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Working with UI Designers

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    Working with UI Designers

    I am working with a very difficult designer who is trying to redesign the UI of the site my team is working on with no consideration or understanding of the technical obstacles we need to overcome in order to do do it. She is also very rude. Is this common feature of designers in general? I can tell you I am running out of energy constantly explaining why moving that horizontal line from there to there isn't an easy task with our componentised CSS but she is acting like she has the final words on this with no understanding of the technical issues. Has anyone else been in this situation?

    #2
    Replace the word "designer" with developer/tester/analyst/project manager/support analyst/human, and there's your answer.

    Also "there isn't an easy task with our componentised CSS" is a tulipe excuse.

    It's relevant to how long it might take, and where that might mean it sits in your teams list of priorities, sure, but it's not an excuse to not do it.



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      #3
      YMMV but I tend to find this type of designer is someone who has a background in design, but is new UI design in particular - hence not understanding the technical side, but most are keen to learn and do generally listen and work as a team with compromises.

      This just sounds like someone who has a bad attitude and there is no cure for that

      Comment


        #4
        I appreciate this recommendation can be a matter of style. IMO to avoid making the disagreement personal/ territorial/ about competence, you could quote best practices, standards, frameworks in these kind of situations. Preferably backed up by someone senior who agrees (e.g. product owner, manager, architect). In that way the disagreement can be redirected if required, removing you from the loop.

        "I love what you did with the UI, Sarah. However according to the ABC framework there are some problems doing it that way. Erik told me he needs all UIs to be compliant unless we have a good reason to deviate from best practices. What do you think? Do we have a good reason? Maybe you should take it up with Erik".

        ‘His body, his mind and his soul are his capital, and his task in life is to invest it favourably to make a profit of himself.’ (Erich Fromm, ‘The Sane Society’, Routledge, 1991, p.138)

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          #5
          Originally posted by jmo21 View Post
          Replace the word "designer" with developer/tester/analyst/project manager/support analyst/human, and there's your answer.

          Also "there isn't an easy task with our componentised CSS" is a tulipe excuse.

          It's relevant to how long it might take, and where that might mean it sits in your teams list of priorities, sure, but it's not an excuse to not do it.


          THIS ^^^^^^^^^

          If the customer wants it, understands how much it will cost, and still wants it then do it.
          Moaning about attitude/politeness is a permie trait.
          A contractor will just deliver what the customer wants and is willing to pay for (assuming it's in scope, which as it's a UI design change sounds like it is).
          See You Next Tuesday

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Baddish View Post
            I am working with a very difficult designer who is trying to redesign the UI of the site my team is working on with no consideration or understanding of the technical obstacles we need to overcome in order to do do it. She is also very rude. Is this common feature of designers in general? I can tell you I am running out of energy constantly explaining why moving that horizontal line from there to there isn't an easy task with our componentised CSS but she is acting like she has the final words on this with no understanding of the technical issues. Has anyone else been in this situation?
            I am a designer and in my career it's always been a struggle with devs, in some environments more than others.

            It's the nature of the 2 roles; more often than not there will be friction and at the end one has to make a compromise.

            From my perspective, I'm there to make sure that the product I design is intuitive, usable, visually appealing and, most importantly, takes into consideration the feedback I get from users when I test my designs with them. If the User Researcher comes to me and says "hey I tested the current system and 80% of users couldn't see that button" it's up to me to make recommendations on where that button goes, and development effort is NOT something I have to take into consideration. If that's the right thing for the user, that's all I have to care about. We don't have to understand the technical implications, it's not part of our job.

            Devs will do the same, they will make their recommendations based on the time and effort that it takes to implement my designs.

            And that's it. Then it's up to the business/decision maker to decide which path to take.

            As a designer, one thing I like to do is work with devs and prioritise design changes based on development effort and benefit to the user. If the designer you are working with is rude and wants to have the final say in everything, try to be the bigger person and start this conversation with her.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by PCTNN View Post
              We don't have to understand the technical implications, it's not part of our job.
              I agree with you to a point, but this sort of siloed thinking doesn't really work in practice. It is better to have a general awareness of issues and incorporate devs in your design process on some level. That way, you may be able to achieve something that is both cost effective and doesn't compromise your design ideas, rather than sending two independent pieces of work (design and costed dev) to a decision maker who is then left with only half the picture.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Lance View Post
                If the customer wants it, understands how much it will cost, and still wants it then do it.
                Agree with this too, but the customer will really only understand what something costs if the various parts of the puzzle are working together effectively and it is obviously broken in the case of the OP. The OP also sounds like they're a large part of the problem. I mean, someone who asks the rhetorical question, "Is this common feature of designers in general?", doesn't sound like they are the easiest person to work with

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by jamesbrown View Post

                  Agree with this too, but the customer will really only understand what something costs if the various parts of the puzzle are working together effectively and it is obviously broken in the case of the OP. The OP also sounds like they're a large part of the problem. I mean, someone who asks the rhetorical question, "Is this common feature of designers in general?", doesn't sound like they are the easiest person to work with
                  Also THIS ^^^^^^^^^

                  See You Next Tuesday

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by jmo21 View Post

                    Also "there isn't an easy task with our componentised CSS" is a tulipe excuse.

                    it's not an excuse - in my opinion I am, expressing the reality of the situation and I will make my case in this manner so that business can make determination. I am not objecting to doing this work that has been prescribed but I have to point out the techinical challenges for myself and my wolleagues. And when I do this the desinger woman is becoming very rude and obstreperous I can tell you.

                    Let me give you an example. There is a header component which encapsulates a horizontal line. This is included in layout page so it is very DRY Do not repeat ypurself solution.

                    Now for one page this designer wants the line moved below a button which exists in another component but just for this page meaning I have to increase cyclical complexity of codebase and also reduce the dryness. I merely point this out and I get abuse but I am hoping business will see some merits in my argument.

                    I am not making excuses - this designer and others I have worked with don't understand encapsualted styles, componentisation and dryness and they propose changes that they think are simple but in reality are not and seem to take this personally when I make my case.

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