Why A UX Designer Should Learn Code

By BrainStation January 20, 2016
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Find out more about Intro to Web Development!

With virtually all projects at Konrad Group, the worlds of UX Design and Web Development are fully intertwined. Add a PM and tech consultant to the mix and you’ve got the foundation for a killer project. Though UX Design and Web Development require different skill-sets, knowing both is becoming more and more crucial to the tech and design industry. Web Developers need to understand the design needs of what they are coding, and UX Designers need to understand what designs are possible from the backend.

Teresa Man, Senior UX Designer at Konrad Group, joined us last Spring in Intermediate Web Development to do just that.

1. Tell us about yourself…
I am currently a Senior UI/UX designer at a technology company. I have a background in advertising and print, but have since shifted my focus and passion to crafting digital interfaces for multi-platform apps and websites.

2. What kind of previous knowledge do you have in coding?
My knowledge of web development goes back to the GeoCities and Angelfire era… when marquee tickers, blinking buttons, and autoplay background music were cool. I made my first website when I was 11 with a simple WYSIWYG editor, and then within a year, graduated to Microsoft FrontPage, and later Dreamweaver and other CMS platforms. From then on, my interest in coding grew and I eventually taught myself the language of html, CSS, JavaScript, and jquery using various html editors and online resources.

3. What peaked your interest in Brainstation’s intermediate web development class?
I had a solid understanding of the basic fundamentals in web development, but the extent of what I knew was limited and also somewhat dated. When I heard about BrainStation’s course, I thought of how great of an opportunity it would be for me to refuel my coding interests and take what I already know to the next level.

4. Before beginning, what were you hoping to learn from the course?
I was excited to advance my coding skills and apply the knowledge to my work projects. On a technical level, it is tremendously helpful for me to know what can, or cannot be done, when thinking of a website functionality or designing an interaction. From a professional development standpoint, it is great for me to speak the same language as the developers who I work so closely with, thereby bridging the gap between creative process and implementation.

teresa