Architect vs. Decorator
By Richard
L. Goldberg
Contributing Writer
Article Date: 01.30.03
I find your WebProNews e-zine interesting and thought-provoking...so much so,
that I felt the need to comment on today's missive.
Your point is well taken and I very much agree that structure and design are
best handled by those who can bring a particular skill-set to a Web project.
But I also feel that one process should not preclude the other;
in-other-words, both programmer and designer need to work in sync.
I am a television and film writer/producer. During pre-production when
conceptualizing and scripting a production, I don't go it alone. The key
production members are brought in on the project during conceptualization --
cinematographer, editor, graphic artists, animators, etc. so that there is a
cohesive effort, even though some of these production tasks don't take place
until later in the production process; for instance, editing the film in
post production. Each team member brings something to the table early on,
which adds production value to the project and saves time, money, and
frustration later on.
Though I do not have as much experience in Web design and development, I
have created a fair number of sites, all of which were collaborative efforts
by programmers, Web designers and graphic artists. Each member of the team
was brought onboard right from the outset, and worked together through a
project's completion.
In an ideal world such parallel design and development should be a
democratic undertaking and allow for a tremendous amount of creativity and
cutting-edge development. In an ideal world -- Yes! In the real world --
Not!! I believe the concept of creative designers and skilled programmers
working side-by-side is a concept that will eventually find a niche in the
future of Web Development. Until then, I'm sure many Web projects will be a
proverbial runner's baton, handed off from programmers to designers.
About the Author:
Richard L. Goldberg, Television Writer-Producer Johns Hopkins Applied Physics
Lab See a clip from our latest production, "Unlocking The Mysteries" at: http://discovery.nasa.gov/discovery_video.html
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