Unicorns are considered to be the rare person who can do both design and development. But, why are they considered rare? Because consider design and development to be separate disciplines. In this talk, I explore the spectrum of design and development, how designers can be empowered by learning about development, and how developers can be empowered by learning about design. I gave this talk at the Big Design Conference in Addison, TX on September 6, 2014.

1. UNLEASH
UNICORN
Embracing the
YOUR
INNER
SPECTRUM OF
DESIGN&DEVELOPMENT
Matt Baxter • @mbxtr • September 6, 2014

2. I’m
Matt Baxter
@mbxtr

3. I work at

4. as a
UX Designer

5. Using design

6. and development

7. Just to clarify…

8. This is not
about bronies.

9. But Seriously,
What’s with The
Unicorn?

10. Unicorn
A person who can do both
design and development.

13. Some unicorn facts…

14. Unicorns
must have their coffee.

15. Unicorns
only eat apples.

16. Unicorns
love playing ping pong.

17. Unicorns
don’t get along
with printers.

18. Something you think
you know about
unicorns…

19. Unicorns
are rare and hard to find.

20. Unicorns
are rare and hard to find.
But, why?

21. We think about design
and development as
separate disciplines.

22. Designer vs Developer
http://sixrevisions.com/infographics/web-designers-vs-web-developers-infographic/

23. Left vs Right

24. Unicorns are not as
rare as you think.

25. I believe everyone has
some unicorn in them.

26. Specifically…
Designers can develop.
Developers can design.

27. !

28. MY BACKGROUND

29. Remember when
this was cool?

38. GRiD Compass
First clamshell laptop

39. Xerox PARC Mouse
The first mouse

40. Desktop GUI History
Xerox, Apple, and Microsoft

41. “Few people think about it or are
aware of it. But there is nothing
made by human beings that
does not involve a design
decision somewhere.”
– Bill Moggridge

44. But, I still enjoyed
development.

45. or
Design Development

46. and
Design Development

47. the Spectrum

48. How We Think
Design Development

49. What We’ve Accepted
Design Development

50. Design Development

51. ???
???

52. What crosses the
developer boundary?
</>

53. Development is much
more than code.

54. What crosses the
designer boundary?

55. Design is much
more than pixels.

56. Reality

57. Individuals are more
complicated than that.

58. Software is more
complicated than that.

59. Design and development
is a spectrum.

60. The Right
Perspective

61. This sounds familiar…

62. “Should”
is the wrong focus.

63. The better question is…

64. How can knowing more
about development
empower designers?

65. How can knowing more
about design
empower developers?

66. “But, if I learn x I’ll
get worse at y.”

67. If your goal is to make
great software, learning
more about the process
will only help you.

68. Tools
are the wrong focus.

69. “Skill in the digital age is confused
with mastery of digital tools,
masking the importance of
understanding materials and
mastering the elements of form.”
– John Maeda
former President of RISD and
professor at MIT Media Lab

70. </>
Being a unicorn is more than
combining code and pixels.

71. The true ability of a unicorn:
being able to balance
design and development.

72. Understanding
Your Job

73. Titles can be
confusing.

74. I don’t just mean how
many there are…
UI Developer • UX Architect • Information Architect
Design Technologist • Visual Designer
Back End Developer • Front End Developer
Application Developer • Software Architect
UX Designer • UI Designer • UI Engineer
Web Developer • Interaction Designer • Web Designer

75. A developer is not
just a coder.
</>

76. “I just built what
the designer
handed to me.”
#stuffcoderssay

77. A designer is not just
a pixel pusher.

78. “I designed it; its
not my job to make
sure it works.”
#stuffpixelpusherssay

79. It’s not enough to just
focus on “your” part.

80. Focus on the
deliverables
product.

81. This is Bob.

82. Bob uses apps.

83. Why does Bob use
certain apps?

84. I use this app
because the code
is well-written!

85. I use this app
because these
pixels are perfect!

86. SAID NO
USER EVER

87. I use this app because I can
more easily ______.

88. I use this app because it
enables me to ______.

89. Users only see the
final product.

90. Great software is more
than pixels and code.

91. Everyone’s job is to
balance design and
technology.

92. What will the
result be?

93. It won’t be…
Compromise
Everyone designs
Everyone develops

94. Tension between design
and development is good.

96. “Each group, then, is trying to do
the right thing, but they're pulling
in different directions. If any one of
those groups 'wins,' we lose.”
– Ed Catmull, Creativity Inc.

97. It will be…

98. Better communication
and collaboration

99. More empathy

100. Fewer assumptions

101. Less busy-work

102. Designers will
Push limits of technology
Estimate development
Prototype

103. Developers will
Begin sooner
Adapt designs
Have less back-and-forth

104. How do you
begin?

105. It starts with
your process

106. Typical Process
Design Development
Time
Effort

107. Better Process
Design
Development
Time
Effort

108. Talk to each other

109. Educate yourself

110. Developers
Wireframing
Typography
Usability

111. HackDesign
http://hackdesign.org/

112. http://practicaltypography.com/

113. Design of Everyday Things
by Donald Norman

114. Designers
Interactive Prototypes
Understand Platforms
Learn HTML/CSS

115. InVision
http://invisionapp.com/

116. Platform Documentation
http://developer.apple.com • http://developer.android.com • http://developer.mozilla.com

117. Treehouse
http://teamtreehouse.com

118. This isn’t
rocket science.

119. Guess how much
everyone knew when
they started?

121. Do you have to?
Nope.

122. Will it make you better
at what you do?
Absolutely.

123. A little bit goes
a long way.

124. It’s not just about
learning to code.
</>

125. It’s not just about
learning to push pixels.

126. (But go for it if you find
that you enjoy both)

127. It’s knowing how to
balance design and
development.

128. Unleash Your Inner Unicorn

129. Questions?
@mbxtr