Missing Link, or User Experience Designer
According to a recent study by Netcraft , there are about 100 million websites registered on the Internet. The boom of uncontrollable site building is over, and in this field of activity its own laws and rules are finally being formed. They concern both the sites themselves and the organization of the processes of their creation. Gone are the days when small groups of 2-3 people who called themselves “web developers” performed simultaneously the roles of managers, designers, layout designers, programmers and tried to reach mutual understanding with customers, while not having the necessary knowledge and qualifications. It was the turn of experts in the field of communications "client-developer". Some large structures, which reached the level of online production projects, realized the need to strengthen the design departments by hiring such professionals. And similarly to the “art director + creative director” bundle, “producer + designer” tandems began to form.
The emergence of producers in this industry is due to two factors: the need to isolate designers from the rough realities of the world in the person of customers and an attempt to introduce into their working environment people practical and alien creative prejudices. If everything is clear with the first one, then the second’s utility is doubtful for many. And in vain: producers who have flexible thinking, a broad outlook and healthy curiosity, are able to come up with easily “sold” solutions and not let designers follow the style and habits. The system is built with a friendly interface: the producer receives information, transmits it to the designer, then with it implements the idea born in the process of discussions. The result of joint efforts is presented to the customer, and communication between the producer and the other two parties takes place in understandable languages ​​(as opposed to the scheme of work with the project manager, who cares only about terms and profitability, usually not understanding anything in design or in business customer).
In the article “The Ideal Web Team”, Andy Budd calls producers “information architects” or “user designers”, arguing that they should set the direction for the project’s development, thinking through the strategy and tactics. And for this you need to have certain qualities: the ability to speak well and listen carefully, the ability to quickly think in unusual situations and cut off all unnecessary to optimize the workflow. As practice shows, charisma plays an important role - in situations where rational arguments do not work, personal charisma goes on.
There are certainly disadvantages too. The producer, like any intermediary in the chain, reduces the level of the "signal": something is lost along the way, something is simplified or eliminated altogether. It is more focused on results than on free creativity, and therefore deliberately avoids risks and uncertainties. But this is a matter of principle - which is more important for the company: the birth of masterpieces or the image of a good developer. However, in both cases the participation of the producer in the projects is necessary, otherwise the results will cause a sense of shame among designers and regret for wasting money spent on customers.
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Not all Russian design agencies can boast of having a producer in the state. Some work with the hope of “maybe”, others use art directors in this role (which is tantamount to nailing a microscope with nails), others simply do not see the problem and continue to create websites that no one except the staff of the customer’s marketing department goes to. And the situation with the abundance of meaningless and useless resources on the Internet is unlikely to change if the development companies do not begin to solve the problems of communication. In an adult.
Written by xboct at the request of Negoda .
Moscow, 2007.
The emergence of producers in this industry is due to two factors: the need to isolate designers from the rough realities of the world in the person of customers and an attempt to introduce into their working environment people practical and alien creative prejudices. If everything is clear with the first one, then the second’s utility is doubtful for many. And in vain: producers who have flexible thinking, a broad outlook and healthy curiosity, are able to come up with easily “sold” solutions and not let designers follow the style and habits. The system is built with a friendly interface: the producer receives information, transmits it to the designer, then with it implements the idea born in the process of discussions. The result of joint efforts is presented to the customer, and communication between the producer and the other two parties takes place in understandable languages ​​(as opposed to the scheme of work with the project manager, who cares only about terms and profitability, usually not understanding anything in design or in business customer).
In the article “The Ideal Web Team”, Andy Budd calls producers “information architects” or “user designers”, arguing that they should set the direction for the project’s development, thinking through the strategy and tactics. And for this you need to have certain qualities: the ability to speak well and listen carefully, the ability to quickly think in unusual situations and cut off all unnecessary to optimize the workflow. As practice shows, charisma plays an important role - in situations where rational arguments do not work, personal charisma goes on.
There are certainly disadvantages too. The producer, like any intermediary in the chain, reduces the level of the "signal": something is lost along the way, something is simplified or eliminated altogether. It is more focused on results than on free creativity, and therefore deliberately avoids risks and uncertainties. But this is a matter of principle - which is more important for the company: the birth of masterpieces or the image of a good developer. However, in both cases the participation of the producer in the projects is necessary, otherwise the results will cause a sense of shame among designers and regret for wasting money spent on customers.
')
Not all Russian design agencies can boast of having a producer in the state. Some work with the hope of “maybe”, others use art directors in this role (which is tantamount to nailing a microscope with nails), others simply do not see the problem and continue to create websites that no one except the staff of the customer’s marketing department goes to. And the situation with the abundance of meaningless and useless resources on the Internet is unlikely to change if the development companies do not begin to solve the problems of communication. In an adult.
Written by xboct at the request of Negoda .
Moscow, 2007.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/9649/
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