It's not necessary, but it's definitely good for you to understand the basics of it, just so that you can collaborate better with programmers. It's important to understand their piece of the puzzle too. Focus on design though and read up about new programming languages just so you know what's going on. :)

Good luck!

Sure, they should. Just as the architect needs the knowledge of how a house is constructed, in order to be able to even think of designing a house, the UX designer needs to know how the app is built.

And who cares about what stands in the job description anyways - half of the job adds wouldn't know a good job description of it hits them in the face..

For me, a UX Designer should be empathizing with users vs learning to code. If learning to code is going to help your users achieve their goal or change their behavior then maybe, but it's a long shot. Focus on your funnel as a UX Designer

For me, it's worth focusing your attention on designing. Every minute spent learning code is one lost developing your product design skills.

Best of luck :)

It can't hurt to learn..

To be able to do UX work: often not. To be able to communicate with others at any company: often.

If your role involves designing UI and/or interactions, I think learning even the basics of HTML/CSS/JS goes a really long way. Do designers "need" to, not really. But it helps tremendously.

Anecdote obvs but it's drastically improved how I've communicated with the devs on my team. Especially in terms of interactions. I can quickly make a component in Codepen, make it look exactly how I have it in my designs, and make the interaction exactly how I imagine it would work. Less guesswork by the devs. Less going back and forth with "Nah it's still missing X. The timing for Y feels weird".

Not really

I think that everyone needs to improve their skills and become better in their profession. I study at the university but at the same time I study how to create flora design. I feel that this is my profession and sometimes when I don't have time to do my homework I turn to https://writinguniverse.com/free-essay-examples/social-issues/ , so I have free time for my interests. I hope everything will work out for me!

The question is - who decides? The market probably. So, if your competition designs better software, collaborates better with developers and produces overall better user experience and make more sustainable product designs, because, besides all other things, they also know how apps are made and how much it costs to make certain feature or interaction. They make some apps even by themselves and they are naturally curious about what they are working on. Then, to stay competitive, you should also learn how code works. There is also another point. If you want to follow best standards, latest fancy trends and stay on the beaten track, you can get away even without knowing what a for loop is, an API or a latency. But if you want to innovate in the field of user interaction, interactive animation, interface components or simply have fun by changing how things work, then you should try to code ... and, have fun building.

As a UX designer, this is a question I see time and time again in the industry. The long and short of it, in my humble opinion, is no. A UX designer has their particular skill sets, just as a developer does. To me, it comes down to what you want to learn in your spare time. If you're a UX Designer, and you want to learn to code - great! If not, fine, it won't have any impact on your ability to be a UX designer.

Shameless plug, but I've recently started a YouTube channel tackling questions like this. For a more detailed answer from myself, please feel free to wander over to this video:

https://youtu.be/ETKIYUmXH9s

Thanks!

A UI/UX designer should have basic knowledge of HTML/CSS/JS. It is worth learning them. Because sometimes it matters a lot. For instance, you want to build your own website using visual platforms. You can do it better with such skills. and generally, “A LEARNING CURVE IS ESSENTIAL TO GROWTH.” –TAMMY BJELLAND :)

My recommendation is to learn enough front-end code (HTML/CSS at least, plus Swift/Flutter if you design for native mobile apps) to know how your design will be converted into a product.

I don't expect a designer to write code that will end up in the final product. But a designer who knows their design will translate to code, is way less likely to run into issues of feasibility and unnecessary complexity later on.

It really depends what you want to achieve as a professional designer.

If you want to work in a startup or build your own products then yes.

If you want to work with larger product teams. Then no.

You'd be way better off mastering your design craft, user research skills and learning the psychology behind good product decisions. Trust me, you have a lifetime of learning just with these 3 topics.

I hope this helps!

should is the worst word ever. They don't need to, but as is true for all knowledge gained, they will profit from it.

Really nice insight on this

They should, IMO.