Rockstar coders & Rockstar Designers, who and why?
Posted on 01 July, 2009 at 15:28 PM There are already 24 Comments

Rob MacKay    01 Jul, 2009 15:33:05 PM

I have no idea what makes a Rockstar - if you take the word form the the world of rock its someone who famously plays music... alot of the time most of them are crap anyway - it was just someone gave them a break.

So whats the thing with design - dunno, dont really care though either - I just take people for who they are.

As for successful designers - I think they are people who have realised that its more about finding out your own style and being confident in that.

Coders, cant really answer coz I dont really get the whole "Rockstar" thing anyway lol

David Perel    01 Jul, 2009 15:45:31 PM

Looks like Rob has gone all technical on us :P

When I say rockstar I mean the popular dudes in the crowd... The ones who get mentioned the most and are shoe ins to get featured and mentioned.... those ones.

Robin Pietersen    01 Jul, 2009 16:31:05 PM

Unless a developer contributes to a community project or works for a open and public start-up/company, it is very unlikely you will get wind of their work, expertise and rockstarness (New word?).

Designers on the other hand have their work pasted all over the place i.e, their work is a whole lot more transparent. I also find most developers are allot less likely to self promote? Perhaps it is a less glamorous role or maybe less interesting to most. Everyone can comment on a design, few can comment on an awesome function?

Marc, by your definition of rockstar (via Rob's comment) it almost sounds like we talking about attention seeking Glamor Queens, or perhaps just the cool kids? ;-)

Problem I have with the label 'rockstar' is that it implies larger than life, trend setting, industry guiding greatness (My perception anyways). In practice, the term is used in lame self promotion and back patting, dunno? The more it is used the less credibility it implies (It's been used to death)? #lamelabel

All that said, great vid, great show, the 'off topic' clips at the end are awesome!

Robin Pietersen    01 Jul, 2009 16:33:34 PM

Woops, wrong brother quoted in my comment, my bad...

Sean Hodge    01 Jul, 2009 17:29:43 PM

Rockstar implies heavily promoted/marketed. It doesn't necessarily mean good. However, a Rockstar designer is often a good to great designer that is also an awesome promoter of their ideas and work.

Promoting yourself, ideas, and work can be a really natural thing for some designers. If you like blogging or videocasting then it's a great way to promote your work and help people at the same time.

I work a lot with Drupal, and there are quite a few Rockstar coders in the Drupal world aside from the creator of Drupal Dries. The Lullabot team are certainly rockstars in the Drupal world and their Podcast has done a tremendous amount to show their skills and build their credibility.

They've leveraged their position as Rockstar coders and taken a leadership position in the Drupal field. Keep in min though, this isn't purely self-promotion, they provide excellent resources and learning materials. I guess it didn't hurt that Jeff Robins was a music rockstar before becoming a Drupal rockstar as well www.lullabot.com/about/jeff-robbins

If you want to be popular, then you need to be involved in popular things, and get your name out there.

Just some thoughts. Thx.

David Perel    01 Jul, 2009 17:42:40 PM

@Sean - Too cool that a real rockstar is also a coder now :)

I think that we are all interpreting 'rockstar' differently. What we mean is a famous/popular coder who is famous/popular because they are capable of a) making cool things and b) marketing it.

I am not talking about the primadonna's in the room, just the ones which are respected by all.

Bill Gates is an (EXTREME) example I suppose...

Paul Burgess    01 Jul, 2009 17:58:45 PM

If you need to be told who the rock stars are... then are they rock stars?

David Perel    01 Jul, 2009 18:03:39 PM

@Paul - I think so, it may be that they are rockstars in their space, which still counts to me. It's just that I am not aware of them. I never knew about Jason Santa Maria 12months ago, did that make him any less popular / well known in the greater scheme of things? Nope.

Brad C    01 Jul, 2009 18:10:05 PM

I have to agree with Sean, a lot of the "Rockstars" are really good at promoting. I think the best designers are to busy being awesome to promote themselves and there work. Let's be honest, it takes a lot of time to do great work and it also take a lot of time to promote yourself, very hard to do both well.

Here are 2 amazing designers I know you've probably never heard of: Aaron Boeving, www.aaronboeving.com/ Craig Minch: minchdesign.com/

Elena    01 Jul, 2009 19:53:46 PM

In response to rockstar coders, I think that it's not as prevalent as with design. If you are a good coder, then you are going to have the website work like clockwork with minimal to no downtime. Yes, I'm aware that it could be a problem with the host. The true standouts who are in coding are the ones who help write the standards or develop a new way of doing a process that wasn't done before.

I think rockstar designers have a knack for making something that could be basic, look extraordinary. Designing is based on the look but stills needs to be able to function properly, otherwise, you're just looking at a pretty image. Knowing how to promote yourself and not over promoting yourself is important, I believe. Also, the better of a communicator in general you are, the more popuilar you will be with your colleagues. Just my thoughts.

Joel Beukelman    01 Jul, 2009 20:47:17 PM

As far as Rockstart Coders, my understanding of php, java, and CSS are limited....but I agree that simplicity is best in most everything.

On the topic of Rokstar Designers, I feel that it depends on who is defining the Rockstar. Obviously the design community admires and follows designers that are doing things innovative and ground breaking. Essentially designers who are designing for designers (i am guilt ads charged). However, I think we should be defining Rockstars by the functionality, efficiency, and productivity of a design, rather than the popularity of it from the design community. We as designers are designing for the best possible solution for the clients, and if their needs cross the awesome design ideas and trends we like....even better.

Great Topic! Much love!

Talya Goldberg    01 Jul, 2009 23:03:00 PM

I never have and doubt I ever will understand web designers. Dont know companies/people dont get graphic designers/artists/someone with an artistic flair but with no web experince and tell them to come up with designs, because they wouldnt think of the constraints that go into it all, or the coding etc and you'd get something totally revolutionary. not a header. a footer. a side bar. and big space for content.

I dont see anyone really pushing any boundries in web, people say stuffs fabulous when its just damn boring. You say in the video to be good is it because you can do a grunge design, a blog design, a magazine layout. I dont see why it has to viewed so narrowly.

Please dont even get me started on so called 'rockstars' particularly the self-proclaimed ones because generally its more smoke than fire.

So thats my little rant for the day.

Foxinni    02 Jul, 2009 11:51:50 AM

Hey Developers,

Code is funny. Plenty of startups code an initial version then once they have gotten somewhere, then scrap everything and start over.

With software, and themes, it's and on going process, you don't have the chance to just start over, cus you'll piss plenty of excising users off if there themes stop working with a core update, not to mention keeping a core that works on all themes.

I adopted the WooThemes framework and worked on what was there. I just extended most of the functional and still have lots more planned. Pssst..... Shortcodes. :)

Good luck to you guys and thanks for the mention.

Lauren Fowler    02 Jul, 2009 13:58:01 PM

I don't now too much about code but I do know that it's rather unpleasant when something isn't functioning in the way that it should or it crashes your computer.

In my opinion, good design is based on understanding your target market, your product or service you're selling. Excellent design comes in when you take something simple or designed for mass usage and you change it slightly in a way that is unexpected, making people interact with it in a new way, opening their minds to new possibilities of the way in which something functions.

For example Tabs in web browsing..yes, I'll give that a capital "T". !! Why didn't anybody think of that before! I used to have a trillion windows open and I'd just deal with it, switching between them, unable to find the page I'm looking for etc.

So basically, making sure that your design functions in the correct way for whoever's going to use it, getting your message across clearly and making them go "Wow, why didn't anybody think of that before? I'm going to look at everything differently now and see where I can improve my ...stuff.."

ok..that's all p.s a nap is totally a recharge!

Marc Perel    02 Jul, 2009 15:08:25 PM

@Foxinni - I hear you, it depends on what kind of program and client base you're dealing with. I think a Rockstar developer is also someone who can make a product which has power, but that most people can understand how to use. Functionality is something oft overlooked by developers because they're so 'clever' that they over engineer their work and no-one but the elite can use it. #FAIL

@Lauren - Well, my dear, that's actually kind of a mix. It's the developers who would decide on the functionality, but either way I agree, they do rock with their understanding of the user and how to improve our experience and productivity.

Lauren Fowler    02 Jul, 2009 15:13:26 PM

@Marc - Really?? Oh. When I worked at "that website company" the designers would decide how the site would function and the developers would just have to fall in...but I don't think it was a very good way of working cause the "big bosses" would have these crazy idea and the developers would just be like, "no..."

I'm just glad that I draw now and that's all.

Marc Perel    02 Jul, 2009 15:19:50 PM

@Lauren - Well, here at Obox it's like that, infact it's a joint thing. We both look at the usability of our sites and decide together. But I'd imagine in a corporation like Mozilla that there are more Developers than there are Designers. I may be very wrong, but the logical developers would put the designers straight if (when) they wanna go too extreme :P

Yeah, be happy you don't have to think about UI's and things!

PS. gravatar.com Get a Gravatar ;)

Lauren Fowler    02 Jul, 2009 15:29:08 PM

man...there's an app for everything these days.. Hope my "gravatar" comes out..

Neil    03 Jul, 2009 01:06:33 AM

Hi,

I'm looking for user interface designers. Could you point me in the right direction or recommend some freelancers/teams that could assist.

Many thanks

Mia    03 Jul, 2009 03:06:53 AM

Hi there , I just stumbled in quite by chance - and I must say , you both had me smiling @ 4 am with your humour & antics. Now , I may not be code savvy ( and far from it ) however , I believe that what truly defines a Rockstar Coder & Rockstar Designer [ in my humble opinion ] would be a number of things in combination . Aside from their ability to code expertly , I believe that what takes precedence over that factor would be their ' Design Style ' & the fact that they should stand apart & separate from the rest - it isnt so much as their style falling into a particular category such as : grunge , glossy, distressed , or whatever - for one can Rock all such styles . Aside from expertise in coding - I believe that what truly makes one a Rock Designer & coder is : IMAGINATION . And aside from this ' Imagination ' , I would have to say a Love , Dedication & Devotion to what one happens to do - whether they be a web designer or the town butcher . I believe that DaVinci & Michelangelo were Rockstars in their own right - and I believe that you guys are Rockstars as well . Now , as per a particular Web Designer who I would deem as a Rockstar Designer (s) , I will have to say that I stumbled upon a group of really great Designers with a truly Rockin style several days ago , and maybe you are aware of them , they go by the name of " ECTOMACHINE " @ www.ectomachine.com , and I believe you should truly check them out and see for yourselves whether they Rock or not . However , in my humble opinion , they do Rock . Just as you guys do ! Wishing you both much well deserved future success within all of your life & career endeavors . Smile , Mootools & JQuery do Love you ! :)

Matty    03 Jul, 2009 19:29:24 PM

@Marc Thanks for the mention man. I really appreciate it. :)

Regarding "rockstar coders", I'd say that keeping things simple, clearly defined and not over-complicating things is a good way to go.

Also, keep the code neatly indented and easy to read. :P

Regarding "rockstar designers", I'd say that a "rockstar" designer is a designer with a keen eye for detail, proportion and weight of elements, a well-rounded typographical knowledge and a designer who is able to approach a brief from the brief's point of view and not what *they* would like to do ( ie: designing for the client's market, not for their own likes and dislikes... pink and safari don't go ;) ).

That's my 2c guys. Looking forward to the 7th. :)

lindamood bell    04 Jul, 2009 10:15:54 AM

cancel bubble    04 Jul, 2009 21:51:01 PM

You should clarify what sort of "coding" you're talking about. HTML/CSS/JavaScript (and various libraries)/PHP/Ruby/etc. I'm assuming you're meaning more frontend types.

Some JavaScript "rock stars" I can immediately think of:

Christian Heilmann Ross Harmes (really an unsung hero, IMO) Nicholas Zakas The entire YUI team John Resig (Mr. jQuery) Thomas Fuchs (script.aculo.us author and core Prototype member) Dustin Diaz (at the very least, he co-authored one of my favorite books, Pro JavaScript Design Patterns) Scott Schiller Jack Slocum (Ext JS) Hedger Wang Douglas My Middle Name is JavaScript Crockford (though he's not "in the trenches" like others on the list)

David Hopkins    06 Jul, 2009 02:39:23 AM

I think another reason why developers are in general not so well known as designers is because developers are more often than not introverted. They are not so good at public speaking and social interaction>

Personally, I think one of the key attributes of a top web developer is someone who knows programming pretty much inside out, from character sets to XML parsers. On top of that, I think they need to be working on something they are passionate about to bring the best of them out. When I am working on things that don't interest me, I will quite often botch them out. However, when I am working on things that I am interested in I will take a lot of care on them and do the best I can.