Technicians VS. Architects

How Developers Differ

There are technicians and architects in every field, but its especially relevant in our industry. Similar to graphic designers, there are developers that are very good at the tools, but not at grasping the overall concept and finding solutions.

Architects will ask questions about your website's goals and seek to understand the vision for your site. They will seek out solutions and make suggestions that you didn't specify. They fully grasp the concept and goals of the site and make technical decisions based on that understanding. They know when to ask for the designer's input and give suggestions about possible options.

On the other hand, technicians focus on completing sites exactly as they are specified in a PSD. They are exacting and efficient, but struggle when things aren't precisely clear. Technicians will often be very good at the necessary tools and talk extensively about their "workflow". They will emphasize Dreamweaver, Coda, Flash and a plethora of other various impressive sounding software applications.

The low barrier of entry to web development leaves the market saturated with people claiming to be experts. From what we've seen, they may be expert technicians, but without an architect your site will never be more then flat and uninspiring. There will be many aspects of the site that won't be communicated clearly and will fall through the cracks.

At Floodlight I hold the title of Solution Architect. I work with our lead developer and our technicians to ensure that your client's message is communicated. We fill in the cracks by understanding the site's vision and goals. I enjoy this role and strive to continue to adding value to your clients by understanding their vision.

Take a look at some of our projects and see the difference an architectural site vision makes.