To code, or not to code?
As a designer I am always questioning whether or not I should spend a lot of time learning how to code websites or whether to leave that to the professionals and just stick to making them look pretty. Now I know that in today’s market, in order to be competitive, there is some need to be both a designer and coder, I have found over the last year or so that a designer must have at least a basic knowledge of the medium for which they are designing, whether it is web or print.
Does this mean that I need to be able to design and code a page all by myself? In my opinion, no, but does the market say otherwise? It does seem to be getting harder to find work without having web and coding experience these days, even for a designer. I am starting to think that the world is pushing us to be able to cover both sides of this ever changing field.
However, I still believe that a graphic designer and a html/css designer working together can turn the impossible, into a reality. A lot of great graphic designers would be left out of the loop if they were forced to understand the insanity of browsers and CSS compatibility. I think most people would agree that coding websites is not for the faint of heart. I know several designers who have produced amazing artwork and then use others expertise with coding to get those designs working across all platforms.
In the end, I think that designing and coding are still seperate jobs for seperate types of people, but these two distinct talents are crossing rapidly and will soon become one.