I often use the analogy that when we design for print, what are we doing over and over again? Doing proof prints. Why then when designing websites (or apps) are we not getting in to the browser as quickly as possible, rather than creating interactive pictures of websites in Figma?
This is where you can stand out as a designer by learning to code. I’m not talking about writing production code with developers here. Hell, maybe in the future, but I’m talking getting a good understanding of How Things Work™ and using that knowledge to blast your web and app design skills into the stratosphere.
Andy’s post is an excellent guide and list of resources, it’s also one of the best summaries of why you should at least understand how the things you build for work, and some very good reasons to learn to code as a designer, it’s an ancient argument but in 2024 it might just make you stand out enough when some of our work can be spat out in 30 seconds by AI.
With design tools further commoditising and sanitising expected creative output, the time for designers to be able to stand out is very much here. I think for some, learning to code is a good route for that.
Please give this a try if you’re a new (or not so new) designer.