There has always been the question of whether a designer should know how to code.
AI has brought that topic back, and many designers have made the jump into code editors.
I have taken that step too. Knowing there is little information out there, here are a few ideas that may be useful for you.
Why I decided to learn front end
In my time as a product designer, I am lucky to work side by side with developers: token architecture, type hierarchy, component variants, design implementation, and more.
Something that comes up a lot in this kind of work: design and implementation are separate phases, with different priorities, and often the design is already done when code decides what of it is viable and what is not — leading to endless iterations.
That has always been on my mind. I design components that someone else then has to build under concrete constraints. And I knew that gap — not knowing exactly what happens on the other side — meant I was making decisions without the full picture. I could design something perfect on paper that was a real headache to implement, or the other way around: avoid something out of fear it would be complicated when it was actually trivial.
So I decided to dive into code. Not to become a developer, but to truly understand what is easy, what is hard to implement, and to design with that judgment from the start — not as a correction after the fact.
Why Shifta
In my case I like having someone to ask, live classes, someone to resolve the doubts that come up in the moment, and therefore a closer relationship.
Having homework and practice to hand in helps me a lot with learning. In the world of code, that practice is key because it is how you really learn to program.
With that clear, I set out to look for courses.
I like official courses, ideally university ones if possible. Getting a certificate and having a university behind it has always seemed to me like it can improve the experience, though it is no guarantee of anything.
Working full time, I cannot dedicate all the time I would like.
That is where Shifta comes in. A fairly well-aimed program, focused on designers. There was little information about the postgraduate course, but all things considered, I decided it was what best matched my requirements.
The experience
The syllabus is ambitious at first glance. Everything you cover is relevant; the downside is there is no time to go deep.
This course is not set up so you leave as a developer with five years of experience. That would not be realistic.
What it does give you is a lot of knowledge and a solid base you can keep building on and expanding.
As a designer, seeing my own design come to life in code by my own hand is a very enriching experience.
For me, JavaScript is the hardest part, because it is the most ethereal. It is what makes the web work — like the engine of a car. It is about applying logic such as: if the password is shorter than 8 characters, show an error; if not, save the password and show a success message. This example is simple, but it can get much more complex.
From a design-systems point of view, it is useful for laying out foundations. You can nest variables to build that design system. And finally, you will stop wondering who or what JSON is.
Components are part of frameworks like Vue.js, which is what is taught in this case. They are barely touched and they are highly complex. I wish we had gone deeper.
Toward AI, it gives you very valuable knowledge. Working with a code editor, you get to know how this world works. You will know Node.js, and on your own — because this is not taught — you will know how to connect an MCP like Figma’s.
The instructors are professionals. Developers who do this for a living. They are fullstack, some more focused on back end, others on front end, but they know what they teach.
The best way to make the most of their experience and knowledge is attending live classes. It is natural to have doubts, and you will. You can always ask them later if you cannot attend live, but asking as doubts come up is a richer experience.
Think about what kind of designer you want to be
It is very important — and something I have seen strongly recommended by senior designers — that you know exactly which path you want to follow.
Design-to-code implementation is a late phase of that end-to-end process.
For a UX researcher who may not have to worry about that implementation in their workflow, it is likely not of interest or not a priority.
For a product or visual designer who is present in that part, it can be a plus.
In my case, I have always had more exposure to that design-in-code implementation side.
My developers tend to inspect designs, look at paddings, styles…
I know that is a very good thing because it means your design is what ships to production.
It also has a flip side. It is every designer’s duty to care and design with that implementation in mind, looking after timelines and handoff.
The point here is that you need to know what is easy to implement, and what is hard. Knowing code is what will give you that power.