@blarckat We always hope that one person can master multiple skills at the same time, but it takes a lot of effort to learn. I don’t know how long a UX designer can learn to code. Is such a requirement reasonable for them?

@jason_lee_3282 You don't need to be a designer/developer to get a job, but it makes you better at what you do. One thing you might want to learn from coding as a designer is to understand how systems work both in concept and practice. Programming is rich in abstraction, logic, and object-oriented design, and these are some of the many concepts that designers use to solve big problems. We already come across them in design terms from reusable components to design thinking, but software engineering does it with a very direct and logical perspective. As a designer, you want to think like an engineer - because it is a must for designers to be versatile in thinking. Anything worth mastering is difficult. Coding is difficult for non-coders, and design for non-designers; so, depending on learning style, programming language, etc. it could take months to years to master. The focus can shift from being an expert to knowing enough to make important decisions (and keeping up with the dev nerds). Also, "high-level" product design interviews are focused on how designers use these in their thought processes to take design decisions that will either build or sink the company. So learning to code is not required for many UX jobs; some teams might prefer just a Figma expert, and besides, you might never even join the dev team to write code anyway. But I can say for certain that it makes these concepts easier to understand, provides insight when you design a product, and sets you apart from other designers/engineers.

@blarckat Thank you very much, your reply is very excellent, comprehensive, and logical, it can provide a piece of practical career advice for designers.

@henrymiller I agree. You need to understand enough about design concepts to identify what's going on, and to properly apply the design to your end product.

@henrymiller @bruceliao Understanding design principles is a very important thing, the only problem is how to measure it, how to judge that a front-end engineer has a good judgment on design principles.

@henrymiller I agree. In my Product Design background I've always worked better with Front-End peers that had basic UX knowledge and had an eye for details.

@richard_gao2 I very much agree with your point of view, whether it is necessary depends on the actual project situation.

@richard_gao2 I believe in all cases the Front-End engineer would benefit from having basic UI/UX knowledge to be able to have a good collaboration with the designer. When I used to be UI/UX designer I discovered that when we can relate to each other's challenges (Front End with design), we are willing to listen more carefully to each other.

@richard_gao2 @ana_maria_ghita A UI/UX designer to answer this question will make the conclusion more convincing, thank you very much!

@hari_pragdish With the development of the Internet today, design has indeed occupied an increasingly important position, and there are also very professional talents in this field. It really takes a lot of time for front-end engineers to master complete UI knowledge.

@jason_lee_3282 True. A simple structure that I am planning to implement in my startup is. Design team should document a short video on the why's and thought process behind choosing that particular design. They should also host regular KT sessions with engineers to explain the trends in UI / UX. This ensure that developers know the 'why' and the basic knowledge of the design while not spending too much time learning design

@hari_pragdish A company with a founder like you is awesome, you bridge the gap between UI/UX designers and front-end developers, a job that very few people do except in roles like yours.

@manas_sharma I agree with you. At different stages of entrepreneurship, we need talents with no skills. In the early stage of entrepreneurship, front-end engineers need to master more design skills, but after the product becomes mature and complex, professional UI designers are still needed to participate.

@manoj_radhakrishnan1 Added value is a good term. In other words, it can be described as a compound talent in cross-fields.

@taishiling I can get this information from your answer: front-end engineers with design ability are very rare, and we should try our best to retain such talents.

@vincentchinc There are some trade-offs to be made, time spent improving technical skills and no time learning design skills.

@witt_teo As a developer, your answer is very detailed and specific, and the examples you give are very apt.

@trevor_george It’s a great work ethic to be responsible for yourself!

@tneogi Agree with you, front-end engineers need to have better awareness when it comes to complex UI work.