Should a developer know basic (or more) design? If so, why?

As a designer, I can tell you that it makes a huge difference when working with an engineer that has a good product sense, especially in early stage companies. It's definitely not critical, and there are more important skills for the engineer, but it's a huge plus. Concretely it helps to: - Avoid spending a lot of time within the team to get aligned on the value of good design / product. - Make back and forth between design and engineering faster because everyone speaks the same language. - Prevent a lot of small quality issues (especially in terms of visual design) that are always deprioritised and rarely fixed otherwise. - Allow the engineer to make a bunch of design decisions on the fly which I think is gratifying both for the engineer and the designer. I'd say it's equally valuable for designers to get some knowledge of engineering for the same reasons.

Backend developer is not a must, skills in analytics in working with data will be more useful. For a frontend developer, design skills are a must.

Short answer: Yes I think it is very beneficial for both sides. Developers need to have some knowledge about design principles and basic knowledge of design. In order to collaborate with designers and make design-related decisions, developers need to have knowledge about the terms, basic color, and typography knowledge at least.

In general, yes, to understand the structure and workings of design. But I think it's not critical, because your job is to program, not to design. But like any skill it will only be useful.

Certainly, for multiple reasons: - to ensure the product is user-frindly and cost for implementing specific designs is within budget and well-aligned with the rest of functionality. It happened before that designer's creativity went overboard and developer was struggling implementing it instead of suggesting simple alternative that would have taken way less time to make.

Basic sounds ok... but on long run, knowing little of Testing and more of Design is better. Saves time and prevents rework

i think you are only a real developer if you know how to design and know whats a good design, why else would you be a developer, design and layout is the start of every project (at least in frontend)

Of course he shouldn't, unless his job requires it. But any additional skills are useful, develop the brain and may someday come in handy. Every experienced UI developer probably knows the basics of design and even more, since they work with it every day.

I think the best developers have conceptual knowledge of how a usable application should look like. They have an understanding of how a UI should look like to support usability and how it should operate. It's just a professional and personal experience to them. Mediocre and 9-to-5 engineers will need more guidance in these parts as they often don't have the experience or the will to understand concepts not tightly connected to their tasks.

Design is a universal language.

Comment Deleted

A visually appealing product is more likely to be noticed and used by users. Developers who have some design skills can create products that are more aesthetically pleasing.

Absolutely. Knowing design or for that knowing the meta-principles behind it, can teach a lot to any professional. Essentially everyone is trying to convince, or pitch something to someone. Knowing Design means you can pitch it better, sell it better, create it better. What do you think @nimishg

Certainly. Developers benefit from having a basic understanding of design principles because it enhances collaboration with designers, enables them to create more user-friendly interfaces, facilitates creative problem-solving, aids in prototyping and wireframing, maintains design consistency, and empowers them to translate design mockups accurately into functional front-end interfaces, resulting in better user experiences and innovative solutions.

Yes. it elevates the entire experience.

In today's rapidly evolving AI landscape, it's crucial to continuously upgrade our skills and learn new ones to stay competitive against other creators and machines. I've experienced both sides, and there's no better feeling than seeing something you've built from scratch, both front end and backend, come alive in production. I might be biased, but it's a resounding yes from me.

I think a developer just need to stay updates. All other skills are a plus.

I am actually a developer but 7 years ago I was only a graduated graphic designer. And honestly, it is a big plus value to know design. You can quickly switch from one tool to another and make a website a little bit pretty in no time.

Yes, it can be beneficial for a developer to have a basic understanding of design, if not more.Having a basic knowledge of design principles and concepts can help facilitate effective communication and collaboration between developers and designers.

As a SaaS Product Demo animation explainer video expert, I've seen firsthand how important it is for developers to have at least a basic understanding of design. I've worked with developers who have created amazing products that are technically brilliant, but they're not very user-friendly. This can lead to users getting frustrated and abandoning the product. On the other hand, I've also worked with developers who have a good understanding of design, and their products are both user-friendly and visually appealing. These products are more likely to be successful because users are more likely to use them. So, if you're a developer, I encourage you to learn about design. It's a valuable skill that will help you create better products.