Designers need material literacy, not craft mastery. The Sidebar piece argues the relevant model is the architect and stone: understand the properties, constraints, and possibilities of code without needing to write it yourself. AI handles the implementation layer now.
The argument is not about whether designers should learn to code. It is about reframing what code literacy means in 2024. The distinction matters because it changes hiring criteria, workflow design, and how teams structure the gap between mockup and production.
Worth reading in full for how it redefines the designer's job description at the exact moment AI is collapsing the distance between design intent and shipped product.
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