Image courtesy Sebastien Fuss via Flickr
I wrestle with how much to code.
I don’t code, but I think about it – and even in it, sometimes, even if it’s just basic front end ‘stuff’. Every time I’m updating WordPress and a theme, I think about the code. And when I design, I don’t think about the code, but I think about the system that has to deliver the design I’m in – so when it’s working with a CMS like Sitecore, it means an easy design change isn’t always easy. Even with WordPress, a relatively easy design change – add a sentence above a gallery in a template – isn’t just an easy fix. That fix isn’t a matter of knowing the code, or where it is. It’s a question of the time it takes to add that code being worth the final outcome. It can be what makes a lock-down, semi-closed system like WordPress great – the flexibility to build upon it exists. The trick is to build a little fix without getting into the system itself – so that when we want to ‘open’ the system up, what should be easy sometimes isn’t.
As our Web technologies evolve, I see so much creativity occur, but it can scare me. Even a simple thing like updating WordPress or a theme now fills me with some dread – I know the more I know about it, the more I’ll feel comfortable, but if you don’t live in code regularly, that fear of the unknowns of unknown languages will exist. As a designer, I’m asked how much code I know, and I wrestle with the balance. I want to let people who think actively in code to have their work as developers – I know I have plenty enough to worry about in the design and business and user spheres. At the same time, great designers also know about the systems and environments they live in. They have to, if they want to create designs for people and their worlds. It means while I reject the idea of having to know too much code, I also reject the idea of having a Wix site or Squarespace site. I also actively choose not to have a portfolio site on Behance, or on Corofloat or any other portfolio for designers type site. I want to keep one foot active in the building world, even if it’s a month where I’m tinkering on my own site. I want to not feel intimidated by the building, and having my own site on my own host with my ‘own’ technology that I’m familiar with is what keeps me active. If I outsource my own brand to someone else, I outsource that bit of my mind that makes the designer in me grow.
As much as having a WordPress site can be a frustration, I’ll keep it around – and one day, maybe work hand in hand with a developer to develop my own theme. In the meantime, I’m happy with my own site, and happy to work with a great developer, Pexato. It’s a reminder to keep a foot in another camp rather than letting someone else do all the work for you.
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