1 The modern web developer
The web is a place of constant change. New technologies and frameworks are being introduced rapidly every year. Even the old foundational bits that are the basis for building the World Wide Web like HTML and CSS are still being evolved today in standards groups and by web browsers.
The pace of evolution on the web is rapid, with those who build for it needing to adapt and learn how to use new tools or code that may or may not become foundational to the web. It’s a constant cycle, one that I’m familiar with.
I graduated in 2010 with a degree in New Media Design, where I’d spent the better part of my final year learning how to build websites in Adobe Flash, utilizing ActionScript 3.0 for any interaction. Flash died as a design medium for the web within a year after I graduated, leaving me with basic knowledge of HTML and CSS to get me by. I had to adapt and learn or be left behind in the dust with the other outdated technologies.
As someone who specialized in web design, the idea that code would not be a part of my day-to-day on the web seemed foreign to me. “Should designers learn to code?” is a continued topic of debate. As a web designer, my answer has always been “yes” because how do you design for the web if you don’t at least understand the basics on which the web is built and functions? You have to have some understanding of what is and isn’t possible and it helps to be able to communicate with your developer.