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At The Future of Web Design in New York, the final session of the day was a panel discussion on the frictions and misunderstandings that often arise between designers and developers working together. The panel was chaired by Liz Danzico, while putting across the the developers’ point of view we had Joe Stump and Chris Lea, while on the design side of things we had Ryan Sims, and Daniel Burka.

The audience provided lots of great questions to ask the panel, but, unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to answer them all (I have a stack of about 60 here on my desk). I thought I’d publish a collection of ten of the best unasked questions and see if the Vitamin audience, which is comprised of both designers and developers, can’t come up with some answers.

Here is the list of questions:

1. Would I be a better designer to work with if I knew coding myself? Do developers appreciate knowledgeable designers?
2. Designers: Developers don’t like you because you represent Work and don’t see why said work is wholly necessary. Developers: Designers are scared of you because you are the gatekeeper. This is the dynamic. Discuss.
3. How can stronger communication be developed not only between designers and developers, but also between designers, developers, and creative teams (art director, copywriter)? How can a team bring them into the fold more effectively?
4. To developers: if there was one thing ― an ability, a bit of knowledge, an understanding ― that you could instill in all designers with the wave of a magic wand, what would it be?
5. How do you keep the goal of the project front and center so that design and development can keep a “common good” as their primary function?
6. What’s the most helpful thing a designer can do before handing over design files?
7. How soon should a developer be engaged to sense-check a design? At design brief? Before it goes to the client?
8. Is it a mistake to make the lead developer the project manager?
9. How can I get the developer to give me an absolute answer on whether something is doable?
10. It seems that designers are under pressure to design an exceptional and unique experience and developers are under presssure to produce sites with high performance and little/no errors. Designer’s goals add pressure to developers and vice versa. How can our goals work together intead of causing pressure on each other?

Please provide your thoughts in the comments: it would be great to get comments from both designers and developers (no trolling, please!)

It’s December, which means it’s Christmas shopping time again. If you’re not sure what to get the web geek in your life (or if you’d like some inspiration for your own wishlist), I’ve put together a list of 10 items (in no special order) that anyone working on the Web would be happy to find under the tree on Christmas morn.

Arduino

Arduino is an “open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments”. It’s basically a really simple way to build electronic projects controlled by computer – letting you create physical projects that interact with the Web. Some cool Arduino projects: A Twitter scroller, Arduino RSS reader, A Web-based air quality meter that uses an antique voltmeter for a display

To get started, you’ll need an Arduino board (which you can either build yourself, or buy from one of many distributors), download the software and read the documentation on the Arduino site (or buy a copy of Getting Started with Arduino (Make: Projects)). Alternatively, for the ultimate creative Arduino Christmas gift, Make magazine has an Arduino Starter Kit – unfortunately on backorder at the moment so check with them before ordering that it will be delivered in time!

Awesome ThinkGeek t-shirt: “No I will not fix your computer”

As soon as people find out that you work with computers (even if you design beautiful web sites for a living) they start assume that you’ll know how to fix their computers when they break. Make it perfectly clear that you won’t with this t-shirt!

Acer Aspire One Netbook

Netbooks are extremely popular as they allow you to carry plenty of punch in a a very small package. There are quite a few different models available, but this this model from Acer seems to be getting the best reviews.<

GiveAnApp

Ok, so this isn’t so much a gift for web geeks but a gift that web geeks might like to give. GiveAnApp allows you to give a physical introduction to a web app that you find useful – we’ve all seen how hard it is to persuade family and friends to start using that app that you’ve found really useful. This service enables you to give a gift that introduces an app.

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design

I’m probably a little biased, as I was involved in the production of this book, but it’s a really great guide for helping web developers put together sites that look better (note: it’s a little basic for experienced web designers).

Flip Video Camcorder

All the videos from The Future of Web Design New York were shot on one of these little marvels. We weren’t sure if the quality would be up to scratch, but if you take a look I’m sure you’ll agree it’s not bad for a camera costing about $130. Super easy to use, it’s ideal if you want to shoot short videos suitable for uploading to Facebook or YouTube, and aren’t worried about more advanced features or zoom.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium

OK, OK, so this is a pretty expensive – but the bundle does contain the latest versions of Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Illustrator and if you have the money to spare would would be a great gift!

A Carson Workshops ticket

A bit of self promotion here, but the lineup for next year’s Carson Workshops looks amazing: Ben Huh, Paul Boag, Daniel Burka, Tara Hunt, Eric Meyer, Ryan Singer and Dan Cerderholm. The quality of teaching at these workshops is second-to-none, and you’ll leave inspired and refreshed!

Guitar Hero World Tour

Here at the Carsonfied offices, we like nothing better than rocking out with a copy of Guitar Hero after a hard day’s work. Even though I’ve not had a chance to play it yet, the tracklisting on this new version looks awesome.

Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse (Black)

A craftsman needs proper tools, and this mouse is the pick of the bunch.

(Note that Amazon links have Vitamin’s affiliate code. If you buy through those links, you’ll be helping to support this site.)

What would you add to the list?