How to not Work with Developers as a Designer

We’re divas, too.

I was sick two days ago, allowing myself to pause my writing streak and get some rest. And just like working out, it feels so hard to restart the process and regain the habit.

It shows a Venn Diagram — It seems to attract UXers — of effective deliverables between teams, respectively managers, clients, and developers. From a 10x designer point of view, of course.

And what a surprise: Pixel-perfect mockups are just for clients.

Then, I found something to say. How to not work with developers, from my little experience.

TL;DR: developers are users, too.

That was very disruptive; I get it. Bear with me.

I found that it was useful to present near pixel-perfect mockups to developers for several reasons.

The team wanted to project themself into what we imagined. It’s easier to do it with high-fidelity since we all use pixel-perfect products daily.

We all have a bias for polished things because nobody sees the digital world in tasks, flows, or stories unless we.

Selling the vision isn’t restricted to external clients. Internal teams need to be convinced to be aligned.

If I extend my throughs on the designer-developer collaboration, I often hear that we need to onboard tech folks on our mindset, to understand our processes.

Showcasing our process is often done by shipping deliverables at a different stage of the project.

I’ve tried a different approach since it seems a little bit harsh to ask for a considerable task for someone who sees the product from a different prism without putting effort into it.

We launched side-projects where the end-user are themselves. We redesigned the internal products they use every day.

By solving tech problems with our UX stack, we can show the value of it. And everything can make sense since they’re not another step of a process.

A smooth handoff is a must if you want the delightful UX you’ve imagined to be a reality.

User interview your dev team, learn how they work: their processes, tools, culture. And try to adapt.

It can be on how you ship your design, or even how you manage your versions.

Ultimately you’re the customer service of your work — gather feedback and patch your process if it makes sense and provides value.

There are divas in the two camps. Empathy shouldn’t apply only for the end-user.

Make your life and other teams’ life, more comfortable in the first place. It will benefit your end-user in the long run.

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