You know code, but how are your design skills?

Pop quiz: Which 15^th Century Italian created the first ever blueprints for the helicopter, the airplane, and the diving suit while also making a couple of rather famous paintings?

The description ‘jack of all trades’ is generally seen as a negative, yet this seems unfair when some of the world’s greatest minds have undeniably shown their fascination for a wide range of topics. Being specialized in one particular activity is, of course, great. However, having an expanded skillset clearly isn’t a bad thing!

Whether you’re new to software development or have been coding for many years, you’re likely to be aware of the growing expectation that developers should know how to design beautiful apps as well as build their architecture. Especially (although not exclusively) in the world of startups; being an all-rounder is highly valued. A small team attempting to get a product off the ground will be extremely happy if their developer is not only able to turn an idea into a working tool, but also able to make it look great.  

Even if you don’t work at a startup, there are a lot of benefits to being skilled in multiple areas. The addition on your CV could make you stand out at your next interview. You might also be interested in transitioning from pure, mathematical code-writing to the more intuitive and subjective world of design.

1. What skills do you already have?

Development and design do already have a lot of crossover. If you’re interested in boosting your design skills, the first thing you need to do is decide which skills you actually need to improve. This article provides a whole range of handy information on what you’ll need to think about if you’re interested in web design. Depending on the kind of design you want to do, the following table (with some modification) can be used to help you work out which skills you already have, and which you’ll need to learn. You can then begin looking at how to start picking up those skills. 

As a developer, there will be various new tools and skills you’ll need to learn in order to become a proficient designer. Fortunately, some of the tools you already use will be applicable in both environments.

2. Decide on your end goal

Your end goals will impact on how you decide to approach learning design. If you’re simply interested in learning the basics so as to be able to help out on minor design projects, you won’t have such a steep learning curve. You’ll probably be able to get by with advice from YouTube videos, and message boards.

On the other hand, if your aim is to transition to becoming a fully-fledged designer, you’d be wise to explore more serious training schedules. While the Internet is a trove of information, you’ll need a lot of dedication (and luck) to find resources that can provide the detail and support you need to really learn. You may find it valuable to attend evening classes in web design for instance.

It’s also worth mentioning here that design, like most things, is best learnt through practice. If you’re planning on using your design skills to improve your mobile apps for instance, all the things you learn will make a lot more sense if they’re actually applied in the real world. Why not build yourself a small app and actually begin designing the tool’s UI as you learn?

3. Copy, shamelessly!

The easiest way to learn is through imitation. Find designs that you think are appealing and look for the source code. By attempting to recreate work done by the best, you’ll learn an awful lot. As this article points out, by examining how others have approached a design problem, you’ll much better understand how to solve similar problems yourself. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.

4. Use the community

There are an enormous amount of resources available online about web, mobile, app and general software design. If you’re struggling with an issue and can’t find a solution, ask the community. You can bet that if you’re struggling with a design problem, there’s almost certainly someone out there who has also encountered the same issue and will be willing to help. Try the aptly named Web Design Forums as a starting point.

5. Choose the right tools

There are many great tools out there for designing prototypes for web, mobile and beyond. Choosing a tool which fits with your specific needs is essential, and can really make life a lot easier. Indigo Studio, for instance, allows you to rapidly design interactive app prototypes for smartphone and tablet without writing a single line of code. With collaborative features that let colleagues review and comment on designs, storyboards to help you present real-world app use cases and built in UI-elements, it’s the ideal toolbox for budding designers.

Design of the times

It’s a sign of the times that even the most skilled developers are expected to have at least some design knowledge. The jobs market is crowded with software engineers, and while IT remains a profitable career, the growth of global competition makes it harder for developers to rest on their laurels when it comes to skills. Learning at least some design skills will add to your CV and help you get more out of your job.

Explore our developer toolkit to learn about the wide range of tools we’ve produced to help make your design and development experience that bit more creative.