Hey folks! I'm digging into the collaboration process between frontend developers and UX/UI designers, and I'm eager to gather insights from the developer side. What are some of the common pain points you encounter when working with designers? I've heard some examples like issues with designs only focusing on ideal scenarios, neglecting edge cases, and having communication gaps. I'm not looking to point fingers at designers; I genuinely want to understand where miscommunication happens so that teams can work together more smoothly. I'd love to hear your experiences, be it problems you've faced, specific examples, or even successful collaboration stories. Thanks for your thoughts!
4 Answers
One major issue is that many designers don't speak the development language. I started as a Media Designer and now handle frontend development too. It's frustrating when designers complain about developers not following their designs, yet they don't provide clear technical criteria. For instance, when requesting an accordion, it should specify it as a 'details' element. Good designers are aware of technical limitations and collaborate during refinements to ensure there are no misunderstandings.
I've seen mockups that completely overlook loading states, error messages, or weird data scenarios. It's like Figma frames aren’t built with real components in mind, making it hard to implement them correctly in code.
Even with modern tools, some designers struggle to create responsive mockups. While a good developer can adapt designs for responsiveness, a poor design can turn into a nightmare with endless revisions. Another big issue is when designs don’t account for the implementation system, leading to a mismatch that feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Plus, knowing about existing libraries can save time. It’s frustrating when you have to build a component from scratch that could have been easily implemented from a well-documented resource.
One thing to consider is whether the designer is internal or external. From my experience, the level of investment in the product can really affect outcomes. Internal designers might feel more ownership leading to better communication and understanding of the technical aspects.
That makes sense! I'm mostly looking at internal designers for design work on apps or websites. Have you worked with both internal and external designers? How did their approaches differ?
Could you elaborate on the Figma frames? Are they hard to work with because of how Auto Layout is set up? And how does this relate to happy path designs?