What the heck is a software designer?
Understanding what a "Software Designer" is seems to be innate knowledge to a small portion of the population. To the rest of the world, this line of work is a hopeless enigma; even to technology recruiters who repeatedly call me for "Developer" positions.
Designers are not Developers. Not that I don't want to think positively here, but I simply don't know my way around a script the way a developer does. I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, and can handle code to some extent, but it is not my forte. I attempt to know as much about development as I need to to be a good designer and communicate effectively with developers.
To add to the confusion, there is no "correct" way to refer to myself in the field. Very generically speaking, I design software. I design the pages you see on your screen, the navigation of the website or application you may be using. However, the software design field is broken down into people or companies who enjoy categorizing themselves in a variety of ways.
Some names for software designers |
Translation |
|---|---|
| UI Designer | User Interface Designer |
| UX Designer | User eXperience Designer |
| UE Designer | User Experience Designer |
| IA | Information Architect |
| IxD | Interaction Designer |
| Visual Designer | Graphics guru who designs production level visuals for web |
Other animals... |
|
| Visual Developer | Front end developer who wants to spend 50% of time in Photoshop |
| UX Developer | Front end developer who isn't afraid to open Photoshop |
| Usability Analyst | Customer researcher, trained in measuring the effectiveness of a product or a design. |
| Web Designer | Old school terminology: someone who can code front end, produce graphics, manage css and scripting-- typically for a website not a software product. |
| Usability Specialist | Nearly lost in the mists of time, this may have been one of the first recorded names for workers in human factors. |
| Usability Engineer | Another paleo-title. Perhaps the earliest term that is still extant today (revealing much about the companies that cling to such a title). |
Developing a very specific skillset may steer a person into further categorizing themselves. On some level this is beneficial, because specializing in a specific discipline will deepen your skills and make you an expert in that area. If I had to pin down my favorite titles, I'd say I'm equal parts all of the above in the top half of this table.
Some of what I do
In the broadest sense, designers work to make the software applications we use less confusing and simpler to operate for everyone. In order to do this, our work can include a variety of tasks, such as creation of
- Sketches
- Workflows and flowcharts
- Storyboards
- Wireframes
- Interaction specifications or diagrams
- Mock-ups
- Visual designs
- Prototypes
- Models for presentation or usability testing
- Working code
- CSS and style guides
- Site standards and patterns
- Design specifications
Falling both at the beginning and in the middle of the software development process, Designers must be skilled communicators and be able to speak to both Development and Product teams, Marketing, or the originators of the project. We're in it the whole nine yards, looking out for you, the user, from the project's first blush until final release, when it finally graces your screen.
Work aside
I am not a design robot. I do have a life, quirks and hobbies. Work fascinates me, but I also love sci-fi, horror films, tiling a wall when the mood strikes, a good steak, writing poetry, playing the harmonica, rodents of all shapes and sizes (excepting squirrels), and gardening.
