When it comes to working on a digital product, two essential pillars come into play—the creation of the project’s design and its web development. The success of the product heavily relies on establishing effective communication between these two specialists. It necessitates skills such as active listening, mutual understanding, professionalism, ethical conduct, and coordinated action—soft skills that are equally crucial.
Efficient communication serves as the key to achieving favourable outcomes in digital product creation, including a visually appealing and high-quality aesthetic design, seamless optimization across all platforms and browsers, and overall excellence. By fostering a sense of coordination, tasks can be resolved swiftly and efficiently, fostering a positive and harmonious atmosphere among team members.
Now, let’s delve into specific tips aimed at enhancing the relationship between designers and front-end or back-end developers—web development professionals.
Discovering Effective Communication Channels
Right from the outset, it is crucial to engage in discussions regarding convenient communication methods for all parties involved. This could entail exploring various messaging applications or utilizing email for seamless correspondence. Additionally, everyone might find it beneficial and enjoyable to incorporate video calls, enabling real-time demonstrations of their work. While it may seem like a minor detail, establishing reliable and accessible means of contact from the beginning can significantly streamline the work process.
Ethical Behaviour and Conduct Guidelines
Above all, it is crucial to uphold a sense of decency and humanity. Recognize and bear in mind that everyone is prone to making mistakes, occasionally running late, and experiencing difficulties in immediate comprehension. This principle applies not only to what you might perceive as a “less competent colleague” but also to yourself. Therefore, it is always essential to treat your colleagues with respect and understanding, resolving any issues through constructive dialogue rather than engaging in conflicts or scandals. Such an approach will further enhance productivity, as it fosters a deeper level of mutual understanding among team members.
Gaining Insight into Each Other’s Professional Fundamentals
While web designers may not necessarily be expected to possess coding skills for implementing their designs, having a fundamental understanding of front-end development is crucial for their profession. A lack of familiarity with the basics of front-end development can lead to challenges in translating the design into code accurately. In the worst-case scenario, this can result in repeated revisions and delays, ultimately jeopardizing client satisfaction and potentially losing their trust. Additionally, it complicates the process of collaboration among the development team members. The front-end developer may frequently need to explain why certain design elements are not feasible, consuming valuable time, energy, and straining relationships within the team.
Ideally, both the web designer and the front-end developer should have skills in both specializations. There are numerous advantages to this approach, such as joint brainstorming for implementing UX, more creative ideas, and the ability to see mistakes and correct them in a timely manner.
Please ask the designer to organize the layers and assign them meaningful names.
To streamline the layout process, it is important to structure all the elements, including the layers. Organizing and properly labelling the layers will save time when searching for specific elements, simplify the workflow, enhance team productivity, and improve coordination with the designer. Therefore, I suggest recommending to the designer to group the elements in their work and create a folder or group for each object component. For example, for a product card, the button, image, text, and form can be grouped together.
Highlighting the significance of optimizing and ensuring the fast loading of the website
The fast loading speed of a website is a crucial factor in today’s internet landscape. Optimized web graphics play a vital role in reducing the website’s response time. I recommend asking the designer to select smaller-sized elements such as images, videos, animations, and others, preferably ranging from 100-200KB. This practice significantly improves the loading speed of web pages.
Sometimes it may be challenging to find images in the exact required size. In such cases, utilizing the WebP image format can be beneficial. WebP offers image compression without visible loss of quality, aiding in maintaining a fast loading speed for the website.
Encourage the web designer to demonstrate object states (buttons, animations, effects, fields, forms)
It is essential for the developer to have a comprehensive understanding of the project details. This greatly simplifies and accelerates the workflow, eliminating the need to inquire about the behaviour of each new element. I suggest asking the designer to create duplicate layers showcasing the modified states of the objects or provide clear descriptions of the intended effects.
Request the designer to provide the developer with a package of visual elements
In addition to the website layout, the designer should supply the developer with all the graphic elements used in its development, including photos, images, icons, logos, and fonts. This facilitates prompt correction of any inaccuracies that may hinder the proper functioning of the website.
Ensure that the developer does not make changes to the web design layout without approval
If any aspect of the website seems challenging to the developer and they are unsure how to implement it, they should consult with the web designer to discuss the possibility of simplifying or removing the element. If it is necessary to retain the element as it is, online resources or colleagues can provide assistance in finding a solution. It is crucial that the developer never make decisions regarding the design layout independently, as this can damage the relationship with the designer and complicate the work process.
Additional recommendations for UI designers and front-end developers to establish a harmonious collaboration
Advice for designers:
- Utilize a grid as a fundamental element in your work, as it is often overlooked by web designers.
- Show hover effects (object states when hovered or clicked) to the front-end developer to avoid assumptions and ensure accurate implementation.
- Label all objects on the layout. To foster effective collaboration with front-end developers, familiarize yourself with the combination of Atomic Design and BEM (Block Element Modifier) methodologies.
- Use meaningful layer names and group them accordingly.
- Provide explanatory comments on the static design layout.
Advice for front-end developers:
- Create a layout and gain knowledge of the fundamental principles of working with design. Seek to understand any problematic areas in the UI designer’s work.
- Avoid disregarding elements that you perceive as unnecessary, as devaluing someone’s work is never appreciated. Additionally, any object may hold strategic value.
- Discuss any contentious issues in the layout with the designer to prevent further disagreements.
- Familiarize yourself with one or preferably several graphic editors.
In conclusion, the collaboration between UI designers and front-end developers relies on effective communication and a deep understanding of each other’s roles. It is crucial to assess each other’s capabilities, acknowledge weaknesses, and coordinate ideas prior to implementation. It is also important to consider the opinion of the project manager when questions arise. By adopting this approach, the work will yield high-quality results and bring satisfaction to all involved parties.
