How We Combine Web Design & Development In Perfect Harmony
As a Web Design & Development with an industry leading design team, Dmag Marketing ensures all its departments work in total harmony with one another. Here’s how the web team do it:
The Designer and the Developer
The developer, in many job roles, can also be a programmer. We don’t want to get the two roles confused because being a programmer, you’re more likely to deal with WordPress and all that back-end goodness. The developer we’re talking about is part of the “web team” and its main purpose will be to translate a picture into a magical front-end product.
The designer will often be more involved with the initial client meetings and/or briefing documents and will come up with concepts for a new and/or improved design.
Good Projects are led by Design
A ‘design’ is a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or in this case, a website before it is made. This is the reason why there is no problem with involving the designer first and getting the developer involved at a later stage. Often it is the handover stage between development and design which causes the most confusions. Involving the designer early helps to minimise cross wires between the teams.
Identifying the Good vs. the Great
To find solid merge between the design and development work process, the two forces must have empathy for each other and have an understanding of what their respective job roles are. This will help both parties understand the importance of constant collaboration, communication and help them manage their own and each other’s time:
A good designer has an established eye for design, a great designer has that, and understands how a Responsive Web Design will be implemented in code.
A good developer knows the ins and outs of CSS pseudo styling and backend technology, a great developer understands the importance of basic design principles.
Find a Work Process that Suits you
The key to a low-stress working environment is a clear understanding of what comes next and what you can expect. Putting a ‘design to development’ work process in place is essential to initiate a workflow that keeps the designer and developer at an equal understanding.
Collaborating with each other
Designer and developer will be able to give specific points on a design and work approach, so it is important to listen to each other at every step of the process. A developer can check over the wireframes a designer has put together before it is sent off to the client. Similarly, a designer can recommend a development technique that possibly already exists to make the developer’s life easier with understanding the direction you want to take.
Don’t Skip Quality Control
When the project is in its lifespan, the back and forth between designer and developer should be a frequent and consistent occurrence. Sometimes the developer will misinterpret a design feature or colour and the designer will have the opportunity to correct that. It can also happen that the designer has an inconsistency in their design making the developer job overly complicated. The developer may find that it needs correcting so this is a good chance to touch base with the designer and make them aware of the mistake. It could prevent future design mistakes that may take long to correct at a later date.
