Developer Question
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- scrap_paper
I keep running into the similar problems when working with developers. When I receive a deliverables from a range of developers that I outsource work to I find that they are graphically inaccurate. Margins are off, size of content area x, y, z is inaccurate, areas that are supposed to be graphic titles are substituted with hypertext etc etc.
I have done everything I can think of to make the transition from design to development easier from writing out detailed briefs to providing cropped images. I find I am spending more time reviewing and writing critiques then designing the actual work.
Although I would never call myself a developer by trade I can build basic web assets, so I have some idea of what can and can't be done. I also always confer with my contractors to get their input on concepts before going to the client with creative for them to sign off on.
What am doing wrong? Anyone out there with similar experiences and any suggestions on how to fix this ongoing and costly issue?
- doesnotexist0
I have to deal with this a lot too- I've come to accept it and include it in my hours now.
- MrDinky0
Thats why you hire COSMO
- juhls0
Same issue here.
I also accept it, as it's not worth the hundreds of emails that it would normally take to sort it out. I find CSS helps a lot.
- MrDinky0
Seriously hire COSMO from here. He is good.
- How do you search for a profile here. I tried the filter but can't seem to find COSMOscrap_paper
- http://www.qbn.com/c…Stugoo
- great thanks!scrap_paper
- Stugoo0
Thing is, a lot of developers cut corners on the front end and give you something that is similar to your design but not something pixel perfect. I work with a few like that who's code is chunky and inexperienced and make thigns workin one browser. I spend plenty of time pointing out mistakes and fixing bugs.
primary you could learn a bit of CSS to find out what can/cant be done. for example you must understand that a perfect baseline grid can be very difficult to achive.
Otherwise ask can (im not saying you dont :) ) for 'pixel perfect' layouts and hopefully you should get some....
or you can send it to me and ill fix it for you :)
- was going to say the same, I would do that to save time, but I design as well so I dontFallowDeer
- scrap_paper0
Although my foundation is in design I've spent the last bunch of years slugging it out on my own and have had to learn a fair amount of HTML/CSS. I have a pretty good idea of what is achievable and am really willing to work with a colleague on the concept if something is not.
I'm at the stage where I really can't spend any more time learning to develop (and don't really want to) and have to find a good crop of people that know what they're about and can deliver.
Is it really just about finding the right people?
- yes. and it goes both wayssherm
- agreedStugoo
- No doubt. You can have some pain in the ass designer out therescrap_paper
- sounds right. sounds like someone on here may be a good option.jimzyk
- heavyt0
It really is common. As a developer, I can say most of my colleagues just dont pay attention to pixels.
I think most developers look at a project and begin thinking of the logic, placing most importance on that. They see the interface as some secondary notion.
I came from a background of design, so maybe that is why I am able to pay so much attention to the finer points. But I know I am not alone.
My brother @Tresudek and I can always do your development for you if you need a resource. Just email me/us.
- ckentish0
i have this problem all the time and always have.
css does help a bit... but i find myself doing the css front end myself now to save hassle despite not being slower and taking my time away from actual design... i think this problem is part of this game unless you find a rare developer who has a mild interest in design...
- munch0
There are some amazingly talented developers out there who have this problem. They just have different priorities and seem to rush the visual side. I don't consider myself to be a super advanced developer but my attention to detail is what has helped me to maintain good relationships with the designers I work with.
- vaxorcist0
Short answer : involve developer earlier, have some respect on both sides, and do real prototype thinking before committing to design that has to be changed alot at the last minute.
Developers often see projects like an iceberg, that which matters to them is underwater, invisible to everyone else who's fixated on what they can see, much of which is not nearly as potentially devastating as that which is invisible, like a corrupted database of bad e-commerce transactions,etc.
Process and culture have to change bigtime.
Many agencies still use the infamous waterfall method: where each step is approved and set in stone before handed downwards, so the designer does PSD's which are then handed to developer to css-ify and "add functionality."
Sounds good, as it "should" prevent changes, as the design has been "hammered down and approved" before it's sent to developer...
But....this is sometimes project suicide, as things look farther along than they are, client thinks things are "mostly done" somebody randomly offers some new ideas... and often there are some surprise "can't get there from here" moments when earlier assumptions have to be re-examined, some business requirement may have been sidelined, etc...
These earlier assumptions are what the developer based a large, invisible codebase on, so a designer may be saying "can you put this here and move that to this other page" but a developer may hear "can you make this submarine into a flying minibus with 8 wheels by tomorrow morning?!?"
This leads to developer burnout....
One way out of all this is agile development, but it's more likely to be used on projects where clients are not so nervous, where people are willing to let prototyping take a while, where people are capable of abstract thinking, and things may work in a different set of directions: Developers and IA's think of what has to be done, and designers then skin and re-skin a front end, with clearly determined pageflow. This does bring the designer in towards the end, not the beginning, and is too much of a cultural shift for most design-oriented agencies, but it may be a good alternative for applications where you're doing something really different from what's been done before.
- ornj0
This drives me NUTS. I do a lot of development and I don't understand the people who just don't care.
- creez0
developpers should die
- MrDinky0
Yes all developers should die except COSMO
cause he is good. He also saved my life.
- SteveJobs0
Developer: "fucking lol"
- MrDinky0
Call COSMO for good times
http://www.qbn.com/cosmo/
- blbr30
I'm a developer, and I really don't want to die. :)
But I'm also a designer. I worked on both sides, and I can confirm you that there is a lot of developers that don't pay much attention to details; they don't see things from designers perspective, and to them, 1px is no big deal, that slightly different font color is no big deal, that round edge is no big deal... well, all designers know it is a big deal.
And from the developers point of view, I can say that there is a lot of designers that don't give much attention to details as well; they don't see things from developers perspective, and to them, that gradient background pattern that’s 350kb in size is no big deal, that beautiful font in titles is no big deal, that gallery with gradient background and rounded corners and semi-transparent shadows on different pictures sizes is no big deal... well, all developers know it is a big deal.
Answer is to communicate clearly your wants and needs. Ask for feedback, whether you’re designer or developer, try to look things from different perspective. Developers goal and designers goal is the same - to create the best website ever, to learn, to find new solutions, to make the site work.
If you write a detailed brief for the developer, ask for feedback and react, things should go pretty easy.
Other than that I don’t think there is anything you can do. Maybe try to find another developer - there has to be some good ones out there. COSMO, apparently, rocks. Or you can try out our service (www.slicemachine.com). I promise it will be pixel perfect. :)
- version30
i've done work in the movie industry for the last 3 years, i guess now i know why they call someone 1800 miles away, because I do it right, the comp is a comp for a reason i thought
- MrDinky0
COSMO does rock. He is doing a project for me.
- welded0
From the other side, having to build from sloppy PSDs is also a huge hassle. It takes education and ideas flowing in both directions in order to have a good working relationship. Of course, some people just aren't good at their job or simply lack experience.
- MrDinky0
I give sloppy PSD or no PSD to COSMO, he still makes stuff work.
Odd but true.