Speaking web: a guide for designers

Sitting comfortably on the fence between design and engineering, I’ve always found it easy to translate between the two worlds. When I began to work with purist design teams I realized that this is not the case for everyone.

While the languages of design and engineering are the same, the dialect is different. We use different words, phrases, and idioms.

I’ve seen mistranslation of design intent lead to frustration among teams. Often sparking a great deal of debate around the dreaded Design Handover Process. The Holy Grail.

It attempts to optimize the translation of design to code, allowing tribes to continue speaking at cross purposes. It also assumes that there is a one-to-one mapping between the designer’s idea and the representation of that idea in code.

Progressive teams recognize that for every design, countless approaches to engineering will exist. They try to bring the design process closer…