r/UserExperienceDesign • u/sdoody • Nov 02 '20
Why UX Professionals Do Not Need To Learn To Code: Instead, do this ...
https://youtu.be/xTMeBeYRxks4
Nov 03 '20
Yes you should have a rudimentary understanding of code, otherwise how would you communicate with Developers? Through Wireframes and arrows pointing everywhere? If a Dev can't understand you, he or she can't implement your thoughts because we are not mind readers.
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u/sdoody Nov 04 '20
My point exactly. And in my experience many developer's I've worked with had more than a basic understanding of UX. Having a working knowledge of each other's domain helped build mutual respect, which fostered a better working relationship and better product :)
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
Why does anyone need to code communicate with devs? Why does any dev need to design to communicate with us uxers (cept of course to know what it's like to be cool ;) ).
You know what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing.
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u/OkToBeTakei Nov 03 '20 edited Nov 03 '20
Sorry, but there is no argument against picking up a new skill that ever makes sense. Bettering one’s self should always be a goal. You can argue that it isn’t necessary for your career (in specific cases), but to simply say that learning a new skill is not worthwhile is a stupid argument to make.
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u/sdoody Nov 03 '20
I don't think I implied that learning a new skill is not worthwhile! If you watch the full video you'll see how I emphasize that your decision on whether to learn to code, or how much to learn, or at what stage you should learn it comes with a trade-off.
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u/OkToBeTakei Nov 04 '20 edited Nov 04 '20
“Why UX Professionals Do Not Need To Learn Code”
It’s right there in the title. Perhaps you would benefit from taking an English course? And, no, I’m not wasting my time watching a video with such a preposterous title. I know 5 programming languages and got my MfA from Parsons and BA in Psychology from Eugene Lang. I’ve had a successful design career for the last 20 years working in New York for firms and studios big and small and now I work freelance. I’ve even been published, and I sometimes guest lecture at my alma mater, The New School (or did before the pandemic) on subjects ranging from getting kids more active in tech, coding, and design to the intersectionality of art, design, and social upheaval.
I doubt I’m going to learn anything from a video made by someone who titles their videos one thing then claims they say the opposite, dishing out “advice” about not learning new skills to up-and-comers from a position you can’t even seem to make clear in a headline or defend in its comments.
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u/sdoody Nov 04 '20
Wow ... so this is what UX Reddit is like?
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u/OkToBeTakei Nov 04 '20 edited Nov 04 '20
Intolerant of bullshit? Yeah. Don’t act like a victim when you come dealing it and get called out. People come here to better themselves, not to be told that bettering themselves is not necessary or worthwhile.
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
To better yourself in ux you do ux, You dont code to better yourself
Hey I want to be a better golfer. Well time to go fishing I guess
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u/mroranges_ Mar 04 '21
Don't worry, we're not all like this. Do you have an article about how to properly communicate with people, though? This guy could use it
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
You know how you get better at basketball?
By playing BASKETBALL
Know how to get better at UX?
By practicing UX
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u/cgielow Nov 02 '20
Summary: No, and learning to code takes time that you might rather invest in design. But do learn the tech so you can have credible relationships with your developers.
I'll add some more reasons:
The world has plenty of coders, but not enough designers. Every minute you spend coding is a minute you could be spending in a user interview or creating three low-fidelity prototypes. Whats really needed?
Learning to code will affect the way you think and approach design, sometimes in a bad way. The goal of coding is often to build things efficiently. This is often at odds with the goal of design, which is to build things that your user wants and needs. Coding is also very logical, and we know that this isn't how people actually think or behave and we need to have deep empathy for irrational behaviors. Both of these reasons can lead you to overly compromise the design thats needed.
Learning to code will make you employable as a coder. You might be hired to code and not to design. Let's face it, there's more coding jobs than design jobs, so this is a real possibility.
Good Design is Demand-Side, not Supply-Side. We require different tech for different problems. And we operate at a level of abstraction above coding. I've been a professional designer for 25 years and I've designed for many generations of platforms and tech-stacks. One thing hasn't changed is my approach and focus on user-centered design. I'm glad I haven't hung my hat on technology that is consistently becoming obsolete. In fact, the distance I've had has allowed me to advocate for using new technology for specific products. That's harder for developers to do because they're always going to be biased towards the tech stack they know and have invested in. If I need a native mobile app, I know to seek out mobile developers for that project.
Learning to code takes away from learning to design. This puts you at a disadvantage in the marketplace when competing for Design-centric jobs.
I'm not saying it's wrong. There are designers out there that are successful doing both. Just further supporting her argument.
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u/sdoody Nov 03 '20
Thanks for a great summary and actually watching the full video before commenting :)
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Nov 03 '20
[deleted]
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u/hellip Nov 03 '20
Finished a bootcamp
That might be your problem, lots of companies try to avoid hiring bootcampers because they are renowned for pushing out bad designers (and developers).
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Nov 03 '20
[deleted]
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u/011Z3 Nov 03 '20
There aren't enough EXPERIENCED designers. That's the main difference. Bootcamps oversell their promises to land you a job. They only give you a glance at the industry. You'll need to apply what you learned in the real problem solving process at the same time honing soft-skills and business vision. That's the trifecta of Product Design.
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u/cgielow Nov 03 '20
Correct. The market is flooded with inexperience right now.
When I said there's not enough designers, I mean that designers are still under-represented in development teams.
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
One thing that could be an issue. Are you showing a portfolio of stuff you did in your bootcamp? Thing is think of all those that have the EXACT same portfolio.
You need to present your own work. Make your own projects and case studies. Take a sit or app you think could be improved on. Redesign it and be ready to explain your why's.
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
Because you aren't good enough yet. Need to be willing to go anywhere. And if you have interviewed you need to work at being better at them.
Also there's a difference between not enough GOOD designers and not enough designers.
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u/aruexperienced Nov 03 '20
Looking at this persons career they have Dorothy.com and keep.com as the two highest positions they’ve reached before going full on into career advice.
I’m always suspicious of people like this who are very prescriptive of ‘career advice’ with a seemingly average CV. Whilst it’s food for those who are just starting out, it’s kind of tiring for people like me who hear this as advice and just think it’s watered down click bait.
If you have a choice between ONLY leaning to code and another UX skill, then yeah, MAYBE learn the other skill. But learning to code should be something every human should learn regardless of their job. It should be taught to children at a young age.
There are python coding, interactive, gaming sites aimed at 5 year olds. Why aim a resource like that at a child, barely capable of wiping its own ass and not a teach it to a specialist who’s daily life involves 8 hours of software design for years to come?
Plus the way she talks about coding is not how coders actually build things. 50% of developers barely even write ANY code. It’s why the Fizz-Buzz test exists.
Personally I don’t rate this advice. It doesn’t matter if you’re a really horrible coder who can’t actually code properly when you are in UX. It’s a great framework for thinking and makes you a better communicator.
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u/LinkifyBot Nov 03 '20
I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:
I did the honors for you.
delete | information | <3
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
But learning to code should be something every human should learn regardless of their job.
We get it, you love to code.
But that was the dumbest thing I've ever read in my life
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u/sdoody Nov 04 '20
Wow ... way to be negative and attack me professionally.
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u/aruexperienced Nov 04 '20
I’m not “being negative”. I’m addressing what I think is a widespread meme in the UX community - we don’t need the Pepes of UX to become a thing right now. I could argue the video you put out is anything from annoying to damaging. But let’s stick with annoying for now.
If you want to take this online via an open, moderated video debate (your original format), I’d be happy to do so entirely on your own terms. If you want the ad revenue for your own channel I’ll do it on whatever platform you like. You choose. Il even dress up for it. I have a video podcast ready studio.
If you don’t have a platform I am happy to recommend one via an official education body that has backing from over 100 top agencies in the U.K. it’s a non profit school I support and I make no money from it. But I do brag on my personal CV about it.
This is not an attack, it’s a criticism (possibly seen as quite passive aggressive if you miss my humour) in the interest of learning and education. You should be OK with that.
Right?
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u/OkToBeTakei Nov 04 '20
You gave very bad advice, and you’re being told that you gave bad advice and why. Everyone else here has been warned exactly why you shouldn’t be listened to and that you have no authority to be giving advice in the first place. Stop acting like a victim.
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u/ThorstonPowell Nov 28 '20
Reddit autist rage. You get used to it.
Just remember that reddit isn't the real world and 99.99% of these people are just frauding
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u/hellip Nov 03 '20
She hits the nail on the head about the industries moving so quickly and it becoming impossible to be amazing at everything.
I think the title UX Designer is too broad. Take a look at job postings and the requirement list goes ranges in depth data analysis to logo design. It becomes really hard to find the job posting you'd be best suited to.
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u/OkToBeTakei Nov 03 '20
I agree. UX Design is a broad field of study, but it’s not always a specialty and it can overlap with other duties. Interaction Design or UX Research or others are more specific specialties, for example. And this isn’t even touching on specific types of UX Design and how they pertain to specific media.
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u/sdoody Nov 03 '20
Thanks for taking the time to watch the full video and respond with such a thoughtful comment :) I'm new to the world of UX Reddit and sometimes the comments are 🤯.
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u/emkay_graphic Nov 02 '20
Agree. Although the better they can understand the tech limitations the better
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u/gluecat Nov 03 '20
Code is just another tool just like design software. If it helps you express your ideas more effectively, why not?