From dcfb172704f3afb68a30425029ec834be2883274 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: bt Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2024 13:22:19 -0400 Subject: More content porting, on-going markdown changes for lowdown support --- build/being-efficient/index.html | 110 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------ 1 file changed, 76 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-) (limited to 'build/being-efficient') diff --git a/build/being-efficient/index.html b/build/being-efficient/index.html index 008a907..fb8f591 100644 --- a/build/being-efficient/index.html +++ b/build/being-efficient/index.html @@ -1,66 +1,108 @@ - + Being More Efficient as a Designer and Developer - - + + +
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Being More Efficient as a Designer and Developer

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Being More Efficient as a Designer and Developer

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2019-09-28

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I recently began working on a small side project (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.

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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?

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And that got me thinking... Why am I moving away from being efficient?

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Before we begin...

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I should preface everything else I'm going to mention in this post with this: learning new stuff is awesome. 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.

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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:

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I recently began working on a small side project (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.

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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?

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And that got me thinking… Why am I moving away from being efficient?

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Before we begin…

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I should preface everything else I’m going to mention in this post with this: learning new stuff is awesome. 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.

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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:

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Just use what you already know.

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By using your current experience (maybe even expertise) with a design system, CSS framework, blogging platform, programming language, etc. you can get something built. Not to mention you can get that thing built in a fraction of the time. After all, building things is kind of the point of being a designer (or developer), right?

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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 just because it's new and shiny.

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Some vague examples

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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 just because it’s new and shiny.

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Some vague examples

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It might be easier to understand what I mean by using some possible real-world examples:

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Problem New Way Efficient Way
A local bakery needs product and e-cart functionality Learn a new custom ecommerce platform Use a popular pre-existing library you're familiar with
Create an add-on blog for a medical clinic Try a custom built static site generator and hook in a git-based CMS Spin up a quick WordPress site and hand-off
UI mockups for a workout iOS app Test out the newest design tool just released Use your go-to default design tool you (Sketch, Figma, etc)

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".

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But wait, how / when do I learn new things?

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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.

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So how do we learn new things? This is a hard thing to answer. Really, the best response would be: it depends on the designer / developer. I know, what a cop-out. Unfortunately, it's true. There is no one solution to learning anything new.

+ + +Problem +New Way +Efficient Way + + + + + +A local bakery needs product and e-cart functionality +Learn a new custom ecommerce platform +Use a popular pre-existing library you’re familiar with + + +Create an add-on blog for a medical clinic +Try a custom built static site generator and hook in a git-based CMS +Spin up a quick WordPress site and hand-off + + +UI mockups for a workout iOS app +Test out the newest design tool just released +Use your go-to default design tool you (Sketch, Figma, etc) + + + + +

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”.

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But wait, how / when do I learn new things?

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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.

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So how do we learn new things? This is a hard thing to answer. Really, the best response would be: it depends on the designer / developer. I know, what a cop-out. Unfortunately, it’s true. There is no one solution to learning anything new.

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The best I can do is offer up some possible options:

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  • Contribute to an open source project that you aren’t familiar with but are interested in

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    • Even tiny contributions go a long way, don't doubt yourself so much
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  • Even tiny contributions go a long way, don’t doubt yourself so much
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  • Ask your current company (if not a freelancer that is) to learn on their time

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    • It's a valid argument that your company should have vested interest in you becoming a better developer / designer
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  • It’s a valid argument that your company should have vested interest in you becoming a better developer / designer
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    Easier said than done

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    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.

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    My motto is to keep shipping quality products that you actually give a shit about. Otherwise it doesn't matter how "new" it is.

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    Easier said than done

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    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.

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    My motto is to keep shipping quality products that you actually give a shit about. Otherwise it doesn’t matter how “new” it is.