[Written before realizing the article is from 2008]
I've now heard this sentiment from several CEOs and top level management and though I agree with the sentiment (shipping early and validating often) I can't disagree more.
1) A designer can, through a myriad of tools, validate a Photoshop (or Sketch) file. Invision. Pixate. Framer. All are faster and more flexible than code.
2) Laying down code is, at least for me and I think for many, a different mental task than designing. I have different concerns (scalability and durability v. empathy and creativity) which, when conflated, often lead to the suffering of both.
3) Jason Fried, and the other leaders that seem to espouse this sentiment, are rarely (ever?) UI designers. I appreciate the sentiment, but I find that prescriptive (and somewhat pejorative) claims like this of a design tool or process when they themselves don't do the work to be fundamentally naive – designers should have the freedom to use the tools they think are best for solving a particular design challenge.
(Also, Basecamp may have had a relevant design 5 years ago, it doesn't now – the UX and interaction patterns are awful in my opinion.)
[Written before realizing the article is from 2008]
I've now heard this sentiment from several CEOs and top level management and though I agree with the sentiment (shipping early and validating often) I can't disagree more.
1) A designer can, through a myriad of tools, validate a Photoshop (or Sketch) file. Invision. Pixate. Framer. All are faster and more flexible than code.
2) Laying down code is, at least for me and I think for many, a different mental task than designing. I have different concerns (scalability and durability v. empathy and creativity) which, when conflated, often lead to the suffering of both.
3) Jason Fried, and the other leaders that seem to espouse this sentiment, are rarely (ever?) UI designers. I appreciate the sentiment, but I find that prescriptive (and somewhat pejorative) claims like this of a design tool or process when they themselves don't do the work to be fundamentally naive – designers should have the freedom to use the tools they think are best for solving a particular design challenge.
(Also, Basecamp may have had a relevant design 5 years ago, it doesn't now – the UX and interaction patterns are awful in my opinion.)