Asymptomatic

Code v Design

January 24, 2007 9:45am · 3 Comments ·

This isn't any serious attempt to build a case in any particular direction, just some undeveloped thoughts I was having in the shower this morning after yesterday's 12.5-hour work day.

Design often follows no rigid form, and is fluid in that you need not follow convention to achieve it. With a pen or brush or stylus, you can craft a design that looks however you like with any level of appeal or function to those who experience it. Design, in regard to computer production, is often static and shows little regard for interactivity.

Continues here →

Code, as an art, is more than design. Code requires a regid process that is unlike design. There are rules to producing code that make it not work properly when not done correctly. Still, within that framework is the flexibility for art. Code incorporates aspects of layout that are commonly associated to design, but once again, with rules that define what can be done and what can't. While design should account for user experience, code must account for user experience or the perception of it is negative.

Where design have have a positive or negative impact on the viewer based on their viewpoint, code can be determined to work properly or not, be functional or not, be useable or not.

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Comments

  1. i think it depends a lot on the type of design, and the type of code. the guys at maxwell have started from scratch more times than any project i've seen (much to the dismay of shader designers).

    industrial design, and other less dynamic (than web site) design professions, have seriously rigid design schedules and processes. design _should_ be aware of the constraints of the medium and materials. if it's a pretty picture that can't be used, it isn't design. (design involves both form and function)

  2. This rolls into many different issues, too. Like, when a designer puts together a completely insane layout, and you dive in to attempt it and somehow come out with what they've designed. Well, you did it that one time, so why can't this new thing be done? It reminds me of Star Trek, when Scotty over-estimates the amount of time it takes to repair the engines so that he can sound like a miracle-worker -- I should try that.

    I'm firmly in the "code is art" camp. I don't know what else to call it. Certainly, if I doodled something (ok, anything really), it would not be considered "art". I feel similarly about some people's code. When you've been doing this this long, you can tell.

    And just to be clear, because I wasn't in the post, this post is not at all about Habari (or, really, anything in specific), where the guys building the graphic design have some handle on what can and can't be accomplished with CSS, even if they're hell-bent on pushing its limits.

  3. Doug Stewart
    Dec 31, 1969 07:00pm

    Owen:
    This is the eternal question and one of the things that constantly frustrates engineers and coders of all stripes. Creative types are just that: creative. They think outside the box and come up with wild visions of what might be. Once the "what might be's" get handed off to the implementors, I think it all comes down to expectations management. Engineers ought to say "Interesting. We're working under some physical constraints imposed by, you know, the laws of physics, etc., but in that framework, I'll see what I can do for you." It then becomes an issue of making that design into code, a task that is sometimes daunting.

    However, sometimes designers' desires can be turned into workable code by adjusting the framework. Many of the revisions to CSS over the years have come from artsy types saying "I really, REALLY want to have the ability to make seamless imagemaps that work cross-browser", etc. This design-level feedback has helped to improve the technological and code framework in ways that (for the most part) end up benefiting both parties.

    Now, the question as to whether code itself can be "art" is another matter entirely. I've had long arguments with my artsy-inclined wife on the subject and, regardless of the strength of my convictions, she remains unconvinced. *grin*

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