When someone claims that they are a developer, it makes you wonder in which branch of the industry they’re talking about. You can build for the web, for desktops, for mobile devices, for medical hardware, and so on.
The exact same thing can be said about design and and usability and Sam Quayle over at Specky Boy has some excellent thoughts on the topic.
In An Introduction To HTML Prototyping, Sam takes a look at some of the challenges and frustrations facing modern designers.
He also shares some great thoughts on modern HTML prototyping:
The rise in popularity of the HTML prototype in more recent years is partly the responsibility of a witch-hunt that has served to oust the ‘web designers’ who can’t code their own designs and shone a spotlight in the faces of those who brand themselves UX Professionals.
He also challenges the reader:
To summaries [sic], these days you’ve got to bring a lot more to the table if you expect to stay competitive. And it is the embodiment of this more diverse skill set that has lead so many web designers, disillusioned with a less-than-optimal workflow, into the loving embrace of the HTML prototype
Be sure to read Sam’s full article, too.
He’s right – if you’re a designer or a client-side developer and you want to stay competitive, you’ve got to bring more to the table than images of what someone else will ultimately build. You’ve got to close the gap that exists between a non-usable image and a tangible prototype.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of this particular industry is the pace at which it moves and how competitive it can be. You’ve got to stay on top of your trade otherwise someone else will beat you there.
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