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diff --git a/build/posts/being-efficient/index.html b/build/posts/being-efficient/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ce66ec --- /dev/null +++ b/build/posts/being-efficient/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ +<!doctype html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="utf-8"> + <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + <meta name="color-scheme" content="dark light"> + <link rel="icon" href="data:,"> + <title>Being More Efficient as a Designer and Developer</title> + <link href="/atom.xml" type="application/atom+xml" rel="alternate" title="Atom feed for blog posts" /> + <link href="/rss.xml" type="application/rss+xml" rel="alternate" title="RSS feed for blog posts" /> +<style>*{box-sizing:border-box;}body{font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.33;margin:0 auto;max-width:650px;padding:1rem;}blockquote{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-left:4px solid;padding-left:5px;}img{max-width:100%;}pre{border:1px solid;overflow:auto;padding:5px;}table{text-align:left;width:100%;}.footnotes{font-size:90%;}</style> +</head> + +<nav> + <a href="#menu">Menu ↓</a> +</nav> + +<main> +<h1 id="being-more-efficient-as-a-designer-and-developer">Being More Efficient as a Designer and Developer</h1> +<p>2019-09-28</p> +<p><em>I recently began working on a small side project</em> (a marketing site / blog for an upcoming UX book I’m writing, but I have nothing to promote yet - sorry) and found myself circling around different static site generators (SSG) in the initial design concepts. The thought of learning an entirely new blogging platform was inspiring and seemed like a good excuse to expand my skillset.</p> +<p>Although I’ve used 11ty and Hugo in the past for client work, this personal website runs on Jekyll. I’m very familiar with Jekyll and can push out a point-of-concept site in a flash with little-to-no effort. So, why was I looking to jump into a SSG I hadn’t used before? </p> +<p>And that got me thinking… <strong>Why am I moving away from being efficient?</strong></p> +<h2 id="before-we-begin">Before we begin…</h2> +<p>I should preface everything else I’m going to mention in this post with this: <em>learning new stuff is awesome</em>. You should expand your knowledge as much as you can, no matter what industry you find yourself in. I’ve found it to be a great catalyst for boosting my passion in design and development.</p> +<p>Okay, I’ve made it clear that learning is important to the growth of your career - so please keep that in mind before you read my next statement:</p> +<p><strong>Just use what you already know.</strong></p> +<p>By using your current experience (maybe even expertise) with a design system, CSS framework, blogging platform, programming language, etc. you can get something <em>built</em>. Not to mention you can get that thing built in a <em>fraction of the time</em>. After all, building things is kind of the point of being a designer (or developer), right?</p> +<p>My current side project may be a slight edge case in this regard. Since it’s a personal “dev” website, most of the tech stack choices comes down to personal preference - not client requirements. But I believe my point still remains: you shouldn’t reach for something new and shiny <em>just because</em> it’s new and shiny.</p> +<h2 id="some-vague-examples">Some vague examples</h2> +<p>It might be easier to understand what I mean by using some possible real-world examples:</p> +<table> +<thead> +<tr> +<th>Problem</th> +<th>New Way</th> +<th>Efficient Way</th> +</tr> +</thead> +<tbody> +<tr> +<td>A local bakery needs product and e-cart functionality</td> +<td>Learn a new custom ecommerce platform</td> +<td>Use a popular pre-existing library you’re familiar with</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>Create an add-on blog for a medical clinic</td> +<td>Try a custom built static site generator and hook in a git-based CMS</td> +<td>Spin up a quick WordPress site and hand-off</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td>UI mockups for a workout iOS app</td> +<td>Test out the newest design tool just released</td> +<td>Use your go-to default design tool you (Sketch, Figma, etc)</td> +</tr> +</tbody> +</table> +<p>I know all of this is very much “common sense”, but you would be surprised how often we reach out for the latest and greatest tools (we are creative problem-solvers, after-all). If a current project allots you the time to learn a new skillset alongside outputting a quality product - then more power to you. In my experience that’s a rare luxury, so my advice is to focus on shipping quality work (whether that’s code, design, analytics, content, etc) instead of getting caught up in the “new and shiny”.</p> +<h2 id="but-wait-how-when-do-i-learn-new-things">But wait, how / when do I learn new things?</h2> +<p>It isn’t exactly ground breaking to state that you should keep things simple as a developer. There are probably hundreds of posts on the web advocating for the exact same thing - which is good. At the same time, we as designers and developers need to avoid stagnation - something that can happen all too easily.</p> +<p>So how do we learn new things? This is a hard thing to answer. Really, the best response would be: <strong>it depends on the designer / developer</strong>. I know, <em>what a cop-out</em>. Unfortunately, it’s true. There is no one solution to learning anything new.</p> +<p>The best I can do is offer up some possible options:</p> +<ul> +<li>Learn outside of work +<ul> +<li>Reading / listening to a technical book on your commute or before bed</li> +<li>Take an online course you can work on after hours</li> +</ul></li> +<li>Contribute to an open source project that you aren’t familiar with but are interested in +<ul> +<li>Even tiny contributions go a long way, don’t doubt yourself so much</li> +</ul></li> +<li>Ask your current company (if not a freelancer that is) to learn on their time +<ul> +<li>It’s a valid argument that your company should have vested interest in you becoming a better developer / designer</li> +</ul></li> +</ul> +<h2 id="easier-said-than-done">Easier said than done</h2> +<p>Sometimes, even the suggestions above don’t work for certain individuals. Life is hectic and other important things can pop-up taking precedence. Don’t let it get you down - there are more important things in life than mastering the newest framework that released 25 minutes ago.</p> +<p>My motto is to keep shipping quality products that you actually give a shit about. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how “new” it is.</p> +<footer role="contentinfo"> + <h2>Menu Navigation</h2> + <ul id="menu"> + <li><a href="/">Home</a></li> + <li><a href="/projects">Projects</a></li> + <li><a href="/uses">Uses</a></li> + <li><a href="/wiki">Wiki</a></li> + <li><a href="/resume">Resume</a></li> + <li><a href="/colophon">Colophon</a></li> + <li><a href="/now">Now</a></li> + <li><a href="/donate">Donate</a></li> + <li><a href="/atom.xml">RSS</a></li> + <li><a href="#top">↑ Top of the page</a></li> + </ul> + <small> + Built with <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/barf">barf</a>. <br> + Maintained with ♥ for the web. <br> + Proud supporter of <a href="https://usefathom.com/ref/DKHJVX">Fathom</a> & <a href="https://nextdns.io/?from=74d3p3h8">NextDNS</a>. <br> + The content for this site is <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.<br> The <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht">code for this site</a> is <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht/tree/master/item/LICENSE">MIT</a>. + </small> +</footer>
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