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Sparkbox maker series6/6/2023 This is something we’ve written about before and looked at how it can be helpful in maintaining design vision. We boiled down everything to the analogy of a sculptor’s hammer and chisel. I personally hone in on HTML and CSS and leave the JS and backend code to the full-stack experts.Īs we explored having designers write frontend code, we needed a name to describe their roles on projects. Each Frontend Designer has a different skillset therefore, some take their code work further than others. If the team is comfortable designing in the browser, then we move faster through static designs in order to start writing production code as soon as possible, to which the designer can contribute if they are comfortable writing code.Īt Sparkbox, our designers-we call them Frontend Designers-all write some level of code, which allows us to be more closely involved in projects during development. If the client is more visual, they might want to see more before approving screens or pages for development. The amount of pre-code design work that we do at Sparkbox depends on the team and the client. A designer can iterate and expand on the initial design vision while the project is being built. If a designer is involved from the beginning, static designs do not need to be as fleshed out and communication can happen faster. What We’ve FoundĪt Sparkbox we have been utilizing a designer from the start to end of most projects, and have found it to be valuable for many reasons. For example, what happens when the client wants to add another page? Or, how do you handle those pesky, awkward screen sizes? By having a designer on board from start to finish, we’ve been able to improve our workflow and answer questions like these. There must be a better way to ensure the final product looks and functions the way the designer intended. While that process might work fine for some projects, we can do better. The code ships without much input from the designer.The developer communicates with the designer when details about the design are unclear.The completed designs are handed off to a developer who interprets the designer’s work.The designer starts work on the interface design or maybe starts with a wireframe.It’s not uncommon to see a waterfall process like this: The problem we were trying to solve by bringing in a designer at the beginning was the disconnect that can happen in the typical flow of a web project. In this article, I’ll explain why we’ve made this shift and how it helps us better serve our clients. What if there was a designer at the project kickoff meeting? What if that designer was able to provide time-saving and value-adding ideas throughout the project? What if that designer wrote some frontend code to help polish the product and reduce the time spent pairing with a developer? At Sparkbox, we’ve pushed for the last several years to do just that, including at least one designer on most projects from start to finish, and we’ve found it to be very valuable.
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