from the ground up. Now, that flow may end up being a terrible waste of time, but a tool that met that niche well would be a welcome addition to my life.

I won't be building a site with Macaw - but I will gladly accept content designed in Macaw to build off of.

WTF? An Illustrator that never learned Hand Craft illustration as the core of it's art, is not an illustrator but a guy who uses tools to replace and emulate that art, same way, a Front-End must know how to code. If not is just using tools, not a bad thing, but it's just the superficial layer of the work. reply)

You do understand that if someone learns how to illustrate using a specific tool, it would classify them as an illustrator. Just because a person doesnt use the same methods you consider traditional illustration doesnt mean they're not an illustrator. Does it mean they're not as good of an illustrator? Possibly. But that's a bit close-minded.

a) Why not use something to speed up designing and getting are products out there? You do realise that's the point of tools, and the way they evolve - we build better things that help us work faster and smarter. Otherwise we'd still be satisfied using the first version of Photoshop and coding in Notepad.

b) You're not in a position to say what designers should and shouldn't do.

I see tools like Macaw actually being the death of front end development. To me its a waste of time going from Photoshop to code.

Designing in the browser and exporting the code removes the need for front end development.

Sure it might be rough and dirty now but its early days.

By the way comments like that make me cry: "I see tools like Macaw actually being the death of front end development". This guy clearly isn't a web designer and doesn't understand the basic principles of front-end, web browser and the web itself.